Name |
Description/Focus |
Date launched |
Registered users |
Registration |
GlobalAlexa[1] Page ranking |
| Academia.edu |
Social networking site for academics/researchers |
|
211,000[2] |
Open |
18,100[3] |
| Advogato |
Free and open source software developers |
|
13,575[4] |
Open |
128,340[5] |
| aNobii |
Books |
|
|
Open |
10,734[6] |
| aSmallWorld |
European jet set and social elite world-wide |
|
550,000[7] |
Invite-only |
8,583[8] |
| AsianAvenue |
A social network for the Asian American community |
1997 |
|
Open |
|
| Athlinks |
Running, Swimming |
|
139,458[9] |
Open |
73,295[10] |
| Audimated.com |
Independent music |
2010 |
|
Open |
25,648[11] |
| Avatars United |
Online games |
March 2008 |
|
Open |
294,575[12] |
| Badoo |
General, Meet new people, Popular in Europe and LatAm |
|
86,000,000[13] |
Open to people 18 and older |
135[14] |
| Bebo |
General |
July 2005 |
117,000,000[15] |
Open to people 13 and older |
905[16] |
| Bigadda |
Indian Social Networking Site |
|
3,000,000[17] |
Open to people 16 and older |
3,176[18] |
| BigTent |
Organization and communication portal for groups |
|
|
Open to people 18 and older (13-18 parental permission encouraged) |
34,047[19] |
| Biip.no |
Norwegian community |
June 1, 2005 |
430,000[20] |
Requires Norwegian phone number |
65,176[21] |
| BlackPlanet |
African-Americans |
September 1, 1999 |
20,000,000[22] |
Open |
2,350[23] |
| Blauk |
Anyone who wants to tell something about a stranger or acquaintance. |
2010 |
|
Open to people 10 and older. |
937,454[24] |
| Blogster |
Blogging community |
|
85,579[25] |
Open |
23,485[26] |
| Bolt.com |
General |
1996 |
|
Open |
111,069[27] |
| Buzznet |
Music and pop-culture |
2005 |
10,000,000[28] |
Open |
736[29] |
| CafeMom |
Mothers |
|
1,250,000[30] |
Open to moms and moms-to-be |
4,333[31] |
| Cake Financial |
Investing |
|
|
Open |
481,922[32] |
| Care2 |
Green living and social activism |
1998 |
9,961,947[33] |
Open |
2,594[34] |
| CaringBridge |
Not for profit providing free websites that connect family and friends during a serious health event, care and recovery.[35] |
|
9,500,000[36] |
Open to people 18 and older[37] |
4,198[38] |
| Cellufun |
Mobile social game network, Number 8 US mobile website[39] |
2007 |
3,000,000[40] |
Open to people 14 and older |
46,773[41] |
| Classmates.com |
School, college, work and the military |
1995 |
50,000,000[42] |
Open to people 18 and older[43] |
799[44] |
| Cloob |
General. Popular in Iran |
|
|
Open |
712[45] |
| CouchSurfing |
Worldwide network for making connections between travelers and the local communities they visit. |
|
1,560,459[46] |
Open |
3,711[47] |
| CozyCot |
East Asian and Southeast Asian women |
2001 |
150,000[48] |
Open |
3,711[49] |
| Cross.tv |
Faith Based social network for Christian believers from around the world |
2008 |
450,000[50] |
Open |
30,741[51] |
| Crunchyroll |
Anime and forums. |
|
|
Open |
2,328[52] |
| Cyworld |
General. Popular in South Korea. |
|
24,000,000[53] |
Open |
923[54] |
| DailyBooth |
Photo-blogging site where users upload a photo every day |
February 13, 2009 |
|
Open |
5,460[55] |
| DailyStrength |
Medical & emotional support community - Physical health, Mental health, Support groups |
November 4, 2007 |
|
Open |
22,054[56] |
| Decayenne |
European and American social elite |
2001 |
|
Invite-only |
154,733[57] |
| delicious |
Social bookmarking allowing users to locate and save websites that match their own interests |
September 2003 |
8,822,921[58] |
Open |
255[59] |
| deviantART |
Art community |
August 7, 2000 |
9,040,962[60] |
Open |
