Great article in Forbes that illustrates the fact that social networking sites are finally catching up with the idea that intimate knowledge of your consumer will serve your business well. Smaller niche-enthusiast sites are gaining members at a surprising rate. People are shunning Facebook and MySpace as a place where they can find others that share specific interests.
Don't get me wrong, Facebook and MySpace are great communities, but they focus on volume. Finding another person who is absolutely passionate about your interests is like finding a needle in a haystack. Niche communities solve this problem for consumers.
My question to you is, do you know what your consumers are passionate about? Are you providing it? Can they find you?