Cerebra

Last week, Twitter wished me a happy 4th birthday. 4! That’s like 100 in social media year’s right? It was this 140-character message that made me realise that in social media years, I am getting old. If I’m already four in Twitter years, then surely my Facebook profile must be reaching its retirement age?

As the saying goes, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. But being a typical generation Y gal, I thrive on all things new, fresh and exciting and therefore decided it was time to scope out a batch of new social media platforms to play around on. I’m not saying goodbye to the original Big 5 (according to socialbaker.com Facebook, Twitter, Google +, Linkedin, Pinterest are the most popular social networking sites) I’m just suggesting we see what else is out there.

I’ve decided to identify five smaller social media sites, with similar traits to their more famous counterparts.

MySpace – The old new kid on the block

Our parents laughed at us when we wore bell-bottoms in the mid 90s, the world laughed when Britney staged a come back (shame) and we all laughed when returned. However, the platform has returned bigger, better and sexier than ever before. So determined are they to get rid of their formerly dodgy reputation, they have rebranded themselves as a ‘social entertainment network’. Still heavily focused on music, the new MySpace is the perfect platform for all up and coming singers and artists. The interface is also sleeker, cleaner and easier to use.

Pose – the fashion focused Pinterest

Designed for the fashionistas, clothing obsessives and those with a unique sense of style, Pose is a platform that allows you to upload, tag and favourite style collaborations from around the world. Pose even allows you to shop your favourite look – although this is somewhat limited to those living overseas. Similarly to Pinterest it also allows you to create boards for styles to suit your every mood. Pose is available on most iOS devices and online.

Vimeo

Believe it or not, Youtube is not the only video hosting platform out there. is a US based video sharing website on which users can upload, share and view videos. It’s also not exactly small as Vimeo attracts 65 million unique visitors per month and more than 8 million registered users. Fifteen percent of Vimeo’s traffic comes from mobile devices.

Vine

Twitter’s most recent purchase, Vine is an iOS app that let’s you tweet a looping 6 second video. I wasn’t particularly impressed until I scrolled upon a clip explaining how to make brownies (in six seconds!) Sold. For anyone looking to absorb visual infomration in a minimal amount of time, this is the app for you.

Ban.jo – Bringing it all together

Banjo founder Damien Patton was in the Boston airport waiting for a flight to Las Vegas. A friend he hadn’t seen in years was waiting for a different flight just one gate over. Damien tweeted. His friend checked in. Both posted about their locations, yet they missed connecting simply because they were using different social networks. That’s when Damien got the idea for Banjo. Banjo provides the only on-the-ground view of what’s happening right now through the eyes of your friends and connections, around the corner and around the world, so you never need to miss out on the important things in your life.

I realise there are hundreds of other social networking sites out there and I would love for you to comment and share your top picks with me.