E-com post

Social networking, as all encompassing as it may appear to be, is not the only source or recourse for setting goals and marking achievement. Indeed, with the demise of 43 Things, that particular shared tool is no more.
Shape dot com aka Shape magazine mentions other goal-setting sites like Stickk.com, Caloriecount.about.com, JoesGoals.com but you'd have to check them out first as they list these alongside 43 Things; the article is outdated.

Allowing that learning a language or having collegiate banter in order to extract further validation to your scientific or literary theory is not the same as setting goals at a personal level. You could set yourself the task of memorising the dessert menus in French prior to traveling to Paris or undertake to read and understand a given text within a certain time, that is true. But there are equally people who learn language at a leisurely pace with only idle thoughts of flying to be with native speakers.
Doesn't this apply then to the strict measures laid out for the Joe's Goals and Stickks of this world? Or does it depend on how stringent the requirements are, rather than any proven success rate.

Whether you've kept a Boltfolio or not, it's evident that social media has found application in various communities and professions.
In the academic sphere, there are file sharing and information exchange activities as in Academic.edu and there are simple catch up with old classmates; a notion so reliable for this purpose that Classmates has (have?) been around since 1995.

Is it a wonder that the jet set congregate in one corner while the backpackers share a bench?

Just as in real life there is more than one group catering to gays or reuniting families. And so forth. The more I scan back over this massive list the less inclined I am to revisit it in depth. Suffice to say the medical profession is active as are disability advocates and patients. Book lovers are as well represented here as they are over in forumville. Film buffs same. As we saw in social cataloguing or on TV
Numerous sites allow (encourage) you to post photos or share clips. A few are set up specifically for mobile phone. There are many, again as with the message boards and newsgroups, that will be as general as to challenge the front runners. As we've seen, there are many once leading social media outlets now digital detritus on the Information Superhighway while upstarts with a cleaner layout, more forward momentum, practical tweaks ... whatever it is that sees them the advantage, take that ball and run with it.
Business advice has it that noting what already exists and improving on it is the way to go rather than being wholly original or pursuing a tangent. This is fine for those who are not especially creative but does the rest of us no good unless we can sustain ourselves in an environment lacking the key spark.

That's not to say that all social network sites are created or maintained with the purpose of ex(tr)acting a profit. The schismatic nature of most existing social networks makes it clear that there will be double-ups here and in forums.
What does it mean if you participate on Fotki or Asian Avenue? You like sharing photos or you're Asian; cross out whichever does not apply.

Black Americans and free and open source software developers have been active in social media since its inception, or more accurately were partying like it was 1999. There are travel sites, ecological activist cybersquats, that caring bridge for families, all started in the late nineties.

How long do you want to write about your gap year or swap stories about long lost relatives? Niche networking serves a purpose just as the all pervading and prevailing general sites cleans up. To generalise about 'general', there's a preponderance of platforms that pertain to do two things at once. The trick is bringing enough like respondents to fuel the conversation. It's not social if no one participates.

The eleven year old me might have found something in Athlinks and the seventeen year old me, Audimated. Biip.no could be of interest to the childen of Norwegian immigrants in my family. Buzznet I've dipped into as a reader. Oh no wait, that was Buzzfeed.
There are social media networks catering to anime fans, cooks, the art community, physicians, sci fi and fantasy fans, business executives, entrepreneurs, research scientists, baby boomers and mature Internet users, those interested in social investing (social trading), gamers, [those who wish to] share life experiences, people into BDSM, friends, blogging community, clubbers, the male of the species, cafe moms and other female groupings, people in and around government, children, teens, hospitality workers, global influencers, talent*, shared interests and hobbies.
And it's not always people seeking each other out on a confirmed social basis, technology comes into play in a location based mobile social network.

*used generally here for hiring rather than looking at specifically creative talent