Last month, AmericaSkiing.com, a Web site for skiing and snowboarding enthusiasts, announced a new social networking site designed exclusively for the skiing and snowboarding industry. It was one of many social networks aimed at a niche market that launched during the past year.
Jeremiah Owyang, analyst at Forrester Research, says that these niche sites are working. “These sites make sense for people who want to have a more intimate and private conversation than on Facebook or MySpace,” he said.
Owang cites the Charles and Helen Schwab Foundation, lets parents of disabled kids find each other and discuss the issues involved in their lives together, as a good example.
While the continued growth of social networking giants Facebook and MySpace has proved that consumers are engaged in social networking online, are consumers really going to want to access a different social network for every interest?
Some smaller social networks are having a difficult time keeping up with the popularity of social networking giants. For example, Condé Nast’s social network for teen girls Flip.com is nearing its first anniversary — however, the occasion is not marked by growth. Flip allows teen girls to create portfolios or “flipbooks” of their creative work. To deal with its low subscriber numbers, Flip is making its social networking tools more available where the consumers are, more specifically, on Facebook. Flip profiles have become portable and can be applied to Facebook and, as of March 5, Flip.com’s branded art portfolio-making tools will be available on Facebook.
“Rather than creating a whole social network and trying to get people to come to us, we are taking our toys to the girls where they are,” said Jane Grenier, publisher of Flip.com.
Widget technology has exploded since Facebook opened its platform last fall. As functionality continues to grow, social profiles will become even more portable. Owyang says that this will work for open-minded brands, because it allows brand advocates to come to a site and bring their friends.
“But brands have to make sure that the customer experience is good, because consumers can just as easily take their friends away,” Owyang warned
KEY POINTS:
- More niche social networks have launched in the past year
- These sites provide a highly targeted audience with personalized messaging opportunities
- A niche network’s widgetscan leverage a larger audience on Facebook or MySpace
- As profiles become more portable, competition for users’ attention will increase
