Nick Douglas described MingleNow, ad network BlueLithium's answer to MySpace, as "Yelp meets Cheers." A more accurate description, I suspect, was "excuse for a bunch of San Jose nerds to fly around the world for parties." The expense-account game is over. Yahoo, which acquired BlueLithium for its ad technology, not its wannabe social network, is shutting MingleNow on January 7, and suggesting users go to the Yahoo-owned Flickr or Upcoming instead. Which, come to think of it, is what BlueLithium's investors probably wish its founders had done in the first place.

I'm actually excited about tonight's launch of MingleNow. The site's model sounds refreshingly: Link your profile to that of your favorite bars or restaurants and meet other regulars.