Don't know how I missed this one but, Marc Canter throws down the gauntlet and challenges me to assemble a Million+ Members Club among YASNS sans (or minus) Online Dating Services.
Cyworld, Friendster, hi5, LiveJournal, Myspace, OpenBC, Orkut, Spoke, and Tickle all qualify.
UPDATE: at about 4M, from Taiwan, PC home Online (via Marc Canter); at about 13M from China, Donews (via Isaac Mao's weblog); Meetup, definitely over 1M (via William Finkel); Monster Networking, and LinkedIn (via Scott Allen's comment); I've crossed out OpenBC and Spoke because the numbers I received on them reflected number of people in their databases and not actual members.
Marc Canter says that a service qualifies for consideration in the Million+ Club if: Relationships can be established beyond one degree, there is private messaging, there is a way to meet people, and, most importantly, they boast more than 1 million members.
If there is a service that you know qualifies, and it does not appear on my short list above, please leave me a comment. (Here is an extract from my SNS Meta List of potential Million+ Club members.)
business networking sites
ecademy, eConozco, EntreMate, Friendly Favors, I'm Not From Here, ITmob, Join Network PLUS, LLC, Knowmentum, Konnects, Link Silicon Valley, matcheroo, Mediabistro, Networking For Professionals, OrderGenerator, Point Relevance, Polypol, PowerMingle, RealContacts, ReferNet, Ryze, Shortcut, Sullivan Executive Networking Community, TENG, Zerendipity Networks, Zerodegrees.
common interest networking sites
ANTfriender, ArtistNow!, Buzznet, CivicSpace, Collegester, Community Zero, Company of Friends, Digital Squeeze, FunHi, GamersGlue, Globe Alive, Mediabuddies, Netplaya Burning Man Community, Neurona, quad5, Reunion, Schoolster, Talk City, Thefacebook, TheSquare, threedegrees.
friend networking sites
Backwash, Breedster, BuddyBridge, Chia Friend, ChosenNet, Christianster, Click2Friends, easeek, enCentra, everyonesconnected, Friend MAP, Friendoo, friendsand.com*, Friends of Friends, Friends Reunited, Friends of Friends, Friend Surfer, Friendsync, Friendzy, Gruuve, HeiYou, hipstir, Huminity, HummingBoard, The Impersonals, iSocialite, LDS LinkUp, LianQu, linkyourfriends, Metails, myfriends, NetFriendships, PalJunction, peeps nation, qpengyou, saywhatz, ticqle, Tribe.net, UUFriends, WiW, WorldShine, YeeYoo, YOYO, zenetwork.
pet networking sites
Backwash for Pets, Dogster, HAMSTERster, KissyKat, Neopets.
social networking 'plus' and/or 'edge cases'
Blogpod, BuddyZoo, dodgeball, Dude Check This Out!, eTwine.com, Findapix, Flickr, Funchain.com, HelloWorld, JournURL, MixedNutz.net, Mooble, Multiply, Nioki, Plink, SmallPlanet, Squiby, TXTParty, WiredReach, Xanga.com, Yafro Moblog, Zdarmanet, Zopto.
1. Don't people get it yet? *ONE* possible use for a social networking site is to grow your social network. Many people however, myself included, already have enough friends! What I want to be able to do is *USE* my social network... and there's only really one site for that, called multiply.com.
Posted at 8:03PM on Dec 18th 2005 by David