I'm not going to mask as a play for free site, I'm gonna be one. It's clear that I have to be the best play for free site out there but it's not clear what I have to be best at.
I'll put the site up, try to make the experience as good as possible and experiment relentlessly. I have no other options.
I honestly think that folding and moving onto a better hand/idea is the move here. If you want to run the site as a learning exercise, you can probably use ads or affiliate referrals to actual cash-game sites as a source of paying for hosting, and there might be enough leftover for a WSOP super-satellite entry fee.
I think trying to figure out what will make your "free poker social networking site" take on a Facebook type trajectory as opposed to the 99 other couldabeen-Facebooks is not a +EV play.
You should definitely look into twoplustwo.com's forums and business model, but they've already got a pretty good lock on the poker-theory discussion and a well-established community.
And it seems quite popular I think :)
P.S. written in GWT .
You are outmarketed, outreached, and out muscled in almost every conceivable way.
Also, as much as people DON'T admit it - people play poker to win money. If you think your niche is those "friendly college games" well why in gods name would your "college friends" play poker online when they can kick back some beers, invite friends over and have a REAL game?
Lastly, if your angle is "social networking around poker" well thats called "every other poker site out there". I can not see anyone who is legitimately interested in poker, signing up for a social networking site about poker, that does not let you play poker "seriously" (read for money). I just can not see any possible legitimate angle to go forward with this.
Please someone show me the light.