New social networking sites continue to pop up every day or rather more and more sites are adding MySpace-like social networking features -- the latest, according to Paidcontent.org who snagged a screenshot, is the NHL. I've been trying to figure out why social networking has become the DNA of online Web communities right now. In the early days of the Internet, communities sprung up around interests with bulletin boards and chat. Some would become popular while others would remain ghost towns, depending on that community's reason for existing, the quality of moderation, etc. Somehow the ability to create your own personal network of people online has become an essential ingrediant to building successful communities online. While the general social networking space is becoming completely overcrowded, it will be interesting to see whether the topical or niche social networks will take off. Here's my early morning, not nearly caffeinated enough theory on why this functionality is so popular with young people:

It's about being visible online. Back when the only people online were true "geeks" nobody really wanted to plaster their photos everywhere. WIth the Web now being for everyone and the explosion of reality TV, profiles on social networking sites have become the ultimate reality show all about you. Community has shifted from groups of people connecting to INDIVIDUALS connecting. Profile pages have become shrines to who you are, plastered with photos of you and your friends, your favorite songs or videos, lists upon lists of what you like or don't like.

It's about control. You get to cast your reality show. You pick your friends and can fire them from your profile at any time. You can make stuff private or exclusive. You can even make large numbers of friends feel exclusive. You can broadcast your message to a select group of people. You can customize your page, your settings, etc. This generation has grown up with the tools create their own virtual worlds, and yet has been the most controlled generation offline -- the most parented, the most scheduled, etc. Profiles give them a place to exercise some control over their world.

Do you have to have this tool set in order to be a successful online community? Do young people just expect it to be there? Sites like Daily Kos and Television Without Pity don't have social networking functionality yet, although I would argue they are very successful communities based around people who are passionate about politics or their favorite TV shows. Would adding social networking functionality enhance these communities or take them to the next level?

P.S. via MarketingVOX, eMarketer just released a survey of 16-24 year-olds about their favorite Websites. It was broken out by gender. Facebook beat MySpace for both males and females. Google also beat Yahoo! with both genders. This is what happens when you [MySpace] are bought by a major corporation and are overexposed in the media. And while I truly applaud the efforts of Common Sense Media and MySpace to get the word out about online safety -- using a major FOX star like Keifer Sutherland makes it feel super corporate. Maybe if they used some of the actual stars of MySpace (homegrown), the campaign would feel less media conglomerate-y.

P.P.S. What ever happened to chat? Do any websites have scheduled chats with guest celebs or authors any more or has that completely died out?

P.P.P.S. Look for even more social networks around brands like Ford and P&G...

Posted by anastasia