97[61] |
| Disaboom |
People with disabilities (Amputee, cerebral palsy, MS, and other disabilities) |
|
|
Open |
112,712[62] |
| Dol2day |
Politic community, Social network, Internet radio (German-speaking countries) |
|
40,200[63] |
Open |
554,616[64] |
| DontStayIn |
Clubbing (primarily UK) |
|
|
Open |
19,022[65] |
| Draugiem.lv |
General (primarily LV, LT, HU) |
|
2,600,466[25] |
Invitation only |
2,272[66] |
| douban |
Chinese Web 2.0 website providing user review and recommendation services for movies, books, and music. It is also the largest online Chinese language book, movie and music database and one of the largest online communities in China. |
2005 |
46,850,000[67] |
Open |
127[68] |
| Elftown |
Community and wiki around Fantasy and sci-fi. |
|
185,000[69] |
Open, approval needed |
17,681[70] |
| Epernicus |
For research scientists |
|
|
Open |
293,955[71] |
| Eons.com |
For baby boomers |
|
|
Open to people 13 and older |
27,320[72] |
| Experience Project |
Life experiences |
|
|
Open |
3,452[73] |
| Exploroo |
Travel Social Networking. |
|
|
Open |
209,868[74] |
| Facebook |
General. |
February 2004 |
500,000,001[75] |
Open to people 13 and older |
2[76] |
| Faceparty |
General. Popular UK. |
|
200,000[77] |
Invitation only to people 18 and older |
28,760[78] |
| Faces.com |
British teens |
|
|
Open to people 13 and older |
120,665[79] |
| Fetlife |
People who are into BDSM |
|
500,000[80] |
Open to people “of [legal] age to see adult content” |
5,513[81] |
| FilmAffinity |
Movies and TV Series |
2002 |
250,000[82] |
Open |
3,916[83] |
| FitFinder |
Anonymous UK Student Microblogging Website |
|
|
Open |
322,113[84] |
| FledgeWing |
Entrepreneural community targeted towards worldwide university students |
|
|
Open to university students |
1,793,990[85] |
| Flixster |
Movies |
2007 |
63,000,000[86] |
Open to people 13 and older |
1,018[87] |
| Flickr |
Photo sharing, commenting, photography related networking, worldwide |
February 2004 |
32,000,000[88] |
Open to people 13 and older (Yahoo!Login) |
33[89]- |
| Focus.com |
Business to Business, worldwide |
2005 |
850,000[90] |
Open to people 13 and older |
11,495[91] |
| Folkdirect |
General |
June 2010 |
80,000[92] |
Open to people 16 and older |
19,932[93] |
| Fotki |
Photo sharing, video hosting, photo contests, journals, forums and friend’s feed. |
October 1998 |
1,613,268 |
Open |
5,367[94]- |
| Fotolog |
Photoblogging. Popular in South America and Spain |
|
20,000,000[95] |
Open |
227[96] |
| Foursquare |
Location based mobile social network |
|
2,000,000[97] |
Open |
4,539[98] |
| Friends Reunited |
UK based. School, college, work, sport and streets |
|
19,000,000[99] |
Open to people 13 and older |
10,231[100] |
| Friendster |
General. Popular in Southeast Asia. No longer popular in the western world |
2002 |
90,000,000[101] |
Open to people 16 and older. No children allowed |
146[102] |
| Frühstückstreff |
General |
July 2001 |
14,800[citation needed] |
Open |
1,253,155[103] |
| Fubar |
dating, an “online bar” for 18 and older |
October 2007 |
1,200,000[104] |
Open to people 18+ |
9,476[105] |
| Gaia Online |
Anime and games. Popular in USA, Canada and Europe. Moderately popular around Asia. |
|
23,523,663[106] |
Open to people 13 and older |
1,071[107] |
| GamerDNA |
Computer and video games |
September 21, 2006 |
310,000[108] |
Open |
22,887[109] |
| Gather.com |
Article, picture, and video sharing, as well as group discussions |
|
465,000[110] |
Open |
3,974[111] |
| Gays.com |
Social network for LGBT community, Guide for LGBT bars, restaurants, clubs, shopping |
