I’ve just spent the last few hours reading post after post on Mashable.com, a blog about Web 2.0 sites. My head is filled with a lot of bright colors, round shapes, and big text running through my mind.

Two things are clear to me: a lot of sites want to be the next Myspace and a lot of investors want to own the next Myspace. Some of these sites have killer ideas, others would just be silly if millions weren’t invested in them.

I’m no programmer, my ability to compete with any of these sites is limited to non-existant. Good news, I’m not interested in competing.

Rather, as publishers we should use Web 2.0 sites to build relationships and drive traffic. Just as with the dot com boom sometimes companies subsidize another companies profits at their loss (think start-ups spending pouring billions in to Oracle.)

Empty forum? Head over to Myspace and look for people who talk about your niche in their profile. Just as blogs are critical to launching a new forum for affiliates and publishers social networking sites can be used to target other audiences.