For most dedicated followers of social networking, Facebook was "over" the second people's moms started joining up.
But a new form of online community-building has been created on the premise that people actually want to interact with their family members, and will pay to have their DNA tested in order to seek out new and unknown relatives.
Dubbed "zygotic social networking" by The New York Times, sites like Canada's DNA Ancestry Project, GeneTree.com, and 23andMe.com - created by Anne Wojcicki, wife of Google co-founder Sergey Brin - allow users to build a social network around shared genetic materials, rather than tenuous online friendships.
"Traditional social-networking programs are a powerful system of linking people together, but offers no reason to make those connections," said Dr. June Wong, of the Vancouver-based DNA Ancestry Project. "On this, people are solving mysteries in their past and finding out about themselves."
In October, an article in the journal Science warned that popular do-it-yourself DNA tests can produce incomplete results that do not always provide a coherent picture of a person's genetic history, as they trace only the paternal line of ancestry.
Dr. Wong said the DNA Ancestry Project traces both maternal and paternal ancestry, making it more coherent.
With a starter kit sold at Best Buy and the Bay, the DNA Ancestry Project provides users with a cheek swab that is mailed in for genetic analysis.
The kit also provides users with a password to the social-networking site (found at http://www.genebase.com), where they can build their profile, interact with friends and family and start creating a family tree from their own genealogical knowledge and the information provided through their genetic markers.
So far, the site has more than 500,000 users, some of whom have built family trees containing more than 10,000 people and reaching back hundreds of years.
Dr. Wong said these "biological networks" have all the trappings of other social-networking sites, allowing users to blog, post photos, update their profiles and message one another.
But they also facilitate searches for long-lost relatives, and allow members to compare their genetic makeup with that of historical celebrities like Marie Antoinette and Thomas Jefferson, or even trace their lineage back to a specific African clan.
"In a way, everyone in the world is related, and this tells you at what point in time you had that common link," said Dr. Wong. "And you don't even have to be living to be part of this social network."
Jacob Waters, a 62-year-old user from Duluth, Minn., heard about genetic social networking on Oprah, and signed up for the DNA Ancestry Project out of curiosity about his past.
"I was sort of fascinated that [Oprah]was able to trace her roots back to a place in Africa, so I signed on," he said. "I think people are interested in their roots and seeing where and what they come from."
Mr. Waters said most of his biological family has passed away, leaving him with little knowledge about his background. Through his DNA test, he has been able to confirm his family's Danish roots, and has also discovered a gentleman living in Los Angeles with whom he shares an almost exact genetic match.
He made the discovery by clicking on a Google map that showed him every member around the world who shared genetic markers found in his DNA profile. When you scroll over individual matches, a bubble tells you who they are, where they live, and how closely your DNA lines up.
The man in Los Angeles had a genetic distance from Mr. Waters of zero, meaning that they are likely related within the past 10 generations.
"There's a guy running around in Los Angeles that's a relative," said Mr. Waters. "I contacted him about two months ago, but I never got anything back."
He was also able to confirm that his wife is distantly related to U.S. President George W. Bush, a rumour that had been widely circulated in her family for years.
"I thought it was neat, but my mother-in-law didn't," he said.
Dr. Wong acknowledged that one of the site's side effects is the destruction of some family legends, as people discover that they are not actually descendents of Scandinavian royalty, as their grandmother had assured them.
But the good news is that many users have also made connections to people they never would have found without DNA analysis.
One 58-year-old man joined the DNA Ancestry Project in an effort to find his biological family.
He had been put up for adoption at birth and did not even know his biological parents' surname. After having his DNA tested, he found a perfect match on the site, a man who turned out to be his cousin.
"A lot of people use this to try and find long-lost relatives," Dr. Wong said. "For people who do find matches, it's really quite exciting."
What people can learn about themselves through the site will continue to develop as the science of genetics expands.
Google has reportedly invested $3.9-million (U.S.) in 23andMe, which boasts the tag line "Genetics Just Got Personal."
Dr. Wong believes that every new discovery in the field of genetics will provide her users with new information about their identities.
"It's not the kind of thing where you take a test, you get a piece of paper and you're excited for 10 minutes," she said. "With this thing, the science continues so your journey continues."