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Comment by WalterSear | Hacker News Reader

Don't.

I understand your dislike but this is NOT about mis-using personal data to inflate my network. Think about this: What's the good of having a social networking application without a complete social network??

Its simple: I desire a solid option for creating "passive" profiles so that the early majority of users can see the not-yet-active late majority. See the vision?

It makes perfect sense, but there's a problem with this approach. The information in the passive profiles will be nothing new to most users, who already have their friends' contact info and an idea of what they all look like. So a pre-populated social network like the one you're talking about would be much closer to a phone-directory than anything truly "social."

And I know that passive profiles are supposed to be there as a crutch for early adopters, but it doesn't seem to add much in the way of value or positive UX. If anything, having the site start as a directory might just perpetuate its use as one.

Ok, but what are you suggesting? An empty network with each user having maybe 5-10 friends within the first 24 hours? Won't last.

Bottom line is this: If "Johnny" can't find something on that cute brunette from Arts 101, We're toast. Get it?

I'm not trying to make full profiles for inactive users. I'm simply searching for a method to allow "Johnny" to find "Katy" within seconds of joining my social network. He clicks "add", she gets an email message. Done.

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