MyKin.Us Loses Promotional Volkswagen Bus in Tragic Fire; Free Website Continues Growth with over 4,000 Social Networkers.

CORAL SPRINGS, Fla. -- MyKin.Us co-founders Mike Basten and Zach Smith want people to know that it's all about social networking. When their only promotional tool (doubling as their only mode of transportation as well) suffered a literal melt-down, it was a fellow VW bus aficionado alerted to their conundrum by a posting on a website who came to their rescue. That's why they love social networking.

Two-months into a MyKin.Us promotional tour across the U.S., the six-month old Internet start-up's 1971 renovated Volkswagen bus caught fire and burned to the ground. The VW bus represented over half of the company's hard assets. The Captain Crunch (strapped to the roof) provided to them by sponsor Quaker Oats, a built-on basketball hoop, some blue and white shag carpeting, a rock used in place of a parking break and one laptop were among the fatalities on the lonely road near Grants Pass, OR. Neither of the two passengers was injured. When they posted their conundrum on LoveMyBus.com, an Oregon VW owner picked them up and drove them to the Portland airport the next day.

"The VW logo is all that remains of our mobile office and promotional tool," Mike Basten, MyKin.Us co-founder said. "The good news is that the website has never been better utilized. We're well over 4,000 users who have joined us in only four months since launch." Basten added that MyKin.Us services were never interrupted by the vehicle fire because the website runs through a high-speed internet server system based on land, not in a VW bus.

"MyKin.Us is unique," Basten said. "While it allows users to connect with their social groups, such as families, we have eliminated open profiles in order to keep it safe. We gave the site a fun look to encourage families to use it which we hope will lead to its positive use. The site provides that a user's profile remains unseen by non-approved friends or family members. Each participant has to be invited to become a part of the user's network. Unlike blogs and public spaces on the Internet which are open to anyone, MyKin.Us postings are closed, except to the group of people who have been invited to the network," Basten added. "We want people to use it with their family, but that's not to say it's limited to just that. Your network could be a group of old college friends, military buddies, and could even be a group of former co-workers. The point is, as the creator, you're choosing who may participate."

MyKin.Us doesn't stop with simple photos, however. "The Fridge" is on every profile within the network. "You can post onto a person's "Fridge" to send them a quick get-well, or reminder message," Basten said. "The letters look like the colored magnet letters that we use on real refrigerators, so it's certainly an attention-getter when someone logs onto the network."

MyKin.Us also has a recipe sharing section, a photo gallery, family mapping systems to plan a reunion or just to see where everyone has migrated from the original home area. There is even a calendar where birthdays, anniversaries and family events can be tracked. "With MyKin.Us' event calendar, you'll never forget another birthday or anniversary," Basten said, smiling. "My mother loves it. I actually remembered to call her on her birthday this year."

MyKin.Us recently added a Family Tree system where family lineages can be built. "And," Basten said, "we've built in an RSS feed so that you are notified whenever a change is made by a site participant. Whether it's a message on your 'Fridge' or a whole new set of baby photos from your brother-in-law in another state, you'll be notified that there's been a new posting."

MyKin.Us is a social networking website launched in March, 2006 by two Solon, IA friends. Basten and co-founder Zach Smith attended separate universities in Iowa and reunited over the Christmas holiday one year, where MyKin.Us was developed. Smith had been involved in social networking as a hobby for about two years. A third partner, Scott Guptill, also originally of Solon, IA, recently joined Basten and Smith.

"In the bus fire, we lost every piece of clothing, shoes, camping gear, dishes--you name it," Basten said. "But it was mostly losing the bus that got to me. I really liked it because we put a lot of work into and it helped us show a lot of families and extended family-type groups how they can stay connected through MyKin.Us."

The bus was acquired and completely restored, purely for the MyKin.Us trio's own social networking and website promotion.