There have been a growing number of sites out there for networking. Joi Ito recently posted about the most recent one to show up: LinkedIn. I'm already on Ryze and Friendster, so I need another one? Friendster is a fun diversion, I don't really pay attention to it much unless someone sends me a friend request. I'm not using it as a dating service or anything, I actually think that aspect of it is kind of silly. On the other hand. I like what I've experienced with Ryze. There is a real sense of community there. It doesn't feel overdone. I'm waiting for the next get together of people from the Boston network on there.

I actually like the idea of things like Ryze and LinkedIn the best though. Friendster is a little bit too open. There's a fair amount of noise (even though I have found some cool linkage between people I know). The audience for the others is much more targeted, it isn't trying to attract the world. Which means you get people who are there specifically to network, as opposed to seeing how many friends they can get linked to.