When you look at the social networking space for 20-somethings in the US, you’ll see a crowded space that would make any entrepreneur shy away. But, as soon as you widen the field outside this age range or outside the US, the space is considerably more open. Miaplaza, which has been through a year long private beta, aims to grab marketshare in the untapped demographics of social networks.

Miaplaza centers around the idea of plazas, which are basically groups of people who share an interest–think Yahoo Groups, but with a tighter integration around social networking. All the usual features of social networks are there: the ability to add friends, look at the links between friends, messaging each other, and perusing member profiles. The plazas are grown organically, which is to say that members make their own plazas, and passionate members keep them alive with activity. This is similar to the portals at Zimbio, but with a stronger emphasis on social networking.

The key behind the plaza paradigm is that users are able to post various types of media, including photos, news, discussions, and recommendations. You can also surf these media types across all the plazas via the top navigation menu.

I met the founder of miaplaza, Johannes Ziegler, at Stirr, and he is a strong proponent of organic community growth, and looking for social networking oppurtunities outside the demographics of the usual players. For example, they have seen a huge growth in World Cup Soccer plazas, which have sprung up with users all around the world. Indeed, some of the other plazas that I see are “Parents of the Silicon Valley Area”, “Peninsula Bible Church”, and “Fly Fishing and Bird Hunting”–not the usual social networks you’ll see on the other popular sites. And a lot of them are garnering a decent amount of activity.

Right now, Miaplaza offers localizations for US, Canada, and Germany. They’ll be rolling out other countries soon.

Miaplaza is a social network to look out for. If they tap just a slice of the untouched social net, that may bring enough people and value to the system. However, I’m not crazy about their faded khaki color scheme, which I think should be made more colorful and friendly.

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Categories - Social Web, miaplaza |