May 16, 2008 |
100,000[112] |
Open. Global |
74,664[113] |
| Geni.com |
Families, genealogy |
January 16, 2007 |
15,000,000[114] |
Open |
5,815[115] |
| Gogoyoko |
Fair play in Music - Social networking site for musicians and music lovers |
|
|
Invite only while in beta |
119,272[116] |
| Goodreads |
Library cataloging, book lovers |
December 2006 |
|
Open |
2,543[117] |
| Google Buzz |
General |
|
|
Open |
NA (Alexa only records data for second-level domains) |
| Gossipreport.com |
Anonymous gossip |
|
|
Open to people 16 and older |
1,245,494[118] |
| GovLoop |
for people in and around government |
|
|
|
|
| Grono.net |
Poland |
|
2,000,000[citation needed] |
Open |
2,958[119] |
| Habbo |
General for teens. Over 31 communities worldwide. Chat Room and user profiles. |
|
162,000,000[120][121][122] |
Open to people 13 and older |
6,545[123] |
| hi5 |
General. Popular in India, Mongolia, Thailand, Romania, Jamaica, Central Africa, Portugal and Latin America. Not very popular in the USA. |
2003 |
80,000,000[124] |
Open to people 13 and older. No children allowed |
51[125] |
| Hospitality Club |
Hospitality |
|
328,629[126] |
Open |
38,258[127] |
| Hotlist |
Geo-Social Aggregator rooted in the concept of knowing where your friends are, were, and will be. |
|
80,000[128] |
Open |
28,241[129] |
| HR.com |
Social networking site for Human Resources professionals |
1999 |
194,000[130] |
Open |
60,048[131] |
| Hub Culture |
Global influencers focused on worth creation |
November 2002 |
20,000[132] |
Invite-only |
515,308[133] |
| Hyves |
General, Most popular in the Netherlands. |
|
10,097,000[134] |
Open |
225[135] |
| Ibibo |
Talent based social networking site that allows to promote one’s self and also discover new talent. Most popular in India. |
|
3,500,000[136] |
Open |
695[137] |
| Indaba Music |
Online collaboration for musicians, remix contests, and networking. |
|
350,000[138] |
Open and Global |
55,062[139] |
| IRC-Galleria |
Finland |
|
505,000[140] |
Open to Finnish speaking people 12 and older |
3,302[141] |
| italki.com |
Language learning social network. 100+ languages. |
|
500,000[142] |
Open. Global. |
29,939[143] |
| InterNations |
International community |
|
|
Invite-only |
25,604[144] |
| Itsmy |
Mobile community worldwide, blogging, friends, personal TV-shows |
|
2,500,000[145] |
|
206,437[146] |
| iWiW |
Hungary |
|
4,000,000[147] |
Invite-only |
532[148] |
| Jaiku |
General. Microblogging. Owned by Google |
February 2006 |
|
Open to people 13 and older |
15,661[149] |
| JammerDirect.com |
Network for unsigned artists |
October 2007 |
136,000[150] |
Open to the General Public |
133,510[151] |
| kaioo |
General, nonprofit |
November 2007 |
30,000[152] |
|
386,200[153] |
| Kaixin001 |
General. In Simplified Chinese; caters for mainland China users |
|
|
Open to the General Public |
61[154] |
| Kiwibox |
General. For the users, by the users, a social network that is more than a community. |
1999 |
2,400,000[155] |
Open to people 13 and older |
104,563[156] |
| Lafango |
Talent-Focused media sharing site |
|
|
Open global |
35,810[157] |
| Last.fm |
Music |
2002 |
30,000,000[158] |
Open to any age or gender |
310[159] |
| LibraryThing |
Book lovers |
|
400,000[160] |
Open to people 13 and older |
4,529[161] |
| Lifeknot |
Shared interests, hobbies |
|
|
Open to people 18 and older |
602,117[162] |
| LinkedIn |
Business and professional networking |
May 2003 |
80,000,000[163] |
Open to people 18 and older |
29[164] |
| LinkExpats |
Social networking website for expatriates. 100+ countries. |
|
|
Open. Global. |
