IRVINE, CA, Nov. 13, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- After a summer of teaser pieces and online commentary about Sqeeqee.com, the latest social media website is making its way through beta testing on several features and is creeping ever closer to changing the way social media operates. The most difficult task for any new startup is answering the tough questions about its features and what really sets their service apart from similar ones already available.
Since it was announced this summer, Sqeeqee has most commonly been referred to as a new social networthing site. By this term, social networthing, the folks at Sqeeqee are creating a concept where individual users can use their everyday social media activities to actually building a brand image of sorts, either for themselves as an individual or for a small business. But how does this differ from the likes of Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and countless others?
Time to Clear the Air
It has been noted in several press releases already this year that Sqeeqee is a combination of the best features on other social sharing websites. Although annoying to some and vague in the minds of others, this is precisely what Sqeeqee aims to provide. Think of a Sqeeqee profile as a massive combination of separate accounts on Facebook, Amazon, eBay, YouTube, Kickstarter, Instagram, and more.
Each of the aforementioned companies offers users a great experience, but they are somewhat limited in their offering. Facebook and Twitter offer the ability to share photos and keep in touch with friends around the globe. Both sites have also grown to become a critical function of businesses large and small, providing a direct link to customers.
Amazon and eBay offer users and businesses alike a marketplace to sell goods; from expensive electronics worth thousands of dollars to hand-me-down clothes that are taking up too much room in a hallway closet. The team at Sqeeqee looked at these features and others across the web, and asked "why can't all of this come in one neat package?"
But the question that still remains in the minds of critics and web surfers is just how do each of these Sqeeqee features compare to those offered by individual competitors? Well now is the time to set the record straight and look at Sqeeqee's brightest features head to head with the competition.
Sqeeqee's Search vs. Google/Bing/Yahoo
At the very top of every Sqeeqee user's page they'll find a search bar none too different from those located on search engines across the web. Web surfers type in Google.com these days out of habit, though there are obviously those fond of Bing or Yahoo instead. Regardless, as Sqeeqee grows users will find that searching the web will be as simple as typing in a query on their Sqeeqee homepage.
As more and more users flock to Sqeeqee and begin inputting data over time, such as videos, photos, links, products, and business and individual profiles, the available database of information that becomes searchable will expand. This means that users will then be able to type in a search term like "coffee shop" and see profiles, cover photos, videos, and items for sale through Sqeeqee that match the search term.
Google and others rely upon information input across the web to build search results, and Sqeeqee users will have that same luxury from each of their individual profile through Sqeeqee's independent social network. This leads to the first opportunity for users to monetize their brand identity on Sqeeqee.
AdSqee vs. AdWords
Along the right side of each individual user's profile page visitors will see advertisements for various products and services generated by AdSqee. Similar Google's AdWords, AdSqee will generate relevant ads to attach to a user's individual profile or that of a business. However, unlike AdWords, AdSqee has an added layer that makes it unique.
Whereas bloggers, businesses, and other social profile pages have ads determined and controlled by AdWords, 50% of the ads placed on Sqeeqee profiles are user controlled. This means that users can have a say in the ads that appear on their profile. This allows users to search for buddies and other contacts with large profiles to place ads for their small business on a profile with a wide viewership.
Additionally, users with those large profiles can monetize their profile by charging a small fee to buddies to place an ad for their small business on a profile. This offers the first layer in Sqeeqee's promised goal of social networthing.
Social Networking on Sqeeqee vs. Facebook, Twitter, Google+
At its heart, Sqeeqee is a social media website just the same as Facebook, Twitter, and Google+. Users can share photos, even with some features similar to Instagram, upload videos and share them across other social platforms, and post to their walls and the walls of other buddies.
Sqeeqee even offers a free email service to registered users. Notice that email, not messaging, was used to describe this service. Sqeeqee's email service allows internal messaging between user profiles like Facebook, but unlike Facebook and others a Sqeeqee user can also send emails from their Sqeeqee account to external email services like Gmail, Yahoo, and others.
There is one added feature here that no other social media platform can lay claim to. Users will be able to upload a background video on their profile that would appear each time buddies visit their page. Rather than a movie that is uploaded to their profile and searchable, this movie will play on the background of a profile page to offer an in-motion snapshot of the individual (or business) represented by that profile.
Photos/Videos vs. Instagram/YouTube/Vimeo
As mentioned above, Sqeeqee users have the ability to upload, post,
and share photos and videos just the same as on competing social
media sites. Users will find the same options for creating and
sharing photo albums on Sqeeqee, as well as similar features to
those on Instagram which allow them to add a sense of uniqueness to
their photos.
Worthy of additional attention is the video upload service on
Sqeeqee. Users can upload as many videos as they want free
of charge with each video having up to 100 MB in size, and
share them in the same manner as other sites like YouTube and
Vimeo. Sqeeqee even provides the option, through unique URLs, to
share videos externally on other social media sites.
Sqeeqee APPs vs. iTunes/App Store/Google Play
The increasingly mobile world we all live in means that users are interacting on social media with greater frequency on smartphones and tablets over laptops and PCs. And while using those tablets and smartphones, users are downloading millions of apps each day. Developers are cashing in creating a plethora of free to download and pay to download apps to entertain and inform.
However, no other service combines social media, app creation, and app creation in one place. Sqeeqee users with the know how to do so can create a mobile app and upload it to Sqeeqee. This allows a developer to create their app, upload it to Sqeeqee, and market the new app to the Sqeeqee network.
SHOP vs. Amazon/eBay
Amazon and eBay are the first stop for millions of online shoppers each day looking for new and used items at affordable rates. With Sqeeqee, it is offering a combined service for users, with each profile including a free shop for users to sell goods (new or used) to other Sqeeqee members. Rather than relying on users searching the web to find deals, Sqeeqee members have a built-in network of users to market products to.
