At NetworkWorld, Kristin Burnham of CIO gawks at Ten of the World's Strangest Social Networks. In two decades online, I've enjoyed reading niche newsgroups and forums -- ascii art to ufos -- and I nurture my eccentric interests. So I came to these with an open mind -- they're just forums with better software.

Calling all clairvoyants! Zii Trend is a social prediction community in which users predict future events and trends. The site is based on the theory that aggregation of information in groups results in decisions that are often better than those that could have been made by any single member of the group.

Okay, that could be fun. But then...

Here, users weigh in on such questions as "When will Madonna announce retirement?" and "Will there be a World War III before 2050?" Maybe these folks can figure out what will happen on "Lost" at the end of the season.

Now it sounds like a high school debaters convention.

I entirely understand wanting to opt out of hanging with Digg's gamer geeks -- I'm an old broad. But this one sounds just like it, just older, just awful (and hypochrondiac, to boot):

As the name suggests, Eons is a social networking site for, well, folks "in their prime," or more specifically, Boomers. Much like Facebook, users build a profile, join groups, share photos and videos and play games "to keep your mind sharp." One feature on Eons that you probably won't find on Facebook: a "longevity calculator" that determines your life expectancy and offers personalized advice for "living longer and healthier."

If you're deeply into vampires, dreams, mustaches or karaoke, or you really want to bless people, date an intellectual or join the borg, there's probably a group of kindred souls for you in that strange networks slideshow.

I think the social prediction community should bet on the borg.