Zalongo, The Private Family Unsocial Network

For some obscure reason, people are suddenly starting to realize the dangers of posting too much information on their social media platforms, especially when it comes to oversharing photos of their children online. But the trouble is, with nuclear families and various other assorted family relations getting scattered all across the world, there needs a better way for us to stay in touch. Cue in Zalongo, the “unsocial network for families”.

Zalongo is a private social network limited to your family network – it’s essentially a form of Facebook that’s limited in so many ways (but in a good way). You still have a wall to share photos, videos and other fun stuff such as recipes with your family, but you can assuage any privacy concerns and not have your child freak out at you in the future for posting up an embarrassing picture on a public social network in their obscure past.

The site was first started by Hal Gatewood in 2004, when he created it to help his wife’s family – the Mazzalongos – who were scattered across the United States and Canada as a way to share wish lists for their annual Christmas gathering. When he was working at a marketing agency in Montreal, a colleague spotted him using the site and suggested he open it up to other families, and Zalongo was born.

Zalongo is not free for use, but it’s only US$5/month for the entire family to use all features (there’s a free 30-day trial, though). Privacy has its price, but with all those privacy concerns bandied about these days, we’re pretty sure many families will find paying that price more than worthwhile.