Often we get asked about up-and-coming social networks. Three focused communities have been growing rapidly this year: CafeMom, a network for mothers, Daily Strength, a support community for those with health issues and other life problems, and Eons, a social network for the 50+ set.

Here are some stats on these sites:

CafeMom seems to be appealing to MySpace users as they become parents: in June 2007, more than 25% of upstream visits to CafeMom came from MySpace. In addition, 78% of its users were under the age of 34. Social networking is not just for the young and single, also evidenced by Eons, which of course is dominated by users in the 45-54 and 55+ age groups. Interestingly, Daily Strength, which is predominately female (82% of visits) has a broad age range, with 93% of its visits coming from users between the ages of 25 and 54.

While none of these sites ranks yet within the top 20 social networks, I am encouraged the growth of these niche communities as more users engage with Web 2.0.

LeeAnn Prescott

LeeAnn Prescott is Research Director for Hitwise covering the US market. This post was originally posted on Hitwise blog here.