Big Social Networks Get the Buzz, But Niches Are Rockin' the Web

Everybody knows the Goddess is all about the Internet, but there's also no denying that once we're each individually lost to cyberspace, real life bubbles on only in peripheral vision. Niche sometimes masquerades as Community, and we voluntarily hop into silos.

With that, the Goddess introduces ReBrick, a social network for LEGO lovers. Sponsored by Lego (duh!), ReBrick salutes the truly amazing creativity of Legoites. A browser bookmarking functions lets users share their work with the network and follow people who impress them. Monitors keep content OK for all ages.

(*Can I tell you how much I love this dollhouse by Heather LEGOgirl? Because Oh Heckee Yeah there ARE female LEGO fans.)

Complicating things, a niche can have its own niche. When you think of sites for Foodies, you may think of restaurant reviews. Foodspotting, on the other hand, spotlights restaurant meals.

Photo-sharing on Instagram is all the rage in some circles, but just as I was getting to

understand it, I noticed the Pin It! button on some of my favorite blogs. Pinterest calls itself an online inboard where users organize and share all kinds of things, from images, to posts, to sites.

It used to be easier to build a social network around your very own uniqueness when Ning.com was free. Now it's just $2.95/month for up to 150 people, and only $24.95/month for up to 10,000.

Your Life As a Google Search. Discuss.

Yesterday's online protest against the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) generated buzz online and off, with old-school traditional media doing its best to tell a multi-faceted story. (*24 hours later, the protest appears to have been effective, scaring away backers of the bill.)

One of those itsy-bitsy details a bit lost in the "how come I can't get Wikipedia?" reportage was Google's announcement that Google+ info will be integrated into its search results. Critics claim the blurring of lines between search results that produce your social accounts vs. your posts gives "a sense of erosion of their privacy."

The NY Times helped me envision it: GoogleSearch for Brandon Jones today and you might learn his Facebook and Twitter addresses. Under the new features, Brandon's Google+ page would be at the top of search results. As the L.A. Times put it: "Google will "[search] your world, not just the Web." Oh joy.

Actually, it's the page mock-up (above) provided by Google that I didn't like. I look at the names at the top of the page and all I can think about is what the Bad, Bad People can do with this new tool. It takes a lot to creep me out about the web, but for some reason, this is one.

That said, it's not like this move comes as any big surprise. When people were up in arms this summer about the latest arrogant change implemented by Facebook, it seemed that most early adopters were eager for the convenience that a desktop Google Universe would provide, ignoring the threat of a bigger Big Brother than Facebook.

With everyone from Grandmoms to long-road truckers trying it out, Facebook has moved f-a-r beyond early adopters and hipsters. Meanwhile, it's still quite early in the lifespan of Google+, and it will take some time -- and tweaking -- before the program earns the broad acceptance that Facebook enjoys now. Does Google deserve any stronger scrutiny, or negative pushback, than Facebook? In either case, isn't the biggest question the same: "Just what are you doing with everything they know about us?"

SOPA: Now Playing on an Internet Near You

If you're on the Internet today, January 18, 2012, you should know about SOPA. You should know how you feel about it. If you love or hate the Internet, you should keep up with this conversation.

SOPA is the Stop Online Piracy Act Computer users who haven't seen or heard the acronym SOPA recently, haven't been on the Internet or any social network. After a little searching, I found a really easy-to-understand synopsis at CNN Money.

In a nutshell... In an attempt to stop the ability of "rogue websites" in the U.S. and elsewhere, the federal government would be able to cite any accomplices along the way. If your website features a bootleg copy of The Descendants, and Google shows your site in its search results, Google is in trouble right along with you.

As Google Public Policy Director Bob Boorstin put it, "YouTube would just go dark immediately. It couldn't function."

In protest to the proposed legislation, you'll find that several of your favorite sites aren't functioning today. Intentionally. The list includes Wikipedia and Reddit. The Huffington Post reports that "more than 7,000 websites" will voluntarily go dark and SOPAStrike.com proclaims the action as the "largest online protest in history."

What do you think of SOPA? And, is this protest enough to capture the public's attention?

**SOPA protest sites offer easy access to your Congressional representatives. Click and tell 'em how you feel, on either side of the issue. Don't give up if you're not in the U.S.: there's also a petition to the U.S. State Department.