Here’s the news: PeopleJam just raised some funds from AOL Time Warner’s former COO and the current CEO of TiVo. Here’s the background: PeopleJam is a social network that’s currently in an invitation-only testing mode; membership may or may not, as the homepage suggests, allow you to “take your life to the next level!”
“At PeopleJam, you’ll have opportunities to connect with others who share your goals, ideals and values, as well as members who have been or are going through similar life experiences,” explains an “About Us” section. “You’ll also benefit from the diverse knowledge of hundreds of experts and life coaches who have joined PeopleJam to share advice and illustrative stories through video, articles and blogs on various life topics, including weight loss, relationships, personal finances and purposeful living.”
The description then continues, “By participating in PeopleJam’s community and taking advantage of our easy-to-use features, you’ll be given the chance to act and build upon your hopes, dreams and aspirations.”
I’m going to kind of back away and let you decide for yourself whether you buy that pitch. There’s at least one aspect of the site that I’m quite fond of, however – the picture of a boxer (the dog, not the fighter) at a computer.
And I’ll give Bob Kriegel, a motivational speaker, credit for trying to make an automotive reference. “The thing that’s most important about a goal: passion, baby,” he states on the homepage. “Passion is like high octane fuel in your car. When you’re passionate about something, mountains seem like molehills.” Trouble is, high octane fuel does absolutely nothing for a car unless the car requires it. And if you put regular in a car that needs premium, it’s the molehills that’ll seem like mountains.
Also, I’m not quite sure what’s going on with the site’s “Press Release” section – it only provides a link to Marc Graser’s article in Variety. That won’t interfere with the PeopleJam’s true purpose, however, and to each his (or her) own, etc.
By the way, the amount of funding that PeopleJam received remains unknown, and it’s also unclear when the site will exit its invitation-only period.
