Include, kind of?

Playing a little bit with BrightKite these days, mostly watching and wondering… is this like Twitter… brilliant but hard to get your head around… or is it really just another fad, another fun ap online to use for a bit and move on? I can see incredible potential, but as a friend pointed out… it is the network beneath anything that makes it powerful. So, the question begs: is this the thing to spend time and energy building the network? Right question. Then, in thinking about social networking, what is the fire, the fuel that creates an effective, inclusive, dynamic network? Human tendency seems to include those like us and exclude all others. This tendency can be worked against, but requires effort and intention. So then, to turn to the notion of niche social networking. There seems to be a lot of niche in the attempt to expand and include. Which makes me wonder: include kind of? Do we really not want it? Or are we so in the habit of creating niche that we do, even when we really want to don’t.