[nchuhoai]

On that note, does someone know of any good statistics that show how well "niche" social networks fare in the light of the growth of the general purpose monster Facebook? I like very specific-purposed social networks, but I was wondering what the general traction of those networks is, or even what the average number of social networks per user is. I assume we techies are on many, but I feel like the general public barely goes beyond Facebook.

[ajaymehta]

Hey - thanks for the feedback. I think that you'd only need to take a look at something like LinkedIn to see that when a website taps into a different set of purpose and emotions, there's clearly a need for separation from other networks.

It's pretty clear (ask anyone <25) that Facebook doesn't work for families. And as loved ones move away and get on with the rest of their busy lives (catalogued with products like FB, LI, and now Path/Tumblr/etc), their family is left in the dust. They try to call and email, but it's not meaningful. Older relatives keep scraps of paper or address books with everyone's information - crossed-out phone numbers, outdated addresses to send christmas cards.

We noticed this huge gap in our personal lives after leaving for college a year or two ago. And we hope that FamilyLeaf will find the solution. Family is paramount.

[Drbble]

Linkedin in my thoughts big before Facebook, and it is really more of a job board than a networking system.

[wesleyzhao]

Great question! As we get stats we'll let you know :) Feel free to email me and I can let you know how we're faring within our private alpha pre-launch. Also I wouldn't say Family is a "niche" network. People generally reflect and understand that the three most important things in life are work, friends, and family. We want to help bring that third (and most important) graph online.