Facebox, a new social network that sounds a little too much like Facebook, is getting a few mentions in the comments after going from zero to hero on Alexa over the past 10 days or so. The reason is pretty simple: Facebox isn't a new site, but rather a relaunch of an established brand. The site is the product of Belgian company InCrowd, and began five years ago as a community site called ASL.TO - it then became Redbox, a social network for Belgians. Beginning late last year, they rolled out more "-box" sites across Europe, and this month it seems they're trying to consolidate those under the Facebox brand. Hence the appearance of a site coming from nowhere. At the moment, they're reporting 10 million European users and more than 1 billion monthly pageviews - presumably that's an aggregate of all their existing networks.
Profiles are skinnable,within limits - you have to choose your design from a selection of ready-made skins, and there's no way to add external modules or paste a design from elsewhere (see MySpace layouts). There's also a groups feature called "clans" and a system called "Trust" that dictates whether you can leave comments, sign guestbooks and send private messages. Finally, there's a music section, but this isn't the standard setup of MySpace Music and Bebo Bands: instead, you download a piece of software that monitors your listening habits across iTunes, Windows Media Player and WinAMP - you're then connected to people who share your musical tastes (yep, it's just like MOG).
Facebox is a great service - the only problem is that it's another silo, with no obvious way to insert external widgets, import a blog or share your media outside the site. For those who want everything in one place, it's a great choice, but personally I find it limiting. However, its focus on Europe may be an advantage: the site is available in multiple languages, and already has critical mass in some countries.
Attention Facebox Users!
Mashable's Facebox account is HERE - feel free to add Mashable to your friends list if you sign up, or you're already a member.
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