I stumbled across a new social networking solution that actually fits in with the model of success that I outlined recently (see Social Design): it is focused on a domain -- books -- that I am really interested in. the service is ConnectViaBooks, and it is similar in spirit, but not in UI to Last.fm, a music service that has enlarged my musical realm in the last six months (see Unlinking From Social Networks: Part 4).

I created a reading list based on my love for historical novels, and after adding a rating for the Patrick O'Brian Aubrey Maturin series, and Bernard Cornwall's Sharpe series, I was quickly introduced to other people and other books I might like.

I actually discovered that there is a 21st book in the O'Brian series that I didn't know about: unfinished, alas, but something I might read over at Barnes and Noble one afternoon (see Amazon.com: Books: 21: The Final Unfinished Voyage of Jack Aubrey (Aubrey/Maturin Series)).

But the service lacks various social architecture elements -- at least at this point -- that I think are essential. The domain schema for books -- author, publisher, and genre -- is too dominant. The primary axis of involvement has to be people, and their artifacts. Instead of 'booklists' I would like to have a blog-like system to write about books, and have the entries tagged. Rating the books is fine, but too limited. Instead, this service provides a forum, where everyone can enter comments about books, or about whatever.

So, I am unlikely to become too involved in this solution, at least until the social architecture elements move into the the foreground: and they will have to, if it is to be successful.