TalkingApes

People are enamored with MySpace.com because it’s a behemoth. The fact is, though, that customizing it is hard, it has limited functionality and it’s owned by FOX (who will undoubtedly commercialize it and take away all the aspects of the site that people like presently).

Enter Virb.com.

Virb is like myspace in that you create an account, blog, upload videos, pictures, etc and connect with your friends. When setting up your profile page, however, they take away all the guesswork by giving either a WYSIWYG interface to change your layout, colors, etc. OR a custom place dedicated for you to input your HTML code to change your layout. They even give you a list of labels to include in your template, so for example, if you want to place a module of your top friends and 5 additional random friends in a div below your blog posts, all you need to do is put in $VIRB_topFriends(+5 Random) and it does that for you. They provide a list of available codes so you don’t have to guess.

If you are a Mr. (or Mrs.) Smartypants, you can even create your own module for inclusion in your pages.

It seems to do everything you’d want MySpace to do, and then some. It seems to be a little stronger in the customization category than Ning.com, which does have some features that I like better than Virb, like the Forum and the RSS integration. However both are more interesting, visually appealing and more user-friendly than MySpace.com.

List of Features from Virb.com:

Follow VIRB° as it continues to grow and new features are added. We’ve got a lot of stuff in the works and of course we can’t tell you EVERYTHING that’s coming, but here’s a glimpse of current and upcoming VIRB° features.

New Stuff

Invite Multiple Friends to a Group Much needed, grow your groups! (3/08)

Embed Your Virb Videos Offsite Widescreen video wherever you want to put it. (3/05)

Coming Soon

Blog Import via RSS feed will save you hours of Copy/Paste.

Expanded Features for Groups …after all Virb is about interaction.

Saving Multiple Profile Styles/Layouts …that last customization was really cool, you might want to use it again.

Not-as-new Stuff

Flickr Photo Feed means that using more than one photo sharing site doesn’t have to be twice as much work.

Multiple Taglines rotated randomly because we know you’ve got more wit than just one line.

Embedding of Approved Media gives you the ability to embed media from trusted sources, starting with Google, YouTube, Vimeo and Odeo.

Top Friends allows you to keep your best friends stuck on your profile… and you can rotate other friends into additional slots randomly.

Save Blog Drafts, then publish them when you’re ready.

Comment Categorization makes it easy to see who’s commented on your profile or media.

Basic Layout Editor gives you the ability to rearrange modules through a drag-and-drop interface.

Batch Edit for Friends allows you to update filters for many friends in one screen.

Announcement Filtering allows you to receive announcements from chosen friends only.

Recent Activity Filtering allows you to be notified of profile updates from chosen friends only.

Tailored Linking between Orgs and Members connects people to the organizations and projects that they’re a part of.

Gradient Removal on Virb Bar increases the flexibility of profile customization. (advanced CSS users only)

Lights Out Button darkens the page while you watch a video.

Remove Customization Button helps you get around messy or ugly profile customization.

Wide-screen Video player adjusts to the dimensions of videos that are uploaded.

VirbTunes for iTunes Tracking shows your friends what music you’ve been listening to and helps you find music.

Recent Activity lets you know when your friends have added new photos, videos or blogs.

Announcements are a quick way of getting a message to all of your friends.

Basic Style Editor is for anyone who isn’t a CSS pro. We like to make things easy!

Advanced HTML/CSS Editing for those of you are the CSS Pros. We like to make things flexible too!

Albums for Photos & Videos to keep things nice and organized.

Relationship Tags for Friends is an easy way to organize your college buddies or work friends… and to cross-reference them if you like.

Batch Edit for Photos simply saves you time keeping your photos organized.

Personal Music Player allows you to create a playlist of your favorite musicians on Virb.

Profile Music Player is another way to let your friends know what you’re listening to and adds a little audio to your profile.

Upcoming Shows lets you know which of your favorite musicians are playing in your area.

Module Nicknames show your creativity by letting you name your modules whatever you like.

Unlimited Personality Tag Sections let you go nuts tagging yourself… unrestricted.

Custom Modules are in case you want to put something in your profile that doesn’t fit anywhere else.

Privacy Settings are important to keeping you safe and surrounded by friends.

I have 14 friend invites left for Virb. Presently you don’t need them, but in the event that you do in the future, if you are interested in obtaining one, just reply to this post and I’ll send you one. You can check out the very basic profile I created HERE. I will be refining and investigating its features for the next few days, at least.