I don't know about you but I get a decent amount of email from LinkedIn and other networking sites. It seems like a new one pops up every day. (Thanks to sites like Ning which make it easy to build one coupled with the gold rush mentality of the web entrepreneur, its no wonder).
MySpace and Facebook still get the most traffic according to Compete.com. Linkedin is a lowly number 8. I don't see Spoke or Jigsaw on the list. I didn't know Twitter was considered a social network. (I thought it was a micro-blogging platform).
It seems the buzz creates its own news about this sector. Earlier in the week the story was about social networking going mobile. (see NYT here) This weekend it was about Fubar and Zivity. Fubar is the online bar and happy hour. (Is this a remake of AdultFriend Finder?) Fubars traffic is climbing the charts. Zivity is an adult content site where models and photogs can hook-up. Zivity just caught $7M in VC.
After FOWA and a number of invites, I am looking for a single place to create one profile and export it to new sites (or sync it with existing profiles). There are 2 possibilities: one is SocialURL. "SocialURL is a social community platform enabling you to organize your online identities. Connnect to all your social network sites with one URL." I signed up this weekend, but I did not like giving my zip code and birthdate. Just one more way they collect advertising data on you.
The other personal portal point would be Zoolit. "Zoolit is a shareable Web page that lists all your personal sites. Your Zoolit Landing Page is always current and up to date, providing the world with all of your personal Websites, Social Networks, Blogs, contact info, and Photo and Video Sharing sites." (I have not signed up to do this yet).
This will all be ad-supported, but I just don't see how that will happen. Social Networks will go long tail -- smaller niches will do well, because it will be focused both in content and in ads. I can see the Gen Y crowd using mobile apps more than say me. I like a screen I can read without squinting. I also like a full keyboard. But you never know. Imagine waiting while a MySpace with all its widgets and slideshows and crap loads?? Imagine the network bogged down as everyone on the train does it? I'll wait and see. (And of course blog about here).