1,668,484[165] |
| Listography |
Lists. Autobiography |
|
|
Open |
197,009[166] |
| LiveJournal |
Blogging. Popular in Russia and among the Russian-speaking diaspora abroad. |
April 15, 1999 |
17,564,977[167] |
Open (OpenID) |
81[168] |
| Livemocha |
Online language learning - dynamic online courses in 35 languages - world’s largest community of native language speakers. |
|
5,000,000[169] |
Open |
4,079[170] |
| LunarStorm |
Sweden |
|
1,200,000[171] |
Open |
65,874[172] |
| MEETin |
General |
|
|
Open |
173,717[173] |
| Meetup.com |
General. Used to plan offline meetings for people interested in various activities |
|
|
Open to people 18 and older |
739[174] |
| Meettheboss |
Business and Finance community, worldwide. |
|
|
Open |
107,180[175] |
| Mixi |
Japan |
October 25, 2000 |
24,323,160[176] |
Invite-only |
85[177] |
| mobikade |
mobile community, UK only |
|
|
Open to people 18 and older |
1,851,728[178] |
| MocoSpace |
mobile community, worldwide |
|
3,000,000[179] |
Open to people 14 and older |
3,685[180] |
| MOG |
Music |
|
|
Open to people 14 and older |
4,221[181] |
| MouthShut.com |
Social Network, social media, consumer reviews |
|
|
Open |
2,545[182] |
| Mubi (website) |
Auteur cinema |
|
200,000 |
Open |
25,648[183] |
| Multiply |
“Real world” relationships. Popular in primarily in Asia. |
|
10,000,000[184] |
Open to people 13 and older. No children allowed |
246[185] |
| Muxlim |
Muslim portal site |
2006 |
50,000[186] |
Open to people 13 and older |
59,099[187] |
| MyAnimeList |
Anime themed social community |
|
160,000[188] |
Open to people 13 and older |
6,096[189] |
| MyChurch |
Christian Churches |
|
144,295[190] |
Open |
94,510[191] |
| MyHeritage |
family-oriented social network service |
|
30,000,000 [192] |
Open |
2,953[193] |
| MyLife |
Locating friends and family, keeping in touch (formerly Reunion.com) |
|
51,000,000[194] |
Open |
1,481[195] |
| My Opera |
Blogging, mobile blogging, photo sharing, connecting with friends, Opera Link and Opera Unite. Global |
|
5,500,000[196] |
Open |
NA (Alexa only records data for second-level domains) |
| Myspace |
General |
August 2003 |
100,000,000+[197][198] |
Open to ages 13 and older. |
46[199] |
| myYearbook |
General, Charity |
|
20,000,000[200] |
Open to age 13 and up & Grades 9 and up |
851[201] |
| Nasza-klasa.pl |
School, college and friends. Popular in Poland |
|
11,000,000[202] |
Open |
110[203] |
| Netlog |
General. Popular in Europe, Turkey, the Arab World and Canada’s Québec province. Formerly known as Facebox and Redbox.[204] |
|
70,000,000[205] |
Open to people 13 and older |
130[206] |
| Nettby |
Norwegian Community |
September 14, 2006 |
|
Open |
2,719[207] |
| Nexopia |
Canada |
|
1,400,000[208] |
Open to people 13 and older [209] |
24,071[210] |
| NGO Post |
Non-Profit news sharing and networking, mainly in India |
|
15,000[211] |
Open |
70,134[212] |
| Ning |
Users create their own social websites and social networks |
|
|
Open to people 13 and older |
132[213] |
| Odnoklassniki |
Connect with old classmates. Popular in Russia and former Soviet republics |
|
45,000,000[214] |
Open |
92[215] |
| OneClimate |
Not for Profit Social networking and Climate Change |
|
|
Open to People of all ages and locations |
307,773[216] |
| OneWorldTV |
Not for Profit Video sharing and social networking aimed at people interested in social issues, development, environment, etc. |
|
|
Open |
27,434,227[217] |
| Open Diary |
First online blogging community, founded in 1998 |
1998 |
5,000,000[218] |
Open to people 13 and older |
39,290[219] |
| Orkut |
