Lets users create their own mobile social networks.
Croatian Web 2.0 firm Five Minutes Group has launched its new Shoutem service, which lets people create their own mobile social networks.
Shoutem itself is a web-based platform, with users accessing their Shoutem networks via an iPhone or BlackBerry app - with Android to follow soon.
The idea is that people can create their own social networks around specific friend groups or interests, allowing members to message each other and share photos and content. Location-based features are included too.
Examples of niche communities already using the platform include NFL Shouts, WE Harlem and Ranch and Rodeo.
The founders of the first two both suggest that Shoutem offers an alternative to Twitter.
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"There is a lot of NFL presence on Twitter, but it’s just an open space with no groups. We decided we wanted to have a Twitter-like site but just for the NFL community," says NFL Shouts founder Hussein Yahfoufi.
Meanwhile, WE Harlem founder Sergio Lilavois claims that "Twitter is too big, with Shoutem we can keep it focused."
The service is free at its basic level and funded by advertising - which Five Minutes controls although users can pay to remove the ads, and get extra features like domain hosting and additional storage.
