This weekend I was pondering the existence of many of the niche social networks that exist out on the web. A quick look at the growth in traffic for Ning.com shows that there is a huge demand for sites catering to specialized interests. Can’t all of the discussion that takes place on the niche social networks just as easily take place on a site like Facebook or MySpace? Why do we need to have distinct websites for each of these conversations?
Ultimately even a blog can be a social network in theory since it assists in connecting people but in this instance I am referring specifically to social networking websites that enable users to present public profiles of themselves. My online identity has become so distributed that it is occasionally overwhelming. As we age and obtain new priorities, the time available for socializing via the web decreases dramatically.
Wouldn’t it be much more useful to keep all of our conversation contained within one location? It would make for easier management and better organization. While I know that this won’t be happening anytime soon (this is the internet, a distributed platform), perhaps we will see conversation consolidation. Do you think there really is a need for niche social networks? Are you an avid participant of any niche social networks?
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The large generic social networks like Facebook and Myspace are great for keeping in touch with friends, but small social networks offer much more - people just like you who share your same passions.
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See my article on Legal Intellects:
http://tinyurl.com/3dab6w
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If you look at Facebook or MySpace as a monolith, then you are making a strategic mistake. People don't join any of these large social networking sites to interact with a huge number of people, but rather a narrow social network of friends, colleagues, or others with whom they share some tie.
Ultimately, people must choose to participate in the social network(s) that have the most appeal and value to them, regardless of whether they exist on one of the broad platforms or on a more narrowly tailored one.
Also, keep in mind that social networking need not consume a lot of time in the aggregate. Some social networks may encourage constant participation with lots of updates, but others may be used on a much more infrequent basis while still providing value. Think of it as the difference between Twitter (which is frequent and ongoing) versus LinkedIn (which is sporadic and targeted).
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This is a valid point. A year ago, it could have been countered with the fact that niche social networks may have been able to include applications targeted towards their niche audience. However, with the open application platforms, it's now possible to create bespoke communities with any features you want by using applications, and these can even be cross platform (e.g. allowing Facebook app users to interact with MySpace app users).
This is something very relevant, as it is now much easier and cheaper for brands to create custom communities using applications that trying to get users to sign up to whole new social networks.
Josh
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