I know that the meme of “too many social networks” is getting played out, sorry to add to the chatter. Today I received an email from my Alma Mater touting their new alumni networking site, dubbed “PolyLink“. A year ago, I probably would have signed right up. Today, I cringe at the notion. I’m not that heavily invested into true social networking site like MySpace or Facebook. I am on Mash, but I doubt I’ll ever use it. I am sprinkled over all sorts of other places though, including this blog, LinkedIn, Twitter, Jaiku, Pownce, Plazes and Delicious. I can’t imagine that I’ll get any value out of joining PolyLink, and I need to be judicious with my online attention since I already feel spread thin.

I will tell you that I think there’s a real opportunity out there for niche social networks. Taking one or two attributes of a group (e.g. alumni, or cyclists, or geeks, or artists) and building a community around it can create something very strong if done right. I would prefer, however, to see these built into or on some existing, preferably open, platform. For example, if PolyLink were built on Ning, I would be more open to joining up since my profile can span many sites on the Ning platform.