Social Network - in an Apartment Building?

It's been hard trying to find interesting ways to enhance the co-op experience, but the other day I stumbled across the idea of using a white-label social network to create a sense of community within and around a building.

Having spent the last 6 months living in a co-op, I've only gotten to know one or two of my neighbors. This is partially the result of having different work hours from most people around me and not running into anyone in the lobby or the elevator. Getting to know the people in the neighboring apartments is a very necessary first step if a sense of community is ever going to come through, and that is vital if any sort of other communal goals are to be considered. A online social network is time independent (eliminating my problem), and can facilitate meeting your neighbors.

On the positive side, a social network would be a great way for a management company to push information to residents (rather than the note under the door, which many currently rely on). Also, a localized social network of this kind would facilitate a sharing of information of surrounding businesses (know a good dry cleaner that you'd recommend - great. if we all use it we can get a discount - even better. get the dry cleaner to advertise to a very targeted audience and use the revenue to reduce maintenance - ideal).

On the negative side, do I really want to know that the person living above me is a scorpio and enjoys ballet? Do I want the woman living in the apartment across from me to know even more about my life than she sees through my window?

If you want to try it out, Ning could be helpful, or try the TechCrunch featured site LifeAt.