I came across this interesting research conducted by MSN + MTV, and found this paragraph (and particularly the sentence I've highlighted) to be very intriguing:

How are Social Networks used?
From flirting to ‘checking people out’, networks tend to be relatively small. Globally, social networks allow young people to ‘feel connected’ to their existing friends rather than to meet strangers. The idea of social networks being ‘open to everyone’ has less appeal than the idea of smaller communities among people they know. While they use technology such as IM to arrange their social life, the sites are forums to share and relive experiences.

Another report by the same company talks about how the mass appeal in user-generated content is to connect with others.

A report by the Annenberg Center for Digital Future published a report that showed a dramatic increase in the number of social networkers who are participating in causes online.

Three-quarters of online community members said they use the Internet to
participate in communities related to social causes, with 40 percent saying that they use the Internet at least
monthly to participate in such communities. Eighty-seven percent of online community members are
participating in social causes that are new to them since their involvement in online communities began.

Wow. We are living in a time when people are actively trying to connect and engage, and where an obscene amount of money is being generated from this pursuit. How will nonprofits leverage these tools that seem to be made for our needs?