The New Business Of Social Networking

When social networking sites like Myspace and Facebook started gaining popularity, most people became members looking to reconnect with old friends. There is still truth in this today, but now spammers are starting to take over these sites and many users are bombarded daily with fake user profiles pushing some sort of product. Those who keep up with the WEB 2.0 trend are starting to join niche social networking sites, in order to avoid the negatives of the generalized social networking site.

Why is the niche Social Networking Site becoming so popular?

The reason is simple, most people befriend others on these sites because they share some common interest. So why join a networking site where you have to deal with bad user interface, spammers and have to filter through thousands of profiles just to meet others who have common interests? Myspace groups’ are dying and niche social networking sites are gaining strength. Social networking sites today, like gather.com a social networking site for the older generation, and vimeo a social networking site for sharing original and creative video, have evolved into niche sites, catering to specific interests. Many Businesses are taking notice of this trend. One of the main industries taking advantage of this tool is the Association industry.

Why the Association Industry?

According to dictionary.com, an Association is

as·so·ci·a·tion (uh-soh-see-ey-shuhn, -shee)

1. An organized body of people who have an interest, activity, or purpose in common; a society.

The reason associations are taking advantage of social networking site is that association members already share a common interest. Many of these organizations hold events and conference once or twice a year where members can meet and network, so why not extend the networking aspect to the internet? Instead of once or twice a year, members can connect year round.

The Main Benefits

1. Associations can cater to their members

Associations and members benefit by offering their members a way to connect outside of the typical conferences and events. Being niche, these sites can also offer specific features to their industry.

e.g. A social site for Doctors has a “locate a specialist feature” where members can search for local specialists in the area for their patients.

2. Limited membership prevents spam attacks

Niche sites can offer limited membership to prevent spammers from ever signing up. We saw this work with Facebook. Before Facebook was open to the public, only someone with an .edu email was able to sign up which created a niche social networking site for college students. The typical spammer is not going to have an .edu account.

3. Still have all the major benefits of a bigger social networking site

Being niche allows you to take what is great about the major social sites and use them to your advantage. Members can enjoy the benefits that a social networking site offers without the other major hassles. Users can create personal profiles, share documents, video, pictures, and stay in touch with other members year round.

The internet continues to be a valuable tool to businesses. The idea of networking has been taken and extended though to the internet. Instead of having to rely mainly on events and conferences for networking opportunities, they can now network 24 hours a day, which is proving to be a powerful tool for any association.