I Link You

Do I really want to know what other people own?

So apparently there are about 4.9 million users on Zebo, a social networking site where users share lists of what they own. This is pretty significant as it is only a site where you see what other people own. I guess people have this inferiority complex with ownership. "I'm not going to be showed up by other people who own more things than I do, so I will either buy more stuff or pretend that I own a lot of stuff to make people feel bad."

You also price each item that you own by linking it to retailers' listed prices. Another way to show the world how much money you have. Instead of spending time and effort to list everything you own, why don't you spend that time volunteering your time for a good cause. Or better yet, instead of spending $300 plus on a new down comforter, donate it to charity.

Admittedly, I am a materialist, and I do enjoying buying new things and showing it off to my friends. However, showing it off to the entire world is excessive and unnecessary. I do understand that users with little or no luxuries would feel inferior to users who own everything; nonetheless, what is the purpose of being on this site to begin with? I wonder if people actually have the time to devote to such sites when they are marginally more useful social networking sites (i.e. Facebook, LinkedIn, or even MySpace).

posted by Koh @ 1:45 PM