Micro-niche social networks are all the rage right now. They’re popping up everywhere – as evidenced by popular niche networks like Twitter Moms and Barista Connection. I’ve just received 3 invitations to join social networks for my university alumni, and the alumni organizations of two previous employers. Sound familiar? Social Networks are no longer considered particularly cutting edge – everybody is doing it. With all the free and inexpensive social network packaged solutions available now – like Ning and BuddyPress (and literally dozens of others) - building a basic social network doesn’t have to be all that big of an investment – right?

Creating a network may be easier than ever, but what people often overlook is the effort required to build and operate a social network. Considering operating costs as part of the costs of the overall project will help you avoid surprises and maximize your chances of success.

The decision of whether or not to create a social network should be based on research about your target audience, the needs of that audience, whether those needs are being met elsewhere (i.e. by another social network), and what you and your business stand to gain from meeting your audience’s needs (i.e. creating an uber-targeted advertising platform). For the sake of this post, we’re going to assume that creating a social network is the way to go for our hypothetical business owner.

If your budget and manpower resources are limited you should consider initially just creating a group on an existing social network like Facebook, LinkedIn, or another existing niche network in your industry. Building groups on these established platforms allow you to sidestep the bulk of the up-front investment, and the success of that group could be a real indicator as to whether you should pursue the development of your own social network.

Want to have a chat room? You’re going to need to get the ball rolling by suggesting topics and answering questions yourself. Want to allow people form “groups” or post “events”? You should create the first few groups and events. Are you going to promote your network to attract new members? You get the idea: running your social network could easily be a full time job, even before your first members join.

If you have already done your homework and identified a cohesive niche that “needs” a social network, and if you’re able to commit your time and passion to start off as the network’s most active user, and if you have a plan to monetize that network or compliment your existing business operations, then you may really be on to something.

TwitterMoms was formed in September, 2008, and had nearly 5,000 members two months later. As of this post, they have nearly 15,000 members and about 100,000 unique visitors each month. But as the founders will no doubt tell you the social networking technology was the easy part.