Is it possible to create the pub experience with a website? CherryTAP is poised to give it a shot.
“Sometimes you want to go
Where everybody knows your name,
And they’re always glad you came.
You wanna be where you can see,
Our troubles are all the same.
You wanna be where everybody knows your name.”
- Theme Song from “Cheers”
Social networking sites aren’t new. Pubs definitely aren’t new. But with the launch of CherryTAP, it looks like the internet has combined the two for the first time.
In some ways, CherryTAP is similar to MySpace. It’s free to join. You put up a profile, whether detailed or not is up to you, and upload pictures if you’d like. Users can leave comments, browse profiles, or send messages – fairly standard activities for a social site.
But unlike MySpace, you’re not constantly picking your way around banner or pop-up ads. They don’t exist on CherryTAP. And CherryTAP seems to work hard to keep the pub theme intact, even down to the bouncers (member volunteers who make themselves available to help newbies as well as make sure that things don’t get out of control or to intervene if attention becomes unwanted).
In another twist, CherryTAP members can earn points for browsing, commenting, uploading photos, and other activity on the site. Earning points can move you up to different cherry levels, unlocking additional site features as you go. You also earn virtual dollars that you can use to buy virtual gifts for other members – flowers, beer, candy, all the necessities of flirtation.
But can an internet site really recreate a pub feel? Good question, and one I don’t think can fairly be answered just by surfing the site for a few minutes or reading a couple of reviews. With that in mind, in the interests of scientific research, I’ve joined the site. I’m going to spend a few months hanging out in the pub to see if CherryTAP lives up to its promise, and reporting back here to keep everyone up to date on my progress.
So if you’re a cherry, feel free to look up TheBeerLady and say hello!
Do you think a virtual pub can work? Come talk about it!
