The present invention generally relates to communication and controlled sharing of digital content among networked users, and is more particularly concerned with creation of an improved sharing network for relaying data among linked nodal members of a social network. An ad hoc network may be a hybrid P2P network that conforms to a virtual peer representation accessible as a single node from outside the given social network nodes. Members of a pre-existing social network may selectively activate embedded latent peers and link to an aggregation node to form a hybrid P2P network. Content may be shared in a controlled distribution according to level rights among participating network nodes. Playlists and/or specialized user interfaces may also be employed to facilitate content sharing among social network members of a virtual peer.