Niche Social Networks.
I like the idea of niche networking. It appeals to me to have a network of like minded people. Whether it is mychurch or couchsurfing, the idea of bringing people together to share ideas makes sense. Around 2004 niche networks came into being.
Care2 is one such network. It was originally designed in mid-2004 to serve activists of all kinds and shapes, but recently focuses more on green living. Visiting the site, it has many green-oriented aspects, from the color combinations to the majority of topics. Looking deeper, you see political messages, an article on civil rights regarding National Coming Out Day, links to Obama speeches, and healthy lving. It serves “and is driven by” passionate people who want to restore the world’s balance.
At the top of the page it boasts 12 million members, 39 billion petition signatures, and 380,000 member blog posts. I think this makes a statement about the people who are interested in this site. Whoops, found new information. It was actually begun in 1998 by Randy Paynter, to make the world a better place. His basic premise was to make it easy for everyone to live a healthy green lifestyle and impact the causes they care about. Beyond that, he realizes that individual actions collectively make a difference. Small changes grow into large shifts across the globe. It begins with being informed, taking small steps to enhance your own life, then moving on to taking action to better the world.
I am not sure if there are other networks like this, but I believe so. I visited another in the course of developing an Environmental Stewardship course for Pacifica Graduate Institute. Wasn’t thinking of social networks at the time… but I think it was one. Ok, found it, http://www.newdream.org/ Certainly it is a community, thus I assume a social network. By the way, there are many neat things about this site, but one os the best is a format for getting rid of junk mail. It works.
Would I consider joining? Already did, prior to writing this. Also went back to New Dream and joined there as well.
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