The latest social networking sensation may be here if Jeremy Greene has his way. If that’s the case, it all started in Waterville.

Greene, a pop/R&B artist who grew up in Waterville and has worked with famed musicians such as Sean “Diddy” Combs and Pitbull, is putting the final touches on a new social networking website called PINGTANK.

“I believe it will be the next social network,” Greene said. “We’re not trying to compete with other sites; we’re trying to find a way to spread posts out quickly.”

Users who sign up for PINGTANK, which was scheduled to go live this week, will be asked what other social networking sites they use, such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Users can upload a photo, video or URL to the site and it will instantly show up on the user’s other social networking sites. The user’s friends can then choose whether to “ping” it, which is an endorsement for the post before it gets shared with other friends; or “tank” it, which sends along a poor review of the post before it’s shared throughout social networks.

“It’s a way for you to really know that I like this and why I like this,” Greene said, adding that the “tank” option gives users the ability to express either emotion when seeing a post. “It’s people’s right to voice their opinion. I think Facebook should have had a ‘dislike’ button a long time ago.”

Greene, 25, grew up in Waterville’s South End and in 2010 filmed his first music video at locations in Maine, including the city’s Hathaway Creative Center. His entertainment success stems from the social networking site MySpace. He said he wanted to make a site that could incorporate all other social networking sites while giving people an opportunity to gain widespread success, as he did.

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“We wanted to figure out a way to launch a site and app that can be successful but not compete with other social networking sites,” Greene said. “We want to be the guys who make people go viral.”

Greene, along with co-founder Derek Myska and Greene’s site promoter, Christopher Dawes, have worked on the site for a couple of years.

The site itself is taking on a simplistic look like that of other social networking sites. It takes a couple of clicks to move a post from PINGTANK to the rest of your social network sites.

A round-eyed, inspired penguin sporting a tie is the social network’s logo, similar to Twitter’s bird logo or Snapchat’s ghost.

“I knew we needed to find some kind of animal or something to represent the site,” Greene said. “It needed a logo and I wanted one that was friendly and people would love.”

Beyond just sharing and critiquing posts from friends and from friends of friends, Greene said, PINGTANK also can be a useful research site for businesses and organizations. A local bar or restaurant could post information about an upcoming promotional event, and users can “ping” or “tank” it as it travels through a variety of social networking sites.

“We’re trying to find a way to spread news and information out quickly to a large amount of people,” Greene said.

Jesse Scardina — 861-9239jscardina@centralmaine.comTwitter: @jessescardina


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