As Europe's top-ranked social network, Netlog has been able to make money from advertising since 2007. According to CEO Lorenz Bogaert, "We now get 60 million unique visitors per month, and we get advertisers to pay us to target their advertisements to our visitors, who range in age between 14 and 24 years old. If someone wants to get on the Netlog home page, they must pay -- say 10 cents -- to be in the spotlight."

What are Netlog's prospects? With $8 million in venture capital, Netlog is doubling its growth. As Bogaert explained, there are three reasons for that:

• "New languages. What has been important is to expand into new countries within the EU and elsewhere, because the Netherlands only has six million people. The biggest obstacle is language, but we have created a platform that allows us to translate Netlog into different languages very quickly after the code is finished.
• Viral effect. The key to the viral effect is for friends to tell friends about their Netlog profiles. We grow when a person says to a friend, 'I have a profile on Netlog, check it out.' The Internet is becoming more open and neutral (rather than a walled garden). The viral effect works when a friend says, 'I have a Netlog account.' It's a clear endorsement.
• Network effect. We benefit from a network effect when we reach critical mass. This is typical for social media. The network effect plays a more important role when all your colleagues, your class, or your sports club belongs to the site. The usefulness increases with the number of people you know who are on the site."

I hope for Netlog's sake that the slowing economy does not interrupt these trends. And if you're on Netlog, let us know why in the comments below.

Peter Cohan is president of Peter S. Cohan & Associates. He also teaches management at Babson College. His eighth book is You Can't Order Change: Lessons from Jim McNerney's Turnaround at Boeing. He has no financial interest in Netlog.