A colleague of mine was recently invited to join a new niche social network called Artipolis. After having a browse myself, I felt it was time for a review.

Artipolis, described by it's founder Alexander Galle as a "City of Art" has definitely found a solid niche that hasn't completely been fully exploited. In reality, Artipolis is a social network catering to artists and art connoisseurs worldwide who are looking for a place to network, socialize and share tidbits from the art world. I would have to boldly say, although by no means extragavant, Artipolis is an understated work of art itself. In design terms, it's simplicity is evident and works well in promoting a 'wealthy' network of hnw members. Artipolis however is by no means the first to try this sort of thing. DeviantArt has been around for years, but naturally does not have the 'exclusive' image alongside it. Amateur illustrator has received a fair amount of buzz, but again nothing exclusive there. Behance is an elegant open-to-all artists network and there's virb.com along with Humble Voice which have their art angles and although not exclusive - do have an air of exclusivity about them. All in all however, there's nothing exactly like Artipolis, which for Alexander and his team at Galle.com at least, is a good thing.

The site in terms of functionality is nothing new. You sign up, create a profile, upload music/images, browse forums and connect to other members and also a 'magazine section' - but it is obvious that the value in these types of sites is derived from the quality of its members rather than the functionality of the site, hence their choice to make this an 'invite only' network.

There is definitely a place for niche and highly specialized social networks. There's traineo.com & gimme20.com for fitness, Social Picks for stocks, asmallworld and the soon to launch The Connoisseur for hnwi's and even SmokingaPhattie a social network for um, barbecue fanatics (?!) - except a flurry more to arrive soon.