General. Owned by Google Inc. Popular in India and Brazil.[220] |
January 22, 2004 |
100,000,000[221] |
Open to people 18 and older, (Googlelogin) |
43[222] |
| OUTeverywhere |
Gay/LGBTQ Community |
|
|
Open |
329,887[223] |
| PartnerUp |
Social networking site for entrepreneurs and small business owners |
|
150,000[citation needed] |
Open and Free |
29,221[224] |
| Passportstamp |
Travel |
|
|
Open |
366,598[225] |
| Partyflock |
Dutch virtual community for people interested in house music and other electronic dance music. Since 2001, Partyflock has evolved into the biggest online community for the dance scene in the Netherlands |
10th November 2001 |
321,125 |
Open to people 18 years and up |
7,226[226] |
| Pingsta |
Collaborative platform for the world’s Internetwork Experts |
|
|
Invite-only, only Internet Experts |
1,668,955[227] |
| Plaxo |
Aggregator |
|
15,000,000[228] |
Open |
1,533[229] |
| Playahead |
Swedish, Danish teenagers |
|
|
Closed |
63,081[230] |
| Playlist.com |
General, Music |
|
|
Open to people over 13 |
|
| Plurk |
Micro-blogging, RSS, updates. Very popular in Taiwan |
|
|
Open |
1,072[231] |
| Present.ly |
Enterprise social networking and micro-blogging |
|
|
Open |
4,893,711[232] |
| Qapacity |
A a business-oriented social networking site and a business directory |
|
|
Open to people 16 and older |
96,847[233] |
| Quechup |
General, friendship, dating |
2007 |
|
Open to those over 16 |
150,757[234] |
| Qzone |
General. In Simplified Chinese; caters for mainland China users |
|
200,000,000[235] |
Open to the general public |
NA (Alexa only records data for second-level domains) |
| Raptr |
Video games |
|
|
Open |
25,664[236] |
| Ravelry |
Knitting and crochet |
|
743,930[237] |
Open |
7,811[238] |
| Renren |
Significant site in China. Was known as 校内 (Xiaonei) until August 2009. |
|
15,000,000[239] |
Open |
103[240] |
| ResearchGate |
Social network for scientific researchers |
|
400,000[241] |
Open |
23,095[242] |
| ReverbNation.com |
Social network for musician and bands |
|
500,000[243] |
Open to people 16 and older |
4,422[244] |
| Ryze |
Business |
|
500,000[245] |
Open |
19,839[246] |
| ScienceStage |
Science-oriented multimedia platform and network for scientists |
|
|
Open |
26,804[247] |
| Scispace.net |
Collaborative network site for scientists |
|
|
By invitation, but can request an invitation |
1,231,795[248] |
| ShareTheMusic |
Music Community. Sharing and listening to music for free and legally |
|
|
Open |
471,712[249] |
| Shelfari |
Books |
October 11, 2006 |
|
Open |
19,681[250] |
| Skyrock |
Social Network in French-speaking world |
|
22,000,000[251] |
Open |
111[252] |
| SocialVibe |
Social Network for Charity |
|
435,000[citation needed] |
Open |
41,927[253] |
| Sonico.com |
General. Popular in Latin America and Spanish and Portuguese speaking regions. |
|
17,000,000[254][255] |
Open to people 13 and older |
507[256] |
| Stickam |
Live video streaming and chat. |
|
2,000,000[257] |
Open |
2,742[258] |
| StudiVZ |
University students, mostly in the German-speaking countries. School students and those out of education sign up via its partner sites schülerVZ and meinVZ. |
|
17,000,000[259] |
Open |
316[260] |
| StumbleUpon |
Stumble through websites that match your selected interests |
|
10,600,000[261] |
Open |
185[262] |
| Tagged |
General. Subject to quite some controversy about its e-mail marketing and privacy policy |
|
100,000,000[263] |
Open |
117[264] |
| TalentTrove |
Online Talent Network |
|
|
Open |
21,177[265] |
| Talkbiznow |
Business networking |
|
|
Open |
283,770[266] |
