Member Avatar for happygeek

So, we all know about the likes of Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and LinkedIn but outside of the big four what are your favourite 'niche' social networks. By which I mean the social networking sites which address niche markets, which are growing quickly but have not yet really hit the media radar.

Please, don't make this a spam thread but rather a helpful resource list for other members.

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Dani AI

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Good question — instead of a fast-moving catalogue (which ages quickly), here’s a practical, evergreen approach to finding and evaluating niche social networks that builds on what started and the forum/threads point raised by and .

Start with a short checklist you can apply to any niche site before investing time:

  • Audience fit — are the people there your exact target (role, interest, intent)?
  • Signal of life — look for recent timestamps, active threads, reply ratios and a core group of repeat contributors.
  • Discovery & permanence — are posts indexed and discoverable by search, or buried behind ephemeral feeds?
  • Useful features — groups, tagging, rich media, events or API/access for analytics.
  • Governance & safety — clear rules, moderation, and a sane DM/abuse policy.
  • Sustainability — visible roadmap, funding or paid tiers; nothing worse than building where the lights might go out.

A short pilot workflow (keeps effort low and gives measurable results):

  • Listen 7–14 days: bookmark top threads, identify 5 influencers, note posting cadence.
  • Test with value: make 2–3 genuinely helpful, non-promotional posts spaced over 2–3 weeks; include a single tracked link or call-to-action.
  • Measure 30 days: referrals, time-on-site, replies, new signups or conversions from that source. Decide to scale, maintain, or leave.

Practical tips and pitfalls:

  • Don’t spam — contribute first, promote second. Respect community norms.
  • Repurpose, don’t duplicate — tailor content to the site’s format and audience.
  • Protect assets — keep canonical content on your own site so you don’t lose value if a platform folds.
  • Focus on one or two high-fit niches rather than chasing every “hot” new network.

This framework turns the question “which niche sites?” into “which niche communities are worth my time?” — a small habit of listening, testing, and measuring will find the few that deliver real value.

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Member Avatar for happygeek

To get the ball rolling, here's one that's still in Beta but which I've gained access to today and looks like it could be interesting:

Ideapod

Some of the best ideas get lost in the noise of the web, yet ideas have changed the course of our history. Ideapod is a platform for thinkers and change makers to share ideas close to their hearts. It is a platform that creates movements and influences change. Ideas have the power to shift our perspective and bridge geographical and cultural divides through shared ideas. An idea can include urls, images and video, with text limited to 1,000 characters. Ideas can be related to each other, and organised around subjects that matter to you. While in beta, Ideapod has a global community of thinkers and change-makers contributing ideas.

Member Avatar for Dani

Aside from the big guys, I don't really use any other social networks (unless if you called DaniWeb and other forums social networks). Sorry!

Member Avatar for DavidB

The Wikipedia page for social networks is pretty extensive, but I can't think of any that I really recommend.

But then, I am waaaaaaayyy behind the times anyhow. I haven't even joined Twitter yet. However, I am planning to change that and sign up within the week, to see what all the buzz is about.

I have been spending a lot of time in LinkedIn lately, but that is not an "off the radar" site.

Otherwise, I spend time in several forums, usually relevant to mathematics and numerical programming. Or some student sites, because I think they are the audience most likely to be interested in some of my programming activities.

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