Small Planet's Press Release came over the Business Wire today — promising to supply a "Revenue Model for Social Networking…":

LOS ANGELES—(BUSINESS WIRE)—March 17, 2004—SmallPlanet.net, inc., has launched a social networking application that answers the question of how a "Friend of Friend Network" (FOFN) can make money. What's more, the company believes that the patent application it has filed for its business model will give it a significant advantage in this increasingly competitive Internet sector…

Small Planet's answer, like most good answers, is simple: collective bargaining. If you're going to facilitate users' ability to gather together in large interconnected networks, then the next logical step is to help users leverage the power of those networks. Members vote for what they want discounts on (e.g. car & health insurance, travel packages, cell phone rates, gym memberships). Small Planet then negotiates from carriers and vendors wholesale group rates that its members would otherwise not have access to on their own, and earns a fee only when it saves its customers money.

What AARP provides to retired persons, and USAA to military family members in terms of high value benefits and discounts through group purchasing and collective negotiation, Small Planet extends to the 18-35 market that just as sorely needs better access to health insurance, affordable car insurance, and fair credit card deals. Small Planet is using social networking technology as the vehicle that will bring collective purchasing opportunities to a wider audience, and in so doing is creating the first robust and sustainable FOFN business model for the consumer market.