I thought I would describe what I have in mind for being involved at HOOZgolfing.com. It might be helpful to describe the key differences between forums vs. social-networking sites like the HOOZ sites, at least the way I see the differences...some power web 2.0 gurus might parse these thoughts, but they are mine so here goes...

Forums: I think of forums as being topic-centric, meaning that forums are organized around topics or categories and sub-categories or topics. For example, you could find on a golfing forum a category like "Golf Equipment" and a sub-category or topic of "Drivers", and logically other topics like "Irons", Putters", etc. Someone might post an entry about their favorite driver like a Taylormade Burner. They would talk about the driver, why they like it, and maybe some stats about how changing to that driver has improved their game an lowered their handicap. Others would then post their comments and thoughts and so on, and so on. On the forum there really is no user/member relationships established since the forum is designed around topical discussions and the focus of the forum is the content itself. Forums are also moderated, some very heavily with lots of rules of engagement and control about how and who will be allowed to become or stay a forum member. You can (and probably should in forums) be bounced and removed if you do not follow their rules.

Social Network: In contrast, a social networking website is all about the people and their relationships with one another. Sure, you talk and post about topics of interest to the other members, but the focus of the site is to establish relationships around common interests. These social network sites are usually much looser in terms of moderated control or organizational oversight. But, even with social sites, there are typically some guidelines of good behavior and rules to obey to serve the best interests of the whole community. So, for example at HOOZgolfing.com, the focus is for people who love golf to meet one another online and to talk about golf in a more free-form and natural way. There are no organized topics. Instead, each person or member on the social site is free to blog (share their thoughts), post pictures of anything related to golfing, same for videos, and to post bookmarks about other golfing sites they like and use (like maybe their favorite golfing forum site). The golfer/member can also form a group of friends who share common aspects of golf together...like maybe they are friends who regularly play together on the weekend. They might form a "Dave's Golfing Buddies" Group and invite guys from that friendship circle. The group can be public, meaning anyone can join that group. Groups can be invitation only by the group organizer. Or, the group could even be private where nobody can see their posts or activities.

In a nutshell that it is how I see it. Hopefully that will help others understand why a place like HOOZgolfing is so cool and serves a purpose much more people-centric than in a forum.