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Ah, love -- digital style. You no doubt know of Friendster, the online social networking Web site. In only a year, the service has gained cult status, particularly among the 20-something set, by capitalizing on two ideas: first, that everyone in the world is connected by no more than six degrees of separation, and second, that the best romantic matches are the ones we find through our friends. On Friendster, members post profiles on the Web and invite their friends to post profiles, too. As people invite more friends to join, they can see the exponential growth of their networks -- and can directly contact those friends of friends. Members can provide testimonials affirming their friends' date-ability and can suggest matches of people who might want to go out on a date. The site is addictive -- it claimed more than 6 million users in early March and spawned a new pick-up line: "Are you on Friendster?"

If it works for romance, why not commerce? A handful of companies have begun using Friendster-style social networking to help businesses and professionals find a perfect match. We're not talking romantic partners here, mind you, but access to previously unreachable customer leads, investors, business partners, job candidates, and employers. As in love, the best business links often come through people you know: The best hires are usually referrals, and the best way to get in the door for a sales call is through an introduction from a mutual friend. Until now, however, we've been limited to calling on people in our immediate circle. Social networking software offers the tantalizing opportunity to reach out not just to folks in your own little black book, but also to the friends and associates of all those people (as well as their friends and associates).