Smaller Social Networks - They’ve Always Been There, CNN

CNN ran a story today on smaller social networks: MySpace, Facebook: Big not always better.  A good article, but not a surprising one.  Marketers, spammers, and investors all pant heavily chasing the big guys.  But the people who actually use the web - they go where they are engaged.  My wife - a professional photographer - enjoys scrapbooking and spends much more time on TwoPeasinaBucket than on Facebook.

Remember the Well?  BBS systems?  Before there was an Amazon and a Facebook and a Google, it was all about the community.  And for a lot of folks, the little community sites will be what they value most.  Hopefully, data portability and open social standards will make it easier for all of us to interact with our professional, niche, and big|box social networks.