I think if a social networking site got "social circles" right, it would take off.<p>I think the main problem that others have pointed out, is that you typically have a persona that you reveal to different groups of people and you typically only want those groups to have a specific view into your life:<p>* Family - you are an upright person that loves grandma's pumpkin pie.<p>* Distant friends (coworkers) - you are a hard worker that occasionally is interested in backyard BBQs.<p>* Close friends - they know you are really a drunk.<p>* Intimate friends - they know you are really just a big kid.<p>* Internet friends - know you really have a thing for fishnets.<p>Point is, a social network really needs to successfully tackle this issue. If they can do that, then they'll be able to fold facebook, linkedin, twitter, et al all into one site.
Interesting. I'm building somewhat of a similar product with Kwolla. It's built on an API so you can build your own social network if you like, or take advantage of ours.<p><a href="http://kwolla.com" rel="nofollow">http://kwolla.com</a>
It should be retitled the "The Real Next Big Social Network". There is no next Facebook because Facebook itself wasn't the big next anything when it started, neither was Google.