Brewed Fresh Daily

Web sites, such as Tribe.net, Meetup.com, and Ryze.com are all being tapped by those looking to build social networks for leverage in finding jobs or building business clientele. The demand for services is so strong that Ryze.com, which was launched in 2001, has stuck exclusively to offering business networking, while sites, like Tribe.net, offer opportunities for finding friends, dates, apartments and connections to a host of other interests alongside the service. Online personals, dating and socializing sites are among the biggest paid content generators on the Web, bringing in almost $215 million in the first half of 2003, according to Jupiter Research. The sites attracted 927,000 visitors in October alone, up from 532,000 visitors in June, the research organization found. Revenues from such sites are expected to reach $642 million by 2008, Jupiter predicts. "It's just something that people are making more and more a part of their life because they are realizing that the best time to build your network is before you need it," said Adrian Scott, founder and chief executive officer of Ryze.