If you are in the social media business – and if you are on the Internet you are, one way or another – you probably think that digg, reddit, del.icio.us, StumbleUpon, Propeller, Sphin and a few others are everything you’ll ever need. For some, these social networks do the job just fine. Gadgets makers can always rely on digg traffic to sell, SEOs will always get more readers from Sphinn, Propeller has a very mature, somehow sophisticated community and I could make a list of pros and cons for all these networks. But this is not my plan for today.

Today I’d like to introduce to you a salutary initiative. Propeller scout Digidave and J.D.Rucker have recently launched Social News Central. The purpose of the site is to bring together social bookmarkers from all over the social networking spectrum.

Every network has its specific and it is often difficult to “connect” with members of other networks without making an account on each. Social News Central will provide a platform of communication between different bookmarkers, a genuine exchange of ideas and maybe a real basis for dialogue.

SNC is not a place to submit stories and get votes, but a place to meet new people, communicate and learn.

“I think that social bookmakers, no matter what site they prefer, are part of a larger community. “ – says founder Digidave. “Most of the social bookmarking sites don’t provide the ability to really talk and exchange ideas - they are all about trading links. I wouldn’t want to change social bookmarking sites - they work great as they are. But lots of people want to get to know others - and Social News Central is an easy way to meet other people who are also news junkies, social media mavens and generally like to hang out online. It’s been a community in the dark this whole time - and I hope this turns on the light.”

Social bookmarkers seem to have a lot of time on their hands, don’t they? But don’t be narrow-minded. What makes a social network great if not the people? What makes social bookmarking valuable if not the users who submit and vote for the stories? Don’t ever think that the social bookmarkers are people with nothing better to do but click a button that pushes a story up or down. David Cohn (Digidave) is a professional writer who wrote for Wired, Columbia Journalism Review and the New York Times to name just a few. He is not the only bookmarker with such a professional background. There are many brilliant people involved in the social bookmarking movement, more than you can ever imagine. They build the future of the Web.

An important aspect of the social networking in general is that users have different nicknames and sometimes different avatars on various networks. Social News Central will help these people to get to know each other better, learn and grow together.

“The real advantage is in meeting new people and mingling with other social bookmarkers you already knew - but perhaps never talked to. Members can create their own groups or write blog posts - which other members will see. So if you have an idea for how the social bookmarking community can grow and mature, why not write a blog post about it and get feedback from other people who care about the space?”

Social News Central is still at its infancy. There are many issues to address and so far the founders haven’t managed to come up with clear answers. There are no special requirements to join, no particular “code of conduct” for the members and no guidelines when it comes to spam and privacy. So far things are going well, as the community is not very large – but the number of top diggers, top stumblers and top propellers will attract some opportunists sooner or later. I think this is one of the drawbacks of Social News Central, but I am sure they will be addressed soon. Each startup has issues to solve, so let’s not speak to soon.

There is another thing that might puzzle you though. Personally I was surprised that the founders chose Ning to host the network. Digidave gave a few reasons to support his choice.

“Ning is light, flexible and most importantly, it’s not Facebook. When you join a Ning site you feel like you are really joining a new social network. Facebook is great for networking around events - but not really for ideas. Facebook groups don’t let people write blog posts or form groups within it. I’ve seen some Ning groups get as large as 1,400 people. A Facebook group just couldn’t handle that. Also: If the community does get really big and they vote to improve the site - we can take it to a cleaner URL and add more functionality.”

I am looking forward to see the community growing so much and see it moving to its own domain instead of being hosted at Ning. Although Ning is great for startups, there are things that lower its flexibility. The space occupied with Google ads could be used for news or other important widgets. Digidave and J.D have no control over what is displayed there (the ads belong to Ning) and many first comers might believe that Digidave and J.D created the community to make money from ads. This is misleading and it could make many potential members suspicious about the real purpose of the network.

“I want people to know that this is really a community space - it belongs to nobody.

I hope that anybody who joins participates and makes the space their own in some way or other.”