| Taltopia |
Online artistic community |
|
|
Open |
52,759[267] |
| Taringa! |
General |
|
350,000[268] |
Open to people 13 and older |
126[269] |
| TeachStreet |
Education / Learning / Teaching - More than 400 subjects |
|
|
Open |
61,492[270] |
| TravBuddy.com |
Travel |
2005 |
1,588,000[271] |
Open to people 18 and older |
11,789[272] |
| Travellerspoint |
Travel |
2002 |
310,000[273] |
Open |
11,486[274] |
| tribe.net |
General |
|
|
Open |
5,706[275] |
| Trombi.com |
French subsidiary of Classmates.com |
|
4,400,000[276] |
|
7,283[277] |
| Tuenti |
Spanish-based university and High School social network. Very Popular in Spain |
|
4,500,000[citation needed] |
Invite-only |
291[278] |
| Tumblr |
General. Micro-blogging, RSS |
2007 |
|
Open |
245[279] |
| Twitter |
General. Micro-blogging, RSS, updates |
July 15, 2006 |
175,000,000[280][281] |
Open |
10[282] |
| Vkontakte |
Social Network for Russian-speaking world including former Soviet republics. Biggest site in Russia |
September 2006 |
110,578,500[283] |
Open |
37[284] |
| Vampirefreaks.com |
Gothic and industrial subculture |
1999 |
1,931,049[285] |
Open to users 13 and over |
7,577[286] |
| Viadeo |
Global Social Networking and Campus Networking available in English, French, German, Spanish, Italian and Portuguese |
|
30,000,000[287] |
Open |
979[288] |
| Virb |
Social network that focuses heavily on artists, including musicians and photographers |
2007 |
|
Open |
22,474[289] |
| Vox |
Blogging |
|
|
Open |
1,319[290] |
| Wakoopa |
For computer fans that want to discover new software and games |
|
100,000[citation needed] |
Open |
9,420[291] |
| Wattpad |
For readers and authors to interact & e-book sharing |
|
|
Open |
11,008[292] |
| Wasabi |
General. UK-based. |
|
|
Open |
95,188[293] |
| WAYN |
Travel and lifestyle |
May 2003 |
10,000,000[294] |
Open to people 18 and older |
2,974[295] |
| WebBiographies |
Genealogy and biography |
|
|
Open |
734,214[296] |
| WeeWorld |
Teenagers - 10 to 17 |
|
30,000,000[297] |
Open to ages 13 and older. |
8,729[298] |
| WeOurFamily |
General with emphasis on privacy and security |
|
|
Open, subscription-based |
685,337[299] |
| Wer-kennt-wen |
General |
|
|
General |
441[300] |
| weRead |
Books |
June 2007 |
4,000,000[citation needed] |
Open |
80,233[301] |
| Windows Live Spaces |
Blogging (formerly MSN Spaces) |
|
120,000,000[302] |
Open |
NA (Alexa only records data for second-level domains) |
| WiserEarth |
Online community space for the social justice and environmental movement[303] |
|
45,000[304] |
Open to people 16 and older |
77,143[305] |
| WorldFriends |
|
January 2000 |
|
|
|
| Xanga |
Blogs and “metro” areas |
Unknown |
27,000,000[306] |
Open |
768[307] |
| XING |
Business (primarily Europe (Germany, Austria, Switzerland) and China) |
|
8,000,000[308] |
Open |
269[309] |
| Xt3 |
Catholic social networking, created after World Youth Day 2008 |
|
|
Open |
459,914[310] |
| Yammer |
Social networking for office colleagues |
|
|
Must have company email |
32,993[311] |
| Yelp, Inc. |
Local Business Review and Talk |
|
|
Open |
343[312] |
| Youmeo |
UK Social Network (focus on data portability) |
|
|
Open |
1,680,191[313] |
| AsianAvenue |
A social network for the Asian American community |
1997 |
|
Open |
|
| Zoo.gr |
Greek Web Meeting point |
2004 |
890,000[314] |
Open |
8,057[315] |
| Zooppa |
Online Community for Creative Talent (host of brand sponsored advertising contests) |
|
60,000[316] |
Open to people 14 and older[317] |
88,555[318] |
Wow! What a great list. I’ll take some time to go through these and do some exploring!