Innovative suggestions for managing a business networking group online.

Sorry for the long post, but there’s a backstory…

For the past 10 years I’ve been studying all kinds of groupware and social networking apps with an eye towards using one to facilitate meaningful connections within an affinity business networking group of entrepreneurs, angel investors, service providers, and job seekers.

Early on, there weren’t any white-label social applications, just bulletin boards, groupware, and knowledge management. None seemed a fit for us—they were less focused on a vertical group of user profiles that could be searched, messaged between, etc.

Today there are many white-label social apps—- specialized alumni networks, media sharing, etc. Two have pricing and features that are pretty compelling: ning.com and collectivex.com.

My question (finally): Do you know of any Web services/software that might be useful for coordinating meaninful communications between members of a large virtual networking group?

I’m especially interested in out of the box suggestions—creative uses for project management applications maybe, or contact managers/CRM applications.

Any suggestions?