What is Social Networking?
Well, it seems to be the way the 21st century communicates today. But it’s becoming so much more than that!
Social networking, in effect, is the grouping of individuals into specific groups… people with shared interests, communities etc. Although it is possible to network socially in person (the way it was always done traditionally!) nowadays it is most popular, and best known as being an online activity.
And the reasons for this…. well in direct contrast to many schools, colleges, or workplaces, the internet is filled with millions of individuals who are actively seeking out like minded people, looking to gather and share information and experiences about their interests, developing friendships or professional alliances, even groups sharing information about whatever it is that interests them. The topics and interests are as rich and diverse as the story of our world.
So what is Online Social Networking?
When it comes to online social networking, websites are usually used. These websites are known as social or networking sites. Social networking websites are a virtual online community of internet users. Depending on the website in question, usually you gain access yourself by providing specific bits of information about yourself access and then allowing you access to search the same bits of information about others, ultimately enabling you to socialise with them.
The diverse range of friends that you can make are just one of the many benefits to social networking online. Another is to help you stay in touch more easily with existing friends and making the world a far smaller place by networking with people all over the world.
But help, I don’t know my tweets from my pokes!
Yes, there is a wide and baffling range of online social networking sites out there, but each tends to lend itself quite differently toward different target markets. There ultimately comes a time when you have to choose which way to go…. so for when that time arrives, here is a brief overview of who does what amongst the main online social networking players.
Facebook – What you really need to know is that Facebook is simply a way of keeping in touch with your friends online. Unlike MySpace, it is not a gift for stalkers and spammers, because you have a lot more control over who can find you: you decide what comes up if someone puts your name into Facebook’s search engine, you’re in complete control!
Facebook is almost like an enhanced bells and whistles version of Friends Reunited. It’s predominantly used by 25-45 year olds but there are people on there of literally all ages, and from all walks of like, from all over the world. It is by far the biggest (and some argue the best) of all the online social networking sites being used today.
MySpace – Like all the others, MySpace is a social networking site, but the difference is that it’s social glue is music and popular culture. This has presented a new way for music fans and record labels to find music, and also provides a way for musicians to communicate more directly with their fans.
The technology can at times feel fairly clunky and therefore lends itself to slightly more techy users, and as mentioned before does have it’s fair share of privacy issues. Because of the nature of the site, the users tend to be younger than on other sites (late teens +), although according to the stats, the average age of users is 31!
Bebo – One for the tots, this bright and brash site has an established reputation for attracting much younger users than its online competitors, with most of its visitors (30%) aged 18 to 24, though many would argue a deluge of much younger users..
Bebo, founded in 2005, quickly expanded to enable sociable young web users to do all they could possibly desire: from uploading photos, posting comments and sending emails, to quizzes, picture