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Today I want tohelp you reach anepiphany on social networking.

To work towards that moment where you exclaim 'Ah ha! Of course! Why didn't I see that before - it's so simple!'

Itis something that very few marketers or big companies have thought about yet and it will become clear in the next few years just how powerful this next statement is...

"A 30 year old Fisherman in the year 2006 has very little interest in sharing his fishing pictures and fishing adventures to the world online, however is this because he is not passionate about fishing?"

No, of course not; the fisherman simply has a limited understanding of how to upload photos, use a blog, chat on instant messenger or join in discussions on forums.

However how do you think a 30 year old fisherman would act in the year 2012?

He wouldknow how to join a social networking site, upload his catch of the week picture, update his fishing blog; and show his mates from around the world the exact spot where he caught the trout using Google Maps. For him, it would be as simple as baiting the hook of his line.

So what is the difference between these two fisherman apart from the 6 year time gap? One is from a completely new Generation – some call it Generation Y, however I call myself Generation U. (for reasons you’ll see very shortly)

Over the last 50 years we have slowly wrapped ourselves in a thick cocoon of comfort - our cars stop us from communication with each other so we use horns. Neighbors build their fences higher and higher for privacy and security. Office workers e-mail each other rather than speak face to face. Our society is communicating less and less.

No’ one talks on the phone anymore they just use text messages and the only time you actually have to speak to someone these days is if it is someone calling you to sell you a timeshare in Switzerland.

However, thanks to social networking that’s all changing…

Slowly, reality television and social networking has made people realize just how interesting other people are, yes that’s right believe it or not, the next generation actually wants to know about...You! (hence Generation U).

MySpace and other social networking giants like this have spawned a new generation of living, breathing, social networking junkies who are fully equipped to not only handle this new information age but thrive in it.

There's just one thing people are missing right now - People grow up, and considering MySpace is for teenagers as young as 13; where are all these 30 year old Generation U's to turn to?

They understand everything there is to know about social networking, they've grown up with it; so how can companies capitalize on this wave of Generation U's as they grow up?

I call it Social Interest Niche Networking, (SINN).

The concept of SINN’s can be perfectly summed up in one sentence: "If you try and be everything to everyone, you'll end up being nothing to no-one".

MySpace built their entire social network around with topic of interest - Music.

Sure they expanded after building up the network to 25 million they introduced the Comedy section amongst other things, but this was after they had built up their brand using Music as their main focus.

A perfect example of a SINN is http://www.rcmate.org/ which is a social networking site for Remote Controlled toy enthusiasts in New Zealand. The network has grown to over 150 members in a span of just 3 weeks.

A last check on Myspace International RC Group which was founded a year ago has just over 2000 members.

At a glance it may seem that Myspace is the more powerful networking tool however given the fact that Myspace has had a full year of promotion and only managed to find 2000 members for this tiny group…

However RCMate has had 3 weeks of word of mouth marketing and is only focused on New Zealand – managing to draw in 150 members, who post comments constantly to each other.

Dare I say that RCMate will most likely take over Myspace in just a few months and will be a lot more valuable to those in the RC community and advertisers because of one simple yet powerful fact – advertisers can target their market much more successfully on RCMate then on Myspace groups – because they can’t advertise to the groups effectively on Myspace.

Google paid $900 million to News Corp to display their advertisements on their website. However the problem Google has found so far is that most advertisers are steering clear of advertising on the website due to the fact that the advertisements cannot be targeted to a specific niche within the website.

So how can we take this concept of social interest niche networking and create a social networking design which stays true to the concept of "less is better than more"? And makes advertisers and consumers happy as they are both getting what they want - relevancy.

If you want to set up your own SINN check out Tech Crunches review of the top social networking platforms and decide for yourself which one suits your industry - http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/08/14/34-more-ways-to-build-your-own-social-network/

Happy hunting!

Adam Davis

www.AdamDavis.tv

PS. Stay tuned because I am going to show you in my next article exactly how to start your own SINN.