On the Right Path
By Azam on April 4, 2011 
Path is the new social networking tool being developed by Dave Morin the ex facebooker focusing on real friends. Path is available as an iPhone app, and if focusing on sharing photos. Path is focused on the closest 50 friends to share with.Getting people to use the service is a priority for Path, which declined to say how many users it has in total but said its users have now shared over 3 million “moments,” such as photos and videos. Said Morin: “Our long-term grand vision here is to build a network that is very high quality and that people feel comfortable contributing to at any time.”Friend RankPath is launching a new social graph booster called “FriendRank”. Essentially, it’s a friend recommendation service that looks at your Facebook connections and serves up new friends to share your moments with. This is known as the wedding test, as who would be invited to a wedding.Private vs Public ShareThere are two ways to share your photos and videos to Facebook: first, you can set it up and let Path determine which of your Facebook friends should see the moments. In other words, they figure out which of your Facebook friends you’re connected to on Path and set your privacy settings for that content on Facebook accordingly. Second, you can share with all of your Facebook friends — the more traditional approach.The ability to share more publicly is a new feature than the closest 50 is much appreciated and requested . Path allows users to choose the manner in which items are shared on a limited path network and facebook for all to see. This allows Path to stay more private and for leveraging the largest social network available. Path needs to extend its reach in order to grow and is a likely step in order to widen the audience for Path as well.From Different LensWith the app update, Path is integrating something that may prove to be just as important for the startup: its first revenue stream. The Path app is free, but it will now begin to sell “Lenses,” which take the photos and videos you shoot through your phone and run them through the equivalent of advanced Photoshop filters in real time. Several of the lenses are free, but others – including ones that mimic 8-bit video games and the ambiance of Tron – cost 99 cents each.Morin said the paid Lenses are just one of a number of monetization strategies Path is considering at this time. Path believe that users will be likely to spend on “premium” expression. Path could offer users “the opportunity to buy things to express themselves more authentically,” he said.Path will lead social networking in a different direction that the mass transit type of social networking. Path is funded by KPCB, Index, and First Round.
Tags : Dave Morin, Facebook, Index, KCPB, lens, Mike Volpi, Path, Photo Sharing, Social networking