The explosion of social networking sites in the last year has brought us countless social networking sites for every walk of life, yet there remains niches untapped. So here’s a roundup of the TOP ELEVEN niche social media sites that I believe could just be the next Hugg killer (because a top ten list is not enough to get Dugg anymore).
Law Enforcement Social Networking
Hi5-O — Social networking for the men and women in blue. Upload your surveillance videos to your Hi5-0 profile, subscribe to your favorite radar channels, and create badges for your blog. Similar services include Holstr and Copster.
Inmate Social Networking
ClinkedIn — ClinkedIn is a networking tool that helps convicts discover inside connections and strengthens and extends your existing network of trusted inmates. Other networks in this space include Etscape, which is similar to ClinkedIn but focuses more on connecting with the “outside,” and Mobster, which has quite an impressive jobs board.
News
Rigg — Rigg is all about user corporate sponsored content. Everything is submitted and voted on by the Rigg “community.” Sock puppet accounts are not frowned upon. In fact, they’re downright encouraged.
College
Keggslist — Keggslist provides local campus classifieds announcing upcoming keg parties across the country and forums for recovering items left behind at parties.
Faithbook — Faithbook is a social utility that connects Bible College students with friends and others who work, study, and live around them. Faithbook hath opened up its scriptures to the discipleship community to make their own applications.
Sports and Entertainment
FumbleUpon — The FumbleUpon Firefox Add-on is a collaborative surfing tool for finding and sharing great sports bloopers on the ‘net. A worthy opponent is competitor Bloopr (rumored to be funded by the owner of the Miami Dolphins).
Speedoo — Speedoo is the world’s most popular site for people who want to build a page about their passion for swimming. Users can create their own Speedoo Goggle on their favorite aquatic event.
Consumer Reviews
GrumbleUpon — Users write negative reviews on various products and services and share which companies provide the best restitution for professional complainers. GrumbleUpon, now with local search and a Google Maps mashup.
Ask Questions — Though a late entrant into the community advice arena, the Web’s 4th favorite search engine, Ask.com, has launched own version of Yahoo Answers with a twist. Questions must be answered with a question, and the asker must choose which question most makes him think. Ask Questions is highly popular amongst first year philosophy students.
Social Bookmarking
Blanklist — Finally, a social bookmarking service for people who are never going to actually use it, anyway.
Love and Relationships
StagNation — An online community for grooms-to-be to plan their stag weekend, cuz you know your bride ain’t gonna help you. Other marital networks include WikiVow (the nuptials that anyone can edit), Hitchipedia, and the Bridezilla browser.