The Daily O’Collegian

If you still have time to spare after updating your Facebook status or sending messages on MySpace, there is a new outlet for online communication.

Qlique, a social networking Web site, will offer live and interactive quizzes, games, instant messaging, chat rooms, as well as the traditional profiles and wall-posting capabilities of Web sites such as Facebook and MySpace.

Brenda Miller, campus development manager and media contact, said it was created for college students. Unlike Facebook and Myspace, the network will remain available only to college students.

“The biggest thing is the live interaction and the instant responses,” Miller said. “Facebook and Myspace are limited to profiling and messages. Qlique is about entertainment. You are doing fun things with people.”

Interactions on Qlique are done in “real time,” which means people are engaged with one another at the same time through the network, said founder and CEO Andy Field.

“It’s just like you are at a gathering with people,” Field said. “You are able to interact with people right then and there. It helps people feel the spontaneity of being in the same environment with others.”

Qlique allows users to jump into the “social LANscape” and see what is going on at a college.

Students can challenge users at other schools to games, drop into their networks and host meetings online.

Qlique is unique because the opportunity for live interactions comes into play in the user’s experience. Field said Qlique is about moving from a social utility to a social life.

“We have our online experiences, and we have our real world experiences,” Field said. “They are coming together more and more. Why should we be limited to just looking at a profile and posting a message?”

Field, who began planning the site two years ago, said he came up with the idea through his background as a filmmaker. He applied elements of film making and social engagement to create the Web site.

“I loved being a film director because I loved creating a common audience experience where people get together for a shared emotional experience,” Field said. “I looked at social networking and looked into the future and saw that social networking has some of those elements because it’s about people.”

Qlique is not only designed to entertain students with interactive features but also to offer new features regularly, Miller said.

“The best thing about it is that it will be constantly evolving and adding new features,” Miller said. “Because of the technology, you are able to do that and grow with the students.”

Ariel Morris, a marketing junior, said Qlique sounds like another Facebook, especially because Facebook is adding more interactive features.

“Qlique’s perk is that it is only available to college students,” Morris said. “You know what you are getting into.”

Qlique is still in its initial stage. A major launch date is not set, but the network is due out within months. Field said major components ranging between self-expression and entertainment are in the works.

“It’s just a start,” Field said. “We put out the initial stuff and we’re adding all kinds of collaborative entertainment. It’s a way for people to be creative and to laugh and get to know people by having fun together.”

To login in, visit http://www.qlique.com.