Niche Social Networks You Should Try

Sorry about the silence last week - no internet access at home made blogging pretty difficult! Not to mention requiring a massive lifestyle change for me - no internet! So much spare time!

After my  time away from the internet, this post is dedicated to Pinterest and Goodreads -  the social networks that I love, but are a bit more niche than your Facebook, Twitter, and long-abandoned Google+ account.

Pinterest

Pinterest is a social network that's been around in the USA for a little while, but just gained its legs in December. According to Mashable, it now drives more traffic to retail sites than either Facebook or Twitter - phew!

Essentially, all you do is share beautiful or interesting images on 'pin boards'. You can then search by keyword or follow friends to see what they pin. All enveloped in a beautifully simple user interface, it's really irresistible. You'll suddenly find yourself whiling away the hours perusing beautiful art, photos, and fashion. 

Fancy a bit of Pinterest? See what I've been pinning recently

Goodreads

Goodreads is a network I joined a few years ago now, I don't even remember how I found it. However if you read as much as I do, it is the perfect tool.

• Epic database: You can browse just about every book ever written, or search by title, author, keyword or ISBN number. Plus, a button so you can click-to-buy on Amazon (clever). 
• Record what you have read: you can record the books you have read, write book reviews, rate books, and share the results with friends (while reading their recommendations). Plus, the site gives you sweet data about your reading habits - I've read about 225 books - ensuring you don't pick up the same book twice.
• Make a 'To-Read' List: Every time I go into a library or bookshop, I tend to promptly forget the title or author of any book I'd like to read. This leads to me aimlessly wandering about a bookshop, and usually picking up something trendy and a pallid like One Day.  Building a massive 'to-read' list has slickly solved this problem. 
•  Be Social About Books: The last key piece of Goodreads is the 'social' element. Essentially every time you post a book into your 'to-read' or 'read' lists,  you can share it with your Goodread friends. You can also join virtual book groups and clubs on the site, although I've never tried (I'm already a member of a real-life book club).

Very nice! The power in this site is it's ability to be very focussed and specialised - it's only about books, and nothing else. 

Share books with me on Goodreads

What other niche social networks are out there? What am I missing out on?