A Social Network for Couples Only

A social network is targeting couples who want to spend their time online with just each other, as niche-based social media initiatives attract users and the advertisers who market to them.

VCNC, a South Korean company founded by five developers, has introduced its latest app, "Between," which provides a private place for customers to chat, share photo albums and store memories behind closed "doors."

Between targets mainly Asian users and works on a mobile platform rather than online like Facebook or Google+. It allows users to build a private archive by entering the phone number of their significant other into the app.

VCNC released Between in English, Chinese, Japanese and Korean in November, and within two weeks more than 45,000 users signed up. More than 62,000 users have downloaded the app.

While the customers appreciate the privacy, VCNC, like any other social networking company, likely hopes to earn money from them. The couples are likely a strong customer base to attract advertisers marketing products and services for couples, such as vacations, gift ideas and more.

Niche social networks are becoming popular as people who are concerned about privacy start to form their own groups away from the prying eyes of strangers. For example, RedRover is both a guide to kid-friendly activities and restaurants nearby and a parent-focused social network that banks on the idea that parents will only be comfortable doing this with friends with children of their own.

The Between app likely won't take on Facebook anytime soon, unless its users suddenly start pairing off in twos and heading into their private rooms. But Facebook has made forming social networks a prime target for many developers, likely encouraged by the social giant's advertising success.

Facebook, the world's largest seller of online display ads, is set to collect over $2 billion from ads this year. The social network's more than half a billion users that visit the site several times a day, provide a steady stream of clicks to big-name companies such as Coca-Cola, JP Morgan Chase and Adidas.

Between likely won't achieve that kind of success, but even if it can attract a tiny fraction of that kind of revenue, it will be wildly successful. The app is a free download, and as more couples discover the service, its developers may well discover the value in people who just want some private one-on-one time.

A Social Network for Couples Only originally appeared at Mobiledia on Thu Dec 22, 2011 3:27 pm.

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