The blogosphere is abuzz with rumors that AOL is about to launch a social networking site to compete with MySpace. Word is that the new tool will be tied to the AIM instant messaging tool, tapping in to the 43 million users of that service and their existing “buddy” lists. A couple of thoughts on this:

(1) I think it’s inevitable that MySpace starts showing some vulnerability and that a competitor rises up to challenge its’ dominance. Why? Its’ users, 13-18 year olds, are trend followers and will abandon MySpace in a second if something perceived as cooler comes along. I think social networks are here to stay, but MySpace’s dominance of the space is a trend. I personally think we’ll move towards more niche communities instead of massive networks like MySpace and the new AOL network. I’ve been wrong before though.

(2) Isn’t what is being described pretty much MSN Spaces, which is the social networking site tied to MSN Messenger that I don’t think anyone uses? This is all rumor at this point, so we’ll see if there is more to it than that.