Time 14:43 OK, let me put social networks into some kind of perspective so those that have a life beyond the Web can appreciate the concept: So you’re having a baby. I understand, having five children myself, that women get together for a baby shower and talk about baby stuff. That stuff might include some of the experienced mothers sharing the joys of an early epidural or the sense of victory they have when scoring a great sale at Baby Gap. It could also be the expectant mother asking about C-sections or the complications of having twins. (Tell me about it: I almost fainted when I heard we were getting two for the price of, well, eh…two.) Now those same conversations and more are taking place both down the street and on the Web at sites like Real Savvy Moms. This site also includes medical experts taking mothers questions and — oh, yes — plenty of things to buy, if necessary. Those babies grow up, and drive cars, and go out well too late at night. And when they do (in Minnesota’s Twin Cities) they share their experiences (well, not all of them, but just the ones they want to share) at Vita.mn. The site is a networking hub of sorts for night life, culture and entertainment. And of course, the concept is that a restaurant, band, theatrical play, etc. that is recommended is worth experiencing. It’s true: “Everybody is a critic.” And if you thought you have seen it all, there are 448 members of the Handbell community on Ning.com. (You need to be invited to be a member; those who don’t play handbells need not apply.) Emarketer.com has an interesting report by Comscore showing that heavy users of social networking sites are heavy users of online retail Web sites. It describes the top 10 categories of products that are most active among online retail users of social networking sites (which proves you can lead a horse to water). Give me more social networking If you wish to drink more social networking water, then consider Blog World and New Media Expo, November 7-9 in Las Vegas. Excellent line up all three days, and there’s also a two-day conference package. The variety of tracks lets attendees focus on a clear path to greater understanding, whether it’s the early-adopter jumping into the medium with both feet or the skeptic that is just trying to figure out what all this stuff means for their next marketing management meeting. Give a look-see. If you are going, ping me at amaruggi@providentpartners.net and perhaps we can get together. You know, socially. How do I reach all of these social networkers? Lotame (LOW-tuh-mee) is one way. Lotame calls its audience analytical technology “Crowd Control.” The interview in this podcast with Lotame’s president, Andy Monfried, highlights how advertisers can reach users of social media sites within the topic areas important to both advertiser and user. After all, that’s the beauty of how technology and communities are progressing: It’s offering information to a person who is more likely to value that information as a enhancement to their knowledge base instead of considering it a chunk of time to be Tivo’d from their mind — if, in fact, it even made it that far. Profiling can be a good thing, even for the consumer. Crowd Control can show the degrees of interest in a user’s participation with information and social sites of a certain topic and, like magic (well, kinda), more information is presented that the user values. This technology is best suited for midsize and large enterprises. Lotame’s Web site is directed to publishers and advertisers. Less