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Yo! T.O.! …It Rhymes!
Calling all socialites! But only if you live in Toronto! Just in case Facebook, MySpace, Friendster, etc. ad nauseum don’t provide enough virtual social networking opportunities for you, yo! T.O launched this weekend, a Toronto-centric site claiming exclusivity to the market (guess they’re never heard of Meet Me in TO?) and an honest, no hidden fees or agendas approach to your daily social internetting.
Perhaps not surprisingly, based on the site’s (unironic) name, yo! T.O identifies itself as party central; its members are referred to as “socialites,” and a quick browse through the whopping six current site members (which, upon closer inspection, seem to be one person with three different profiles and three other people, actually totalling four members, only one of whom does not seem to be one of the site’s developers/creators) reveals preferred activities as being “partying!” and “clubbing.” Want to be the most popular person on this part(y!) of the internet? Simply apply to be a yo! T.O contributor (FYI gumshoes, they’re looking for “good gossip, a hot image, or a groundbreaking scoop”), and if your fellow yo! T.O socialites vote you the best informant, your account will be upgraded to “celebrity status,” which according to yo! T.O’s pitch guidelines may lead to many untold riches from “media companies [who] actively seek out accomplished reporters.”
Their sights are definitely set high. So how do yo! T.O’s features compare to the other social networking giants? Personal photo galleries? Check. Event creators? Check. An “Interests” section in which to succinctly list your entire personality? Check. The all-important status updates? Gotta have those. Add to these features a simple, user-friendly design, and in a less saturated build-a-life online market, yo! T.O might have stronger legs. A way they attempt to separate themselves (aside from the aggressive GTA-only policy) is with the not-so-thinly veiled hook-up angle; “How many times have you found a girl or a guy that you really like, only to find out they are on another continent?” The question posed by the site’s about section positions it as a dating site, so if those are your intentions in this big lonely city, have patience—a lot of it—and once the membership grows past four, you might be in luck. Otherwise, it’s just another login for another website (Toronto based or not) with all of the same information for the same people to see. And really, what socialite worth their Facebook uploads has time for that?