Squirl goes where eBay leaves off

If we've learned anything from eBay--and the rest of the Web, really--it's that people live to collect stuff.

A new site called Squirl aims to tap into that passion, which can consume lives in ways that defy all logic and practicality. (Remember Beanie Babies?) As of this posting, its "Featured Collections" include coffins and dead bugs.

Squirl is the latest to embrace the type of grassroots philosophy that is driving such sites as Fanpop, which are building mini-communities based on shared interests from the outset. The approach is the opposite of that taken by blanket social networks, which offer vast universes of people but are often difficult places to navigate and find others who wish to congregate around granularly specific topics.

Even the group sites of eBay's vaunted community have grown increasingly difficult to use, and their focus still often centers on buying and selling items, rather than paying homage to the collectibles themselves. "Squirl is about showing off the unique items that you already own," as Shoutblog points out.

Ultra-niche venues that cater to every interest are as old as the Internet, of course. But Squirl offers a place where collectors can meet like souls and showcase their treasures for those who can truly appreciate them. In this sense, it's part Yahoo, part eBay, part MySpace and part Flickr.

The site is still in beta, a requisite status for any Web 2.0 start-up trying to generate buzz. But regardless of the emerging technologies it employs, Squirl's strategy is decidedly old school: Exploiting borderline obsessive-compulsive hobbies in our materialistic society.