Does the world need another social network? Jonathan Glick thinks so. As CEO of Sulia, Glick believes the product his company is working on is what's next on the social network's evolutionary chart.
Unlike Facebook, Twitter, and practically every other social network, Sulia doesn't implore you to amass followers or friends. Instead, users are asked to subscribe to and discuss topics. For example, as you can see from the screengrab above, the topics can be as broad as "Tech & Science" and as specific as a brand and company like "Apple."
One of the things that's difficult about organizing content in the way that Twitter, Tumblr, and Facebook do it today without a subject is that a marketing message thrown into the middle of that feels a little bit like spam. — Jonathan Glick, CEO
This is done as much for the user as it is for Sulia's bottom line. Unlike other social networks, Sulia isn't waiting to figure out how to become profitable.
"Marketers are especially interested in speaking to particular interests and particular audiences," said Glick to Business Insider. "One of the things that's difficult about organizing content in the way that Twitter, Tumblr, and Facebook do it today without a subject is that a marketing message thrown into the middle of that feels a little bit like spam."
Glick hopes that the ads that Sulia users see will be more welcomed because they fit a desired topic. So if you're reading through the "Apple" topic you'll probably see ads for iPhone and iPad cases.
Sulia's website is the network's hub. As of now there's no mobile app. When you first visit the site you're asked to sign up with either your Facebook or Twitter account. Pulling from your followers, friends, Likes, etc, Sulia suggests a number of topics for you to follow, or, "Favorite."
Once that's done, your Sulia page is turned into a real-time feed of news and posts culled from hundreds of sources and other members. Everything is laid out big and beautifully in what amounts to a mix between a RSS feed and a Facebook News Feed.
To write a post about a topic, you simply go to the page, and click the compose message button. You can have the post shared on your Twitter and Facebook feeds, as well.
If you spend some time on the site and find some people that constantly deliver good stories on a certain topic, you can choose to follow them. All the people you follow are put into a separate category and you'll only see the posts on the topics that you like.
So, is Sulia the social network of the future? It feels different enough to be. It mixes all the new popular aesthetics into a novel package that provides a new easy way to stay up on the stuff you're most interested in.
Head to Business Insiderto watch a video interview with CEO Jonathan Glick.
