Cool Niche Social Networks

Forget Facebook. Here are 10 social networks for connecting all types of people, including knitters, car enthusiasts, and Harry Potter fans

Facebook, MySpace, and other general social networks are great for connecting with friends and sharing your interests. But they serve a general audience, and they don't always do a good job of filtering information to let you focus on a particular interest—whether it be a favorite book series, a collection of wines, or a particular sport. So instead of joining yet another Facebook group, why not try a niche social network?

There are lots of them out there for just about every interest, and they are constantly being added to. Companies have launched sites for gearheads, bookworms, and dog lovers. There are also services such as Ning, which allows individual users to create their own social networks—so far more than a million individual networks have been built with it. Special interest networks give fans and devotees a forum to indulge their passions and meet like-minded friends.

Here are 10 cool niche social networks you might be interested in joining.

BallHype

BallHype is a social network for sports lovers of all kinds. The site has a Digg-like interface for sports news and encourages interaction about news in each sport from the NBA to MLB to MMA (mixed martial arts).

Bottletalk

Bottletalk's social network for wine lovers lets users share their experiences and find wines based on others users' well-regarded wines. Along similar lines, Coastr lets beer enthusiasts find new brews and pubs to drink at.

Epernicus

This is the social network for connecting current and former research scientists. It allows scientists to share resources and help each other find ways to advance their work.

Fotolog

Fotolog is different from Flickr and other photo-sharing sites because you can post only one photo a day. It encourages community building, and its international following is huge.

Glee

Professionals who belong to the LGBT community will find a social network that caters to their interests at Glee (an acronym for Gay, Lesbian, and Everyone Else). In addition to offering opportunities to advance careers it offers traditional social features like music, blogs, groups, and chat

Motortopia

This social network allows car enthusiasts to talk shop, sell their cars to other members, and blog about their hobbies. If cars aren't your passion, the site also has tabs for bikes, boats, and planes.

MuggleSpace

With the latest Harry Potter film coming out on July 15, it might be time for a refresher with other fans. MuggleSpace is one of the top social networks for Potter-philes. It has chat, blogs, groups, and other features. In addition, MyLeaky—the social network for the fan site The Leaky Cauldron—offers interesting extras such as quizzes and House rankings.

MyDogSpace

If you love showing pictures of your dog to your friends, you'll enjoy showing them off to the dog-loving world at MyDogSpace, the social network for dog lovers. If your dog hates cats, don't tell him about the company's ironic sister site MyCatSpace.

Ravelry

Ravelry is a unique site for connecting knitters, crocheters, designers, spinners, and dyers. It helps users keep track of their yarn, tools, and pattern information, and lets them share ideas and inspiration.

Shelfari

Shelfari is one of the best sites for book lovers. When we reviewed the site, we liked it just a little more than the popular Goodreads because of the virtual bookshelf and slick interface that allow you to display your library to the world.