HarleySocial.com - A Social Network for Harley Fanatics

A social network for Harley Davidson motorcycle fanatics, HarleySocial.com provides a forum to meet fellow bikers and to share photos, videos, blogs, audio, and more. As with other social network sites, you can “add friends” here, send private messages, or write comments on another members profile. User-added content such as photos and videos can be rated and commented upon, and when browsing most of the site's features, a user can choose to view the most recent, most viewed, or highest-rated items in any category. Links to outside news sources covering Harleys are also provided, and members can blog directly on the site or provide a link to an outside blog. The site is not affiliated with or endorsed by Harley Davidson, Inc., and while Harleys are clearly its focus, the site does not exclude content related to other motorcycle makes.

The site has a well-developed structure in place, with photo gallery topics including Tattoo Showcase, Riding My Harley, and Harley Social Girls (featuring some scantily-clad “biker babes”). The “Groups” and “Forums” sections have an even more extensive skeleton structure - including groups for each state and various interest groups - but currently lack much activity. HarleySocial.com even caters to the mobile nature of Harley riders by including a feature that allows uploading from your cell phone.

The Unofficial Harley Social Network! Where does the road take you?

Harley riders are already a passionate and well-established crowd, which should work to this site’s advantage as it looks to grow its membership. HarleySocial.com’s features are varied enough to keep users interested and it has a strong core structure, so as membership and activity increase, it should remain easy to navigate. Also, given the niche audience it will attract, this site will likely appeal to advertisers.

Beyond word-of-mouth, how will this site grow its membership? Will similar interest groups already established on broader social networks like Facebook and MySpace provide too much competition?