Is Niche Social Networks the Next Big Thing?
03 May
So is this true? Well it seems to be what the social media experts were saying at the Milken Global Conference last week in Los Angeles, CA. People like Mike "Zappy" Zapolin, author of "Internet Warrior" and the creator of Music.com and Beer.com was leading a panel of experts at the event. Mike states "Facebook is broader, Twitter is a different platform, but niche social network are more powerful for a specific vertical market, certain niche or business, certain age group or specific geographic area. Thats what could be the real breakout and there is an opportunity waiting... I think niche is where is going to go".
Well ladies and gentlemen. The Incendia team has known of this revelation for the last three years, in fact. Its what was the grounds for starting the company. We ARE a niche social network development company and have been for three years now. In fact, we have either designed, developed and/or launched multiple niche social networks for Incendia and for clients.
Just to name a few verticals where we see potential growth from passionate, targeted audiences are health and fitness, yoga, cosmetics, geographic based news, fashion and even cause-related networks like parents of Autism and building homes in Africa for orphans. We developed the brands, the content, the web site designs and the technology to build strong passionate communities online.
But why do you ask did we focus on niche?
Its kinda simple if you think about it. Ask yourself "What do I really enjoy spending my time doing? What do I like to share and talk about with my peers, family or friends?
Is it admiring renaissance architecture? Or growing rich, lively vegetable gardens? Or even collecting rare coins from foreign countries. Whatever it is... it is something that YOU are passionate about and YOU want to share it with like-minded friends, colleagues, peers, etc. So, why not have a specific place online to share with everyone your passion, dreams, ideas and get support, praise, information and everything else relating to that topic all from people just like you. Kinda simple concept huh?
We think so too. So I guess you could say we too believe in niche social networks as the next phase in social media but we kinda knew this before social media was social.
I also think that ultimately
I also think that ultimately someone needs to address how much socializing is actually going on in Facebook and quantify what's actually happening within the context of that network. Are people actually participating in social networking or are they just there for mafia wars, farmville and so on? The emergence of social gaming has coincided directly with the rapid growth of Facebook's revenues and membership. Socializing and social networking has served a very real purpose over thousands of years. The exchange of valuable information has been an essential survival skill of humans for millenia. Even the simplest conversations like "how's the weather" exchange important and valuable information between people.
Niche social networking allows people to have meaningful, information filled conversations. They serve a very real need in the hierarchy of needs. A fitness social network helps you get fit and satisfies various safety needs. A niche social network like autism one helps people get support and a sense of belonging. As a content source, it also satisfies a very real need for people to share and exchange valuable information, articles and videos. How does Facebook satisfy those needs? It really doesn't.
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