All this buzz about social networking and the Facebook craze has sparked a backlash. No surprise, I suppose--I find it amusing that there's been a backlash in both directions. Nosoproject.com is an anti-social networking site, which is also pretty anti-social. The site says it wants to help people "temporarily disengage" from the online social networking phenomenon.

The site enables users to create "non-events." They set up a meeting at a local cafe or bookstores. But the users don't actually meet, they show up and get a cup of coffee or browse the books, but they don't actually talk to each other. Some call it an inverted flash mob. And there's never much of a mob--the events are capped at 10 people.

And since social networking is all about putting your profile up for the world to see, here, you're basically anonymous, just a number, with no photo. I personally can't imagine wandering through a bookstore wondering who else was there for the same reason. Check out this sample event in a coffee shop. As you might guess, NOSO isn't the project of cut-throat entrepreneurs, but rather its creators have background in urban art.

On the other extreme Wannago.com is a modified online dating site--formerly called "MatchActivity." It's MeetUp meets Match.com meets FaceBook. The idea behind Wannago is that users are connected (in real life, not online) based on events (parties, concerts etc) that they "wanna go" to. You insert your zip code and the activity you're interested in pursuing (you can pick from some options--Sushi, Hiking, bowling) or insert your own.

Questions?  Comments?