東西 | dongxi

Though released last year, the social network Path made another big splash with their latest update. So what makes Path different than other social networks? While services like Facebook try to push you to “friend” as many people as possible, Path limits the total number of connections, acknowledging that in reality, most people’s true friend count is much smaller than what we often see on Facebook. In a way, it’s supposed to be about quality, not quantity.

Path remains mobile-focused and feels like an amalgamation of several other social networks (Instagram, Foursquare, Twitter, Facebook). Functions include geo-tagging, photo/filter uploading, music and location check-ins and your standard status updates.

While it all sounds like a great deal, I personally finding a few challenges with this service.

1. TMI – It feels a bit strange to say about social network, but I found myself asking if Path had crossed the line in having a bit too much information. Even if you choose not to share yourself, you often find your friends posting their current location (not always by choice, but that’s another point) and the times they wake and sleep. It also keeps track of who’s viewed which post. For me, it all reaches the verge of stalker creepiness.
2. Settings Issues: By default, Path will occasionally share your current location, automatically. It’s opt-out, meaning you have to turn this function off. It took me forever to figure out. It turns out that the Android app does NOT come with any ability to change the settings. Yes, you heard me. If you download and setup Path for an Android device, you’ll be bombarded with all notifications as well as periodic automated posts disclosing your location. I was able access the settings on the iOS version and supposedly there are ways to change it on the site as well. The main online site, however, isn’t the easiest to navigate. It’s a bit ridiculous that the difficulty to just change one’s settings rivals that of Facebook.
3. Function: Though Path replicates the functionality of several apps and services, it doesn’t replace any of them. It just adds another service to use. Since pictures and geo-tags aren’t embedded in the tweet itself (one would have to link out to see all that), I still prefer Twitter for public posts. I use Foursquare for reviews and tips on top of my check-ins. At most, this might replace Instagram… when the photo filter option becomes available for Android.

While Path isn’t necessarily a bad service, there’s definitely still a lot of work needed before I can fully recommend it to others. I won’t abandon it either, though. I’ll still give it a shot for the next couple of weeks. It’s definitely nice to have a niche group that I can share with, without having to worry about my distant aunts “liking” every random post I put. Maybe it will be the right path.