From a Ziff-Davis email bulletin:

QUOTE:

Social Network for Losers

Can't find a friend? Too introverted to socialize? Leave it to the guys at Microsoft to solve the problem for you. Friendster, MySpace, even LinkedIn are for the cool, connected folks. Now there's a social network for shut-ins. Our story has all the details on this new network, called Wallop, including what makes it different. Is it really necessary to create a social network for the stereotypical socially inadequate scraggly-bearded pimply-faced closet dweller? Microsoft Thinks So.

END QUOTE

(The link is to eWeek: Microsoft Tries for a Social Wallop, By Ben Charny, April 26, 2006. Links there to what Microsoft has to say.)

Note that most "social networking sites" require you to "give permission" to the specific friends who are permitted to view and post to your "pages." To participate in a couple of the most popular, you must be in attendance at a "recognized school," and your school must confirm your attendance. Other specializations are popular(?).

This can be a tremendous problem for those who have no friends, (or can't remember who they are). Those of us who are just plain "shy" can also find it difficult to attract even others of similar "wallflower" inclination. (vertical planar surface enhancing personalites, for the PC).

The proposed new site, Wallop, offers to analyse your posts for content and style, and match you with "compatible" people.

The obvious difficulty, even for a few of our 'catters, is that like personalities may clash, especially if they're "aggressive" and too much alike.

But the obvious difficulties of matching compatible "slaves" and "masters," or "Spammers" with "Responders" (badly needed here?) seem something of a challenge, even for the most gifted of "Microserfs."

Perhaps suitable algorithms and matching criteria can be suggested by someone here?

For obvious reasons, suggesting appropriate "cat - to - cat" matches is probably not advisable.(?)

John