Social Investors Seek New Niche Networks

Can the Next Big Thing be found on a small scale?

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Investors, users and, more importantly, advertisers are on a constant hunt for The Next Big Thing. With LinkedIn trading publicly and Facebook’s IPO around the corner, it’s no surprise cool hunters are hungry for another big social play.

“Investors are asking, ‘What are other networks of people?’” said Seth Sternberg, CEO and co-founder of Meebo. “LinkedIn owns the professional network. Facebook owns the friends network,” he said. No one expects an up-and-comer to supplant the category leaders, so instead, market watchers are looking to niches beyond “professionals” and “friends.”

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