Niche Social Networks

In the era of Facebook and Twitter one would aptly think that no other social networking website could nearly stand a chance! But the scene of online social networking is fast changing and more and more people are looking for specifics on the internet.

Facebook and Twitter is for everybody and there are many of us out there who don't want to be a part of the general population. Many of us want to discuss our interests with like minded people instead of getting lost in a crowd and that is exactly why niche social networks are beginning to gain substantial importance. This brings in good news for the advertisers as well. Instead of searching for a needle in a haystack they can now closely target and monitor their audience, which is why many biggies in the advertising world have agreed to sponsor some of these websites.

Niche social networking could clearly be the buzzword of the future as more and more people realize that they can connect with many people online who have similar hobbies, likes and interests.

You may or may not be surprised to know that there are a ton of these sites already available online and are coming up by the number as more people get enterprising ideas to build a niche social site!

I have collected ten interesting social networking sites here, each with a different society in mind. If you happen to be reading my hub I hope you are able to find yours, I will be glad that you did and don't forget to mention your interest in the comments section below!

Exclusively for moms, this niche site is immensely popular. It is free to join and a great place for moms of all ages to discuss their experiences, share advice, make friends with other moms and also play games.

There are forums covering a wide range of topics mommy's would be interested in, from pregnancy and babies to health and beauty and gardening. I had a look at the website and trust me anything that a mom wants to know will surely be available here! Cute-kid pictures are one of the favorite conversation pieces.

You can also to choose to receive free products from sponsors, their only request being that you talk about the product at CafeMom.

So, calling all moms who haven't registered yet, go ahead and do it today and all wanna be moms keep this site bookmarked as you may need it soon!

deviantART is an online community for painters, photographers, cartoonists and other visual artists to showcase and discuss their artwork.

Categorization of the various forms of art is extensive and an artist can surely find his niche from all the categories available. Some examples of the categories are; Digital Art, Traditional Art, Cartoons and Comics, Artisan Crafts, Game Development Art, Magna/Anime and Resources and Stock Images. And that's not all, these are further sub divided into sub-categories, for example, Digital Art is subdivided into 3-Dimensional Art, Drawings and Pixel Art, just to name a few!

You can sign up for free and sell your artwork here or you can even start your art collection. For an optional $4.95 monthly free, users can have access to some special features and get ads removed from their profile.

Of course you wouldn't need to guess this one! Dogster is for dog lovers and Catster is for cat lovers. So if you already have a pet dog or a cat and you need more information on "doggy and puppy" or "cat and kitten" care then all you have to do is go ahead and register.

And for those of you who are unable to decide whether you want a pet dog or a cat, you have hit the jackpot right here! All you ever wanted to know about cats and dogs is available on these websites.

You can set up profiles for your dogs and cats, participate in the discussion forums, browse through photo galleries and share pictures of your four-legged friends, search for breeds, check out the tip of the day and even find a vet near you.

This one is almost a must for all dog and cat lovers.

Eons is an online community for BOOmers (for those born between 1946 and 1964 and beyond).

It's almost like Facebook where you can stay in touch with friends and family and also make new friends, share life's experiences and passions, play games to boost your brains, join groups and participate in discussions. You can choose to go public or use the privacy settings to share your life's stories with a chosen few.

One interesting feature about this site is that some of its members meet up for outings called SKITS (spending your kids' inheritance tours) to places like Cape Cod and Mexico.

This site was launched last year and has become popular amongst the anglers. Anglers connect here to share their fishing stories, find tips on how to fish better and find fishing guides and services.

The site has a section called "Fishing Encyclopedia" which is truly the best you can ever find on everything you wanted to know about fishing. It is categorized by Species, Techniques, Gear and Locations. It even gives you a guide on country wise fishing, which names the important rivers and lakes and the type of fish you can find in these regions. Wow! Now that is some consolidated information I must say.

Anglers proudly post their pictures along with their prized catches for others to comment. They can even share maps to pinpoint where the fish are biting.

This site is for patients who are suffering from a particular disease to share their treatment logs and health data, find other members suffering from similar conditions and learn from them. Sometimes users can get to know by reading others' accounts that they have been misdiagnosed.

If you do not find your medical condition listed on the website you can request for one.

You can create a health profile chart by taking a simple survey and then track your progress by comparing your chart with others. It is great way to track your own health.

Since all the data comes from real life experiences of patients, it is extremely helpful for healthcare professionals and organizations that are trying to treat the disease.

This site could help in discovering the next medical marvel! And there is no need for you to hide your medical condition, go public, tell the world about it and benefit from the consequences.

ResearchGATE is an online network that connects scientists worldwide to coordinate research in areas such as artificial intelligence and biotechnology. This is more of a professional network like LinkedIn but it exclusively for scientists.

You can search for jobs, conferences and download papers related to your field of study. It has its own internal database as well as access to important external databases to help you find research papers.

Many biotechnology companies pay to post their job listings on this site.

Are you a wine connoisseur? Then this is the social networking website for you. Here you can meet other wine lovers just like you and share your wine drinking experiences.

Create a wine profile by adding the wines that you have tasted or would like to taste or search for the wine of your choice from the whole bunch of tasting tags listed. You are sure to find one which suits your taste buds!

A book haven for book lovers, Shelfari allows its members to create a virtual bookshelf of the books that you have read, are reading right now and plan to read in the future. You can then rate and review your books to share your opinions with the rest of the world.

You can connect with people who have similar reading interests as yours and browse through their shelves. Shelfari lets you know which books are the most popular in your favorite category and helps you to discover new books.

In short Shelfari is a book lovers paradise!

Ravelry is an online community which aims to connect knitters, crocheters, designers, spinners, weavers and dyers worldwide. The members can share their projects and ideas and keep track of their tools and yarn.

Ravelry also encourages its members to sell their patterns and yarn through the site.

For all those of you who are into knitting or crocheting this could be your gateway to expose your skills to the rest of the world and who knows, even get paid for it if you can sell your patterns online.

If you have any new and interesting social networking sites to add to this page you are welcome to do so in the comments section.

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