One of the (many) things that makes Multiply different than the hordes of generic social networking-type services available are relationships.

On Multiply, your contacts are more than just generic "friends" – and your relationships with them are more than just a simple title. The relationship type you choose will determine how much of your contact's network you become connected to through your relationship with them. In addition, relationships not only help you determine which posts on your message board are worth reading... but also help us determine which users should be in your network. All relationship types serve to include new people in your network, save for one – Online Buddy.

While we realize that people may relate differently to those they know exclusively via the Internet, within the context of Multiply, the Online Buddy relationship connects users to one another, while not further connecting them to other users in one another's networks. This relationship type is great for, say, keeping up to date with someone who posts interesting content, but may not be someone you know well enough to accept into your network.

So if you have someone that you'd like to share with, but don't quite want to entrust with the immense responsibility of also connecting with the people you know, the Online Buddy relationship is there for you!