Online social network, Zooof.com uses the six degrees principle, to show how people are related to each other, across the globe. The website, which describes itself as an online genealogy service and social network, officially went beta on December 1, 2006 and is now opening its doors to the public.
Zooof.com aims to break down cultural barriers and political barriers to show everyone how much alike they really are. The site strives to bring people together in the virtual world, through the common connections they share through family — even with celebrities, kings and presidents.
The site invites people to join and, in viral fashion, to watch family members working together to build their family tree online and adding other family members. Every member creates a profile and is invited to join the effort, building on what has already been begun by the family’s 'founder'. Soon, the family tree will extend to other families, and other countries, linking common friends and past acquaintances to one another.
Zooof.com is now planning to introduce several new features and tools in the next few months, including the option of uploading genealogy files, and will continue to improve its current Web-based software. The site also has an interactive game available called 'Zooof Explorers' in which players hand flags to other members around the world to generate points, spreading Zooof's message of 'we’re all one big family'. The more unusual the locales and persons the flag visits, the more points are generated. Each transfer is documented by a photo uploaded to the site, creating viewable slideshows and running tabs of points kept in the Zooof database. Whichever flag makes the most incredible journey 'wins'.
Zoof members can also discover, expand and maintain family ties by tracing their ancestry, building a contemporary interactive family tree, inviting family members to a private environment, chatting, mailing, sharing, and even writing a biography on the site.
