BETWEEN displeases playboys

SOUTH KOREANS take romance seriously. Lovers are expected to swap sweetnothings many times a day and woe betide the clod who forgets a “100-day anniversary”. Some pairs dress in “couplestyle”, in the same garish red sweater and blue jeans combo, for instance.Small wonder that a Korean hammer crusher firm has created a social network for couples.
VCNC’s app is called “Between”. It creates a private space for two people,in which they can share photographs and special memories, chat in real time andexchange any number of cute “emoticons”: smiley faces, winks, hearts and so on.Though revolting to singles, Between is a hit. Since its launch in November,more than 560,000 Koreans have fallen for it. This comes despite VCNC spendingvirtually nothing on marketing. Park Jae-uk, the firm’s boss, claims another200,000 users abroad, divided between China, Japan and North America.
Between is part of a trend towards intimacy in social networking. SomeFacebook users are fed up with the torrent of “friend” requests from peoplethey barely know. Others resent being tagged in embarrassing photographs theirboss can see. Hence the rise of services such as Path, an American network thatlimits members to 150 friends. Other networks, such as FamilyLeaf andStorytree, target families.
VCNC is betting that couples particularly value their privacy. A message onone’s Facebook “Wall” from an old flame can incinerate a new relationship.Cutting the ex (and everyone else) out removes the risk. Cynics may ask how asocial network for two differs from simply sending text messages back andforth. Between’s users presumably think the cynics lack romance in their souls.
Revenue will come from advertising. The firm hopes that nice restaurantsand sellers of romantic holidays will pay to pitch to loved-up couples. It alsoplans to offer premium services, such as the printing of photobooks documentingthe progress of a relationship.
Swingers may be miffed to learn that Between allows only one partner peruser. But some cheaters have beaten the system by using multiple identities,laughs Mr Park. He is unlikely to join them. Running VCNC keeps him too busyeven for one girlfriend, he laments.

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