Social Networking for the Faithful

Web surfers are flocking to faith-based social networks, sometimes as an alternative to MySpace

by Catherine Holahan

Anyone who wants to join Xianz, a Christian social network, needs to abide by a set of rules that read more Ten Commandments than terms of use. Rule No. 2, for instance, bars cursing and "derogatory words." The next one bans name-calling: "You may express your disagreement with someone's point-of-view, but personal attacks…are prohibited."

Compared with the relatively permissive atmosphere of such leading social networks as News Corp.'s (NWS) MySpace, the ground rules make Xianz sound downright restrictive, liable to drive away many of the teenage and twentysomething audiences flocking to social networks these days.

On the contrary. Xianz is among a bevy of new religion-affiliated sites that are drawing the faithful from across the Web in growing numbers. Year-old Xianz, which bills itself as the faith-based MySpace, has grown to 500,000 unique visitors and has 35,000 registered members, says co-founder Bob Hutchins. Shmooze, a site catering to the global Jewish community and others interested in the Jewish faith and culture, and its affiliated social networks have 200,000 members, according to Chief Executive Reuven Koret. Naseeb, a social network focused on the Muslim community, has more than 300,000 registered members.

Kindler, Gentler Networks

The few hundred thousand members on any one religious network can't compare with MySpace's 100-million-plus members. But the proliferation of these sites, many with a few thousand to a few hundred thousand members, shows they're gaining traction. A Google (GOOG) search for "religious social networks" returns 48 million links and hundreds of sites. Many of the names are plays on MySpace or Friendster: Christianster, MyGodlyPlace, and Jewster.

And for many members, part of the appeal of these online communities is that they're a sort of anti-MySpace, with stringent rules on out-of-bounds behavior. Allison Boyle, 18, has both a MySpace page and a Xianz page. But she prefers meeting new people on Xianz because she says MySpace lacks appropriate boundaries. "The people on MySpace seem drawn to the fact that explicit things are not off-limits," she says in a chat room conversation with a reporter. "A certain percentage of MySpace guys have a half-naked girl as a backdrop…or they curse nonstop and talk about things that could be considered pornographic."

Xianz's Hutchins, a faith-based marketing veteran, says that he saw an increasing need for religious sites—and their stricter codes of conduct—as well-known social networks grew bigger and pushed out the boundaries of acceptable behavior. "There were a lot of issues with some other online social networks," says Hutchins, adding that he and his partner thought "what if we could provide a safe environment where people didn't have to worry about those things?"

Avoiding Sexual Predators

Such "things" include reports of sexually predatory behavior toward minors. On May 14, attorneys general from eight states sent a letter to MySpace pushing the company to do more to keep predators from the site. The prosecutors said an investigation turned up thousands of known sexual predators on MySpace and asked MySpace to hand over information on the users. MySpace said it is prohibited by law from turning over the information, but that it has recently implemented software dedicated to identifying and removing predators from online communities (see BusinessWeek, 4/23/07, "The Marshal of MySpace").

Of course Xianz and other religious networks can't guarantee sexual predators, pedophiles, and con artists won't try to exploit their sites. However, they believe the religious affiliation and the tone it sets for user interaction can be a deterrent. Xianz even appoints monitors who notify staff of inappropriate content and members whose behavior doesn't jibe with the rules. Dreamwebspace.com, a network developed by Christian game maker Left Behind Games (LFBG), has "live monitoring" and profanity filters it says let it weed out inappropriate material.