Social Networking Goes Niche

MySpace and Facebook, with 90 million and 7.5 million members respectively, lead the way in the social networking marketplace. But, as MSNBC/Newsweek reports, the new trend seems to be niche networking sites that focus on particular interests, especially politics.

We all know about Zaadz, which now boasts over 10,000 members. But there are other new services, such as Essembly, with over 17,000 members, and MyGOP, launched by the Republican National Committee (the DNC is working on its own version of a social/political networking site to keep pace with the GOP).

Essembly sounds kind of cool, in a debate team sort of way:

Essembly, designed last year by Joe Green, 23, a friend and former Harvard classmate of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, is the emerging online social network of the serious-minded. Like Facebook and MySpace, the site is free and lets users browse friends' photos and personal information. But unlike more organic networks, it actively promotes intellectual discussion. In the spirit of collegiate debate, Essembly users spar over declarations of opinion called "resolves." They also identify other members as "allies" and "nemeses" based on ideological similarities. "On Facebook, people rack up 'friends' like there's no tomorrow," Green says. "What really is missing is a connection between people based on how they think."

That connection can be surprising. Chris Watson, a die-hard libertarian, was shocked to find himself agreeing with a socialist on the issue of gun ownership. To downplay partisan labels, the site calculates the "ideological compatibility" of all members. It's the political equivalent of a dating survey. ("You and Amber are 75 percent compatible!") And often, as in romance, opposites attract. Many Essembly users report that, when it comes down to the issues, they have surprisingly high levels of compatibility with people they thought were their nemeses. In fact, Watson, a former high-school debater, says he learns more from his ideological opposites on Essembly than from his allies. And for those with amorous inclinations, the site might just offer the most in-depth dating recon since Google. Users can see a potential paramour's views on everything from the current Middle East conflict to the sanity of right-wing opinionator Ann Coulter.

I'm now a registered user and engaged in a debate on stem cell research. What fun!

The article really focuses on how these networks will be used for political purposes -- even the ones that arenot organized around that ideal.

With elections this fall and in 2008, campaign directors need new ways to rally voters. Scott Heiferman, the CEO of Meetup.com, the pioneering social-networking site that helped give Howard Dean early momentum in the 2004 presidential campaign, predicts social networks will soon eclipse television in terms of impact on politics. "Expect candidates to be on millions of MySpace and Facebook buddy lists, for sure," he says. "It's a big thing, a real populist revolution." Still, Heiferman believes political networking only reaches its full effectiveness when users take the next step: meeting in person. "People need to use the Internet to get off the Internet," he says.

My best guess is that social networking sites will become captive audiences for political ads, but that they won't become centers for politically minded people to gather. I suspect that the blogopshere will remain the destination for politically minded folks -- places like the Daily Kos and MyDD on the left (don't know where the righties hang out).

Any thoughts?


Technorati Tags: Social Networking, Politics, Essembly, Zaadz, MySpace, Facebook