This offers not only a chance for the college student to sell old and gently used items to get some spending money, but it also provides small businesses with an outlet to market goods. Sqeeqee's shop service relies upon PayPal to process transactions. Unlike other sites, Sqeeqee sales under $5 are free of charge to the posting user.
For sales over $5, Sqeeqee charges a flat fee of $.99. So whether users are selling old college textbooks to buddies on their network for $100 or small businesses are selling products for $1,000, Sqeeqee will never ask for more than $.99.
Crowd-Funding on Sqeeqee vs. Kickstarter and IndieGoGo
Crowd-funding is becoming increasingly popular online. For those unfamiliar with the concept, users with a great idea for a product, service, or movie can use crowd-funding sites to pitch an idea to the public and then those who wish to contribute money to the project's completion can donate. Project Info is a feature of each Sqeeqee profile and acts just like Kickstarter and other crowd-funding services, but what about the investor who cannot find a pet project they like?
This is where Sqeeqee again offers a game changer. Through the Share Bank feature a donor looking to provide funding to startup projects can advertise their desire to spread the wealth through Sqeeqee. Donors can inform those looking for crowd-funding what kind of projects they are looking to help fund and even give an estimate on how much they are willing to provide. Nowhere else can the donors plant the seed for an idea in this fashion.
Additionally, Sqeeqee has added Charity Bank as part of its crowd-funding platform. The purpose behind Charity Bank is to crowd-fund for charitable organizations and groups. Users can either create their own charitable project, such as raising funds for disaster relief groups, or they can startup a project to raise funds for established groups like the American Red Cross.
Deals/Coupons vs. Groupon
One of the features Sqeeqee excels at the most is providing small businesses a platform to conduct all their business in one place. Businesses are no stranger to social media, in fact there are probably just as many business profiles on Facebook and Twitter as individual profiles. The difference however is the fact that conducting all of their business in one spot cannot be achieved with those other sites.
Sqeeqee's Deals and Coupons feature allows any user, particularly businesses, to develop sale plans, coupons, and advertise deals all through a user profile. Rather than slapping together a haphazard Facebook post, users can create coupons for buddies and others to download and use to save on products and services.
These deals and coupons, once created by the user, are searchable by anyone on Sqeeqee. In addition to being searchable, Sqeeqee may even select those deals and coupons to highlight on the What's Sqeeqee-ing (trending) section of the site. The point is, users have the control to create and launch campaigns, as well as advertise them across the Sqeeqee network with ease.
Exchange and Pay-it-Forward
Lastly there are two independent features available on Sqeeqee that do not exist in an organized format anywhere else. Each user on Sqeeqee has the ability to operate an exchange system wherein they can search for other users looking to exchanges goods through Sqeeqee. The concept is similar to e-commerce on the site, but with less hassle.
A perfect example would be one family looking to unload some gently used toddler clothes, and another looking to unload some old toys that don't get the same attention they used to. It is possible for each family to simply sell their individual products through the Shop, and search for what the other family is selling. But this comes with a lot of hoops that don't need to be jumped through.
With the exchange the family looking to unload clothes and get new toys can connect with the family looking for more clothes and hoping to unload extra toys from their home. There is no monetary exchange involved (as with the Shop); rather the two sides agree to exchange what they have for the product of the other. The process is much cleaner and quicker than all that searching and selling.
Finally, there is the Pay-it-Forward or PiF feature on Sqeeqee. With the holiday season rapidly approaching, this is the time of year when philanthropists and Average Joes alike try and spread some cheer by donating to those less fortunate. It is always possible for organizations and individuals to donate to established charities, but what if they want to power to touch an individual's life on their own?
With a Sqeeqee profile these individuals can advertise their desire to spread a little cheer this holiday with a $100,000 donation spread out to 100 families in payments of $1,000 each. The individual then has the power to hear from thousands if not millions of applicants and determine for themselves where their money goes and who it helps directly. The concept isn't new, but the ability to perform it so precisely under user-control is.
If there is one takeaway to be had from learning about Sqeeqee it is the fact that the folks behind this new social media project are looking to change the game. Facebook, Twitter, and others offer an outlet for creativity and individuality, but Sqeeqee offers an outlet to build an identity for the world to see.
An all-in-one profile, individuals can connect with buddies, share moments and information, and develop a brand (personal or professional) from the confines of one website with easy to use controls. Gone is the need for multiple accounts on various sharing platforms. Now people can start building their social networth with one account on Sqeeqee.
About Sqeeqee: The World's Most Powerful Social Commerce Platform
Sqeeqee.com, which is free to join, is a social commerce platform designed to enable its members (individuals, students, celebrities, non-profits, established businesses, and startups) to begin moving toward their goals by providing the ability to monetize their social presence, while also establishing long-lasting connections that can assist them in reaching their networthing™ goals.
The Sqeeqee website is now available in eleven languages, including English, Russian, German, Italian, French, Dutch, Simplified Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, Filipino, and Spanish. Sqeeqee provides weekly giveaways for new registered users and offers access to financially rewarding experiences. Seven unique monetization features are included in the Sqeeqee platform: an eCommerce marketplace, 50% profile ad share, 30% referral ad share, 70% mobile download profit share, 30% mobile ad profit share, 30% media ad share, and 70% game development profit share. In short, Sqeeqee makes it possible for users to monetize their social networking experiences every day.
*** For more information about the Sqeeqee platform, readers may visit https://sqeeqee.com.
*** For a glimpse of Sqeeqee's national television commercial, including MTV, readers may visit https://sqeeqee.com/contests/view/5.
*** To learn more about Sqeeqee's Video Contest with a chance to win up to $3,500 in cash prizes, readers may visit https://sqeeqee.com/contests.