Social networking niche sites expected to be next big thing

[mandy]

Over the past few months, social networking has expanded far beyond its roots as the toy of screen-addicted teens collecting friends on MySpace. The sites -- where users create personal profiles to share photos, video, music, commentary and links to other profiles or Web sites -- are poised to be part of everyday online interaction. Companies like Ning are aiming to make it easier for ordinary users to create their own, intimate networks to connect with, say, other model railroad enthusiasts, instead of joining a larger network like MySpace.

And businesses, from beermakers to chipmakers, are discovering the power of connecting to their customers in a more two-way conversation -- for commercial purposes.

On both counts, analysts say, social networking is about to become, in the words of Forrester Research analyst Charlene Li, "like air. You can't escape it, you have to have it. It will be built into everything we touch and do online." ...

full article: http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?fi...OHIP11.DTL&type=tech