With more than 250 million members worldwide, social networking sites offer a vast network of communities, both general interest and niche. Largely, the users that make up this community are comprised of young, Web-savvy consumers who are just forming their purchasing patterns. These users, largely between the ages of 18 and 34, are key markets for advertisers, given their high percentage of disposable income.

According to comScore’s The Score:, Social Networking, “Today, social networking sites provide consumers — especially those in the younger demographics — a way to connect with like-minded individuals to share their opinions and their passions. Savvy marketers, from Madonna to Nike and Honda, are taking note of the social networking phenomenon, and tapping the power of these wired influencers to spread their messages.”

And major corporations aren’t the only ones tapping into the social networking space. For example, garage bands have carved out their niche on MySpace, linking to their Web sites or to sites like CDBaby.com to sell albums, tee shirts, posters and other merchandise. However, until now, they have been unable to sell them directly through their MySpace profiles.

Facebook groups have widespread appeal for users, but group creators haven’t yet had the ability to take these groups offline through the creation of customized merchandise (i.e., tee shirts, posters, etc) – without directing users to an external site.

In the age of the Long Tail, where groups of all sizes can market their customized merchandise via the Web, LoungePress offers a solution to simply, effectively create customized, marketable products. Whether you’re seeking the ability to create products for corporate promotions or for a special event, fundraiser, band or campus organization, ME08 enables users to easily sell their personalized goods via their own custom storefront – adding their MEstore to their social networking profiles.

This seamless integration offers users the ability to showcase themselves, their bands, organizations or corporations on major social networking sites, while being able to sell their customized products through their profiles.

So the question here is, have you tapped social media yet?