When it comes to spending ad dollars in social media, a recent Brandweek article got to the heart of why marketers are so tempted...smaller emerging networks around niche topics are stronger branding targets nowadays. We're seeing how lesser-known blogs with niche, quality content can perform from an ad perspective - for example, a blogger who has built an audience around his/her organic food expertise would produce better results for a relevant brand than an ad buy on a mainstream portal. So, it makes sense that social networks and community sites wrapped around a shared passion or theme would serve as a better targeting vehicle than, let's say Facebook. As reporter Betsy Cummings points out, it will continue to be a balancing act for social networks large and small to continue to satisfy users and advertisers at the same time.