Chime.in, a brainchild of UberMedia – a developer of some outstanding social media products, such as UberSocial and Echofon – has been launched in late October 2011, but I have just got a chance to try it and my first impression: So far, so good.

I received an update a couple of days ago about the launch of Chime.in. I got it from a mailing list I subscribe to – Mixx’ future development updates. Mixx? Yes – the social networking site that I visited more than Facebook, simply because I like to hang around on it. Let’s say it’s one of my favourite social networking sites. However, early in 2011 Mixx was acquired by UberMedia. The plan we knew was to upgrade the Mixx Classic to a new Mixx a month after the acquisition – something that were failed to realised.

So, as I received the notification about the launch of Chime.in, I checked Mixx.com and there you go – it’s redirected to Chime.in. So it’s official – Chime.in is actually the new Mixx that UberMedia was talking about all this time.

What is Chime.in?

Chime.in is an “interest network” – rather than a social network – that allow users to connect, share, and build communities based on their interests.

There are plenty of features available on Chime.in, but it’s typically social networking site: Write updates (called “chimes”,) tag, like, share, save and comment on chimes.

That being said, Chime.in offers some cool features, such as the ability to post to your Facebook and Twitter account when you write a chime.

However, those are not the best features of Chime.in. I am actually find it refreshing to have Chime.in focuses on interests, for one reason: Less noise. Indeed, you can get updates or share your updates based on your interests only.

How Chime.in can help small business owners and entrepreneurs?

It’s too early to suggest anything, but during my first hour with Chime.in, I see a lot of benefits for small business owners and entrepreneurs to, well, chime in, namely:

1. Business networking and get updates with less noise

Sure, business networking can be done in Linked.in, but with Chime.in, you can have what you have with linked.in, PLUS you can get updates in your timelines (called Chimelines, just like Stream in Google Plus) based on your interests. So no more “look at this funny pet video!” when what you are thinking is finding a new business partner for your printing business.

2. Stay up to date with news from your industry

If your business is related to cloud computing, you can tap into the latest updates from cloud computing chimes. Just enter “cloud computing” into the search bar, and you will be given chimes related to cloud computing, with an option to add “cloud computing” as one of your interests.

3. Build your brand awareness by building a community of brand evangelists

Of course, just like in any other social networking site, you can get followers that will display your chimes in their Chimelines. You can also create a community based on a particular interest. If you done things right, you can have an army of brand evangelists or establish yourself as an expert in your field – your choice.

So – are you ready to Chime.in?

I wasn’t so sure whether Chime.in can replace Mixx, but I can now see many ways I can use Chime.in to build my personal and business brands. I think Chime.in is better than Mixx – and Facebook – in many ways.

I recommend you to give Chime.in a try and get ready to chime in – don’t forget to share what you think of it!

Ivan Widjaya
Chime.in rocks