Serendipity35

Well, this is our 100th blog entry here (in TVland that means you can syndicate your reruns) and by now MySpace, Facebook and all those social networking sites I first wrote about are getting old (in Net years, like dog years, they go a lot faster).

So where are the new spots? Somewhat inspired by the article I wrote about yesterday, I did a search and these sites seem to get the attention right now. Some are still beta and some have actually been around for a few years but are being used in new ways.

• Plazes.com - from Germany, Plazes let's anyone with a Wi-Fi-enabled laptop define a "plaze" (a Wi-Fi hot spot). The software tells where the user is located and looks for other members nearby and then you can display interests and connect. The service also shows members when their friends are in other plazes, a feature that encourages people to move from one to another. Jambo is another site like this. This is called MoSoSo or mobile social software.
• Nerve - a site that I won't bother to link to here that has a sexuality focus. You know any Net trend has to lead this way eventully.
• Geocaching.com - I actually know this one for the GPS crowd and would not have thought of it as a way to meet people. It's not new, but it seems to be new in using it as a way to meet others.
• Fark.com - a site where others post links to articles and thngs they like online (like tech news). It's social bookmarking like Del.icio.us
  the popular bookmarking site that lets you
  organize and store your bookmarks in an online account.
• Flavorpill.com - art, books, music, fashion, world news, and cultural events in five cities including NYC published as an email magazine
• Meetup.com - just what it says, a way to organize a meetup with others of similar interests. Just type in your zip code and you'll see what groups are meeting in your area. Legitimately interesting social networking place. I knew about this one because i had been using the book swapping site called Bookcrossing.com which has meetups.