Denham Grey draws attention to the Online Social Networking 2004 web conference. From the OSN2004 site:

In 2001, the Online Social Networks conference delved into the emerging field of online social networks. Since then, there has been an explosion into the mainstream of social software applications. OSN2004 will explore three main areas: OSNs in organizations, OSNs for personal social and business use, and OSNs in the political arena. Selected sessions will be presented at the online conference scheduled for 13-27 October, 2004 with the majority of sessions scheduled from the 18th to the 22nd.

Keynote speakers will include Howard Rheingold, Lisa Kimball, Joi Ito and Brian Reich.

Looks like it'll be interesting!