With social networking picking up speed like... something fast... I say it's high time to devote some attention to the niche social networking sites out there that have, at very least, aroused a "huh" from yours truly. The following list goes from weird to weird and is in no specific order. So, without further ado, I present to you the 10 Strangest Niche Social Networking Sites.

(Note: This list has been researched by me, written by me, and posted by me, so if you have others to contribute to the list, please feel free to tell us about them in the comments section below.)

1: TheDollPalace.com

TheDollPalace.com, "Where Cartoon Dolls Live," is by far one of the creepiest things I've seen lurking on the internet to date. Should you decide to sign your soul over to this elite group of doll-making weirdos, you will afford such luxuries as playing dress-up games with cartoon dolls, sending self-made cartoon dolls in email to other doll-loving online friends (through "DollMail"), and participate in forums where people talk about... dolls.

2: MyChurch.org

MyChurch.org: Because God hearts the internet. This is a social networking site for "Christian churches that follow the Nicene Creed." The interface itself is fairly similar to Facebook's, but in addition to a personal profile, you can also create a church profile to let everyone know what's poppin' at your church. And instead of joining groups like "When did I get a tattoo?!" you can join church communities. It's basically a regular social networking site that weeds out the riffraff and reels in the God-fearing Christians.

3: aSmallWorld.net

This isn't so much weird as it is rude. This social networking site, launched in 2004, is "Invite Only," and a glance at the cover image above reveals that it is for the social elite that soar above the rest of us low lives. As we integrate more and more into this world of the wide web, we will inevitably shift from sitting at home on a Friday night waiting for the phone to ring, to sitting at home on a Friday night waiting for our aSmallWorld invites. However, the site reminds us: "If you have no friends who are members yet, please be patient."

4: A-Space

The site for secret agents that could either save us or lead to our ultimate demise as a nation. Set to launch in December.

5: Petster.com

If Fido has yet to figure out how to post a blog on his own (dumb!), Petster is a site where you, the human with opposable thumbs, can make a page for your pet and share with other pet lovers (or as I call them, "scaries") the details of your pet's existence. If "pet" is simply too broad of a term for you, please check out Dogster, Catster, and Hamsterster.

6: Eons.com

Eons: "Lovin' life on the flip side of 50." IMO, Eons is based on overcompensation. This is a site where those over the hump come to say "I'm not dead yet" and post photos and blogs detailing their mid-life crisis rendezvous. I don't want to talk about Eons anymore because it's giving me the shivers.

7: Respectance.com

Right after members leave Eons, they network on Respectance, a site for the dead. I suppose it's really a site for the mourning; however, it encompasses photos, lifelines, and stories about those who've passed on. It is a little sad. And now so am I.

8: IveScrewedUp.com

IveScrewedUp.com, set up by the Flamingo Road Church, is what one would call an easy out. It is a social networking site for sinners to fess up in a virtual confessional and clear up their rap sheets before taking the ultimate vacation to see the Lord. Hooray! Everything is easy with the internet!

9: VampireFreaks.com

This is a goth social networking site because lordy knows the goths can't mingle with us mainstream folk on our mainstream social networking sites. VampireFreaks.com hosts music, photos, journals, and cult-membership, better known to the regular beautiful people as groups.

10: HOT or NOT.com

It is important for people the world over to know whether or not they are hot. This way, the non-hotties can go into hiding so the hotties don't have to mingle with them or take offense to their ugly mugs. Jim and James (NOT HOT, by the way) knew this, and started this social networking site where people can judge and be judged. All is right with the world when we are relying on our internet pals to tell us if we are attractive enough to be worthy of existence.

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