Steve Hall of AdRants fame has started an advertising discussion social network using Ning.  It's the first example I've checked out that uses Ning's new build-your-own social network service.

It's called AdGabber and I think it's a really smart move for Steve.  Actually, it made me realize that niche social networks might work really well as an extension of an established project that already has lots of traffic and interest rather than as a stand-alone attempt.

It will be interesting to see how it works because I would have assumed that if you don't have a lot of comments on your blog, and Steve's aren't high volume, then a related discussion board or social network wouldn't work.  But maybe such a setting will bring folks out to interact who might not respond to a single writer in the same way, even a writer they really liked.

We'll see. I have expressed some scepticism about the proliferation of such projects but this one has a different feel and I think it would be kind of cool if it was a success.

I'd be curious to see what would happen if blogs with a radically high volume of comments like Nah Right would do.  The thing with Nah Right is that the commenters have formed a social network and really made it their space so it actually might be a redundancy.

I just went and joined the Library 2.0 network, in addition to AdGabber, cause I'm geeky like that.

Via Miraflor who I think I just outgeeked with the Library 2.0 move!