Adult only?

In the blog post Networks for Children posted by Nick O'Neill on the Social Times blog, the statement is made that social networks are for children and blogging is for adults. I agree and disagree, both. Here's why.
First of all, let's clarify. It's not really children we're talking about, it's young teenagers. Because when I think children, I think kids under the age of 11. Which, perhaps they are on social networks. Those little liars, telling Myspace that they're 13. But there are PLENTY of adults on social networks, as well. I mean, they're the ones who have people to connect with. Kids just don't know that many people to be able to have the same social network experience. If I was 11 and I had a Myspace account, my friends would be limited to a few friends from school, my 2 cousins, perhaps my sister and if I'm lucky, some camp friends. And that's it. But I'm not going to say that kids aren't on social networks, because they definitely are.
As for the blogging, I think that it's very similar. Adults have stuff to blog about. Kids, in general, don't. They might have some good insights here and there, but for the most part, adults are the ones who have the power.

Niche Marketing

If you pay attention to some of the new (and even older) social networks that are popping up, you can see that their topic of interest or commonality differs greatly. Some social networks are simply set up to keep people in touch or to meet new people (Facebook or MySpace), but some have very specific target markets. Take for example Handbaggers- a social network for *gasp*- you guessed it- handbag lovers. Or what about meandmybicycle- for *big surprise* cyclists and cyclist enthusiasts.
Social networks are staking the claim of the "magazine market" of the online world. This can be awesome for marketers because once you find your niche market, there's probably a social network for that market. Could it be any easier? Silver platter, your target market.
I guess one issue that could arise is that even though these niche social networks exist, does that market use those social network. What I mean is, are people who buy $1,695 Dolce & Gabbana handbags using the network, or is it people who just like looking at the bags? Same goes for cyclists- I mean, wouldn't they rather be outdoors, riding their awesome bikes, rather than hanging out posting pictures of themselves online?

Monopolization of Social Networks

Social Times is a blog that used "as a way to leverage social technology to build local entrepreneurship communities." In the post Ma Bell the Social Network, blogger Anthony LaFauce writes about social networks are slowly being bought and will eventually be owned (pwned) by one conglomerate. And that's when all the trouble starts, apparently. Because then the government will come in because our market is against monopolies.

Personally, I don't think the government would ever find a reason to break up social networks due to the monopolization of the market. Why? Because it's not a necessity. We use social networking for socializing, for fun and a little for business. However, we can certainly get by without it. The difference between social networks and the monopolization of the phone system is that phone service is not so much a "just for fun" system. It's necessary for business. Now, I guess you could say we could become just as dependent on social networks as we have on the telephone. But right now I think that our dependency on email, telephone and other forms of communication make social networking still a non-necessity.

Mac Club- No PC Users Allowed!

In the blog post Net4Mac - Social Network Application only for Macs - huh? on the AppleGazette blog, attention is brought to the Net4Mac social network. It's only available to Mac users; you can't download the app unless you're using a Mac system. Like the MyStarbucksIdea social network, basing a social network off of very specific target markets probably won't be very successful.

It reminds me of those "clubhouses" you made when you were little- ya know "No girls allowed" clubs.

Also, what about all of us who are proficient Mac & PC users?

Arguably, the best part of the website is the graphic design- completely Mac, very sleek, simple, consistent, with a coherent color scheme and the ever-present drop shadow.