How much is online social networking embedded in academic practices? In the future, to what extent will digital networking tools such as Hyves, Facebook, or LinkedIn become a locus for scholarly dialogue and interaction? If the answers to these questions are as yet unclear, a growing number of scholars does subscribe to social network sites -- and not only to share pictures of their latest night on the town. That social networking is becoming an increasingly influential instrument for academic information exchange, indicates the launch of a social networking site targeting scholars: academia.edu. Besides such intriguing tags as 13th-Century Mercantile Communities of Iran and Cosmetics and Fragrance Marketing, the site also boasts a Slavic Languages and  Russian Studies subdivision. Now before you rush there with wild expectations: academia.edu is clearly in its infancy. Launched last September, it doesn't exactly match the size of non-scholarly competers: for Russian studies, only 49 people provided their details until now; for Slavic Studies, the group is even smaller. Neither does the design deserve a prize for esthetic refinement.And yet, the project has potential. First of all, it's simply fun to browse a list of colleagues who inserted details on their professional affiliation, photographs, and, most importantly, a profile which allows you to quickly single out colleagues who share your research interests. Tags provide an easy way to search for specific scholarly themes - say 'Post-Soviet regimes,' or 'Nationalism' (not that there are many more Russian Studies tags out there at the moment, but that might be a matter of time).But most important, I think, are two tiny links saying 'Add X as a contact' or 'Send X a message'. For anyone who hesitates to contact colleagues whom they Googled, this might just do the trick: academia.edu users put their profile on the site with the very goal of being contacted. Working on Vaginov? Contact Anthony Anemone at New York's New School University! Or is Alexander Dugin and right-wing activism more up your research alley? Send a message to Andreas Umland at the Katholische Universitaet Eichstaett-Ingolstadt, who would like to 'hear from people with similar research interests ... and from those wanting to publish their dissertations, monographs, edited volumes or document collections in the ... book series "Soviet and Post-Soviet Politics and Society".' Or, even better perhaps: add your own profile. Yours truly certainly plans to do so before this day is ended.ER