Three Minds On Digital Marketing @ Organic

One of the most interesting trends in social media is the emergence of vertical social networks. One of my greatest passions is sailing, but since I don’t get to do much of it for real these days, I started blogging about it a little over a year ago with the launch of Messing About in Sailboats.  Talking about sailing is not as fun as doing it but it gives me the opportunity to connect with other sailing nerds.
 
As a form of social media, blogging is very different experience to Facebook and myspace. In the latter case, it’s easy to join a social network, reconnect with old friends and make new friends. But it’s also a bit like the first few weeks of college where making friends is easy but frankly a little superficial.
 
Blogging is a different thing altogether. It takes time and a lot of commitment. The social networks are smaller but more intimate. It’s a bit like joining a slightly exclusive club. Personally I find it more rewarding than Facebook and myspace. The downside is that the community is small. The community of sailing bloggers I am connected with is less than 20. You have to post frequently and comment on each others blogs to stay active in the community. It takes work.
 
Like other niche interests, the social network is evolving. In the last few weeks, I have been invited to beta three new sailing-oriented sites. Each one seems to aspire to be “The Facebook for Sailors”.  The first was Boaters.tv, a video podcast on sailing that is beta’ing a social network; next was Sailtrac, a Google maps mash-up with a social network. The most recent is Tripsailor. This one is very Facebook-like in the way it lets you create a profile, connect with other sailors and share stuff.