Social Networking Watch

Niche Social Networks Offer Target Practice

AD WEEK -- Apr 11 -- Playskool's ad campaign is on CafeMom, a four-month-old social network for mothers. Niche networks offer a chance to reach specific influencers; Dogster, Catster, Takkle (high school athletes). EMarketer forecasts advertisers will double social-network spending from 2006 to more than $865 million this year, and that some $45 million will be spent on niche advertising. FULL ARTICLE @ AD WEEK

A Startup's Best Friend? Failure

CNN -- MAR 1 -- Dogster has found a way to turn its mistakes into better features. With virtually no promotion, Dogster (and Catster.com, launched Aug '04) has 275k human members and a stable of blue-chip advertisers such as Disney, Holiday Inn, and Target, and $1.1 million revenue in 2006.  Along the way the site has become a case study in how to fail well - by launching features quickly, seeing what works, and fixing things on the fly. In September, Dogster (14 employees)closed $1 million financing from a syndicate of angel investors, including TechCrunch svengali Michael Arrington. FULL ARTICLE @ CNN