Beta or VHS?

There are so many ways to socially network these days. Plaxo, Linked In, Facebook, My Space, hi5, Twitter, Real Town, Active Rain, Localism, Squidoo, and many many more. There are also thousands of interest-specific and local ways to network with people from around the world. Which do you choose? Which one has the ability to stick around long-term.

I want to be a part of a VHS site. One that sticks around. One where you can add value to the group and receive value in return. No one wants to buy into a social network that goes the way of the Beta tape.

There are so many different sites to network on that it is impossible to really know which one will be worth giving your opinion on, asking questions and interacting with other like-minded folks. I suppose that there are some signs of staying power of certain sites, depending on what you're looking for. I could spend all day visiting social networking sites, trying to connect with other people, but who wants to add to a site that won't be around for long? We all want to join, and add to the discussion on the most popular sites so that our questions and opinions have meaning.

I answered and asked questions on Trulia and Yahoo, but I found that the discussions weren't as interesting as some of the local boards that I frequent.

In the end, however, VHS was replaced by DVD. I have to wonder what's around the corner just waiting to be the Google of social networking.