[scrupulusalbion]

>I’m finding that “social networks” should be a consequence of a product that solves a real problem, not that product’s raison d’etre.

Facebook mainly solves one problem: How do I keep in communication with the many people I know IRL? This is a real problem for many people, especialy when you have friends/family all over the country/world.

Any would-be strict competitor with Facebook will have to deal with a bootstrapping problem: How do you get enough people who know each other IRL to sign up and use the website?

Relaxing any one aspect of that, I think, will make success much easier:

* Enough people: You could have a niche focus (car forum) or a niche community (forum for one Eve Corp).

* Know eath other IRL: You could have an anonymous forum (4chan) or a pseudonymous forum (Reddit).

* Sign-up: Twitter, YouTube, and most forums don't require signups to view user-provided content. 4chan doesn't even require login to post.