With all the other social networks out there is there room for one more? With the social networking being all the rage due largely to the success and celebrity of high profile sites like Myspace and Friendster one is left to wonder where we go from here.  So, if you are indeed one and you are in fact wondering, try this on for size.

There is yet another social networking site online now called MingleNow. What’s the purpose of this site, you ask? Why, linking patrons with local bars and restaurants.  If ever a nobler mission existed, I simply can’t imagine it.  You can chat online with people who may frequent a local establishment and make plans to meet at the local watering hole?  To coin a phrase: Brilliant!

While Myspace has some where around 120 million users it will be interesting to see if MingleNow will be able to capture a meaningful percentage of those users or any others.  Perhaps since MingleNow does offer both online and offline networking focused on the party crowd it could work. The question becomes will this be enough to set the site apart from the more established social networking sites?

How well MingleNow will do remains to be seen. Their niche certainly has potential for the young crowd. A sort of Myspace for the party people.  With their online and offline socializing and the promise of free drinks for inviting others to join maybe that is a cocktail for success or maybe they will be drowning in their own sorrows.

The larger question in my mind would be; is this the proverbial shape of things to come?  Is the next logical step for today’s sprawling, undirected social networking sites going to be a move towards specialization and niche markets?

Posted on Tuesday, October 31st, 2006 at 5:04 pm. Permalink