Like many web users, I'm happy with a clear separation between my MySpace and LinkedIn profiles.
One's for personal stuff (i.e. signing up as many unknown indie bands as friends as possible in the hope that one of them will get big and make me look like a supertalent spotter), and the other is for business contacts.
I'm not sure I'd want the two worlds to come together. However, this appears to be the thinking behind Esociallife, a new networking site that's launching next month, and aims to combine "both social and business interactions".
It seems to be making a catch-all play. On the personal side, there'll be individual sub-communities based around interests, plus gender, alternative lifestyles, and religious / ethnic preferences. But on the other side, there'll be business features including industry forums, private conferencing and employment info.
"We are picking up where MySpace.com left off," says CEO Arnie Fox. "We feel it is important to make sure we are at 100% when we launch our beta testing. Through our proprietary software, Esociallife.com will be the premier address for the global community to gather, socialise, discuss and conduct business, and find information in a safe, user-friendly environment."
Isn't this just trying to be all things to all people? That said, it'll be interesting to see what links (if any) there are between the personal and business sections of Esociallife. Maybe people do want to tell their business contacts how much they love the Black Crowes after all.
On the plus side, too, is the fact that mobile is a factor from the start – albeit initially just for sending text messages from the site to mobile numbers. Hopefully this will be expanded as the service launches.