The Desi Blog Launches

ApnaSpace Rate Desi Network has just launched the ApnaSpace Desi Blog focusing on desi youth matters, news, opinions, entertainment reviews, interviews and more. There are very few stars and category defining blogs in the desi blogsphere, hopefully this new blog will add some quality content in to the mix.

MySpace Desis

I won't lie to you, I have a myspace profile (rate_desi). Almost everybody does. But does desis really want to be on MySpace, or are they doing it because everybody in their class or schools doing it... and they don't want to be left out as the brown kid who doesn't use MySpace.

But I'm not a hypocrite, and don't condone being on MySpace. I think web users are savvy enough today to be members of multiple social networks. So if you have a MySpace, why not also get an ApnaSpace? I can see that there are those why really don't want to be associated with their race... but that's your choice. Remember being a desi is not a curse, and there's are some very interesting desis out there.

ApniSpace Desi Network

Looks like the Desi MySpace Project is coming under heavy attack from all over the place. Amateur web developers are jumping on to the band-wagon like crazy, and new ApnaSpace clones are popping up every day. Take the latest example, ApniSpace. Nothing more than a clever play on the words, Apni is the feminine equivelant of the word Apna, both of which mean "mine" or "our" in Hindi/Urdu.

We contact ApnaSpace admins regarding this matter, and although, like always, they feel that this just another pathetic attempt to gain a fast foothold in the market, they are countering and have registered appropriate domain names, like ApniSpace Desi Network.

Desi MySpace?

Recently, desi picture rating portals have evolved into full-featured desi myspace clones, like the ApnaSpace Desi Network. Although ApnaSpace seems like the first uncanned desi youth portals, other entrants into the market are following the old-fashioned technique of putting up canned script, where all sites look the same sans the title image and name. One such site is desimyspace.com. When we contacted ApnaSpace admin's on their view on this new site, they didn't really have much to say, accept for that desimyspace seems to be copying text from ApnaSpace work by word. The admin's did let me know that they are not threatened by such amatuer sites although they do consider piracy seriously.

So there you have it folks... the best alternative to MySpace for desis, or the Real Desi MySpace, in still the ApnaSpace Desi Network.

Desi Rater dot com

DesiRater dot com is another hotornot imitator for the desi audience. It suffers from the same flaws as all other i-rater powered sites out there: mis-proportioned thumbnails makes any picture look ugly. The community is not that bad but not that great either, forums seem to be rarely used and everything is killed by anonymous commenting, something that has all but disappeared from mainstream sites like rate desi, and ApnaSpace Desi Network.

We'll give the site a 3/10 just for having a small and a bit vibrant community. They can improve if they upgrade to a better script, disable anonymous commenting and take out that annoying Flash poll that reloads with every page refresh.

DesiFaces dot com

At the time of this review, DesiFaces has a little over 4000 members. That's not bad, now if they could have gotten the website design right. Similar to RateDesi, this site is also using the i-Rater script. My main objection here is the color scheme, I mean since when is black the default background color for a community based website (this isn't a hackers club!) and especially for a desi one. And, very, I mean very clearly, we could have done without that Aftab photo on the top menu. That clearly shows that the web-design is quite immature... oh, and the face reflection in the sun glasses doesn't help much either. Who knew rating desi photos would be so popular that every Tom, Dick and Harry would come up with a website.

I'll give this site 3/10.

ApnaSpace.com Desi Network

ApnaSpace seems like a new entrant in to the rate desi pictures / desi hot or not market. Although the number of members on this site is not as big as some of the other websites we have reviewed, the site definitely has a lot of potential for growth. I am impressed by the quality of website here, especially compared to some other sites.

The site extras, such and the "versus" picture to picture competition, and customizable profiles are a big advantage over the traditional rate-picture-go-2-next technique.

We'll give this site a healthy 8/10.