A different attitude for social networking

Boca Raton-based social networking site Multiply announced today it has received $16.6 million from investors, and it's number of registered users has grown to six million since it launched the site in 2004.

The company also added a few members to its team that has ties to social networking sites MySpace and LinkedIn.

VantagePoint Venture Partners led the pack of investors, and its managing director, David Scott Carlick, was named to Multiply's board. Carlick used to be chairman of Intermix Media, which was the parent company of MySpace before Rupert Murdock's News Corp. bought MySpace in 2005.

Joining as an advisor is Lee Hower, senior associate of Point Judith (another big investor to Multiply) and former co-founder of business social networking site LinkedIn.

Multiply works to stand out from other social networking sites by boasting it is more private and that users have more control over who sees their profile. But will limiting access to strangers and giving users more privacy encourage people to switch to Multiply -- enough people to make Multiply a powerhouse player in social networking?

It all comes down to the changing attitude of privacy. Some want their site to be found by everybody and everyone -- as was my view during college. You meet someone at a party, instead of trading numbers you just find them on Facebook. Then you can judge them more by their profile and choose whether or not to stay in contact. Also great for trying to find someone in the same class as you if you have a question about an assignment. You may not be friends, but having an open profile is a great tool.

But after leaving college, there's more worries about how you are perceived. Maybe now I don't want my employers or work associates finding all the silly comments my friends post on my profile. But there are tools out there to limit my profiles somewhat. But it might not be enough of a limit for some people.

Attitudes on social networking continue to evolve, and maybe in time people will be overwhelmed by how much information is out there that they will want more privacy. Or the attitude will become more relaxed as more of the younger generation grows up with social networking. Either way, the promise of more privacy will always be desired, but will it be by enough people for Multiply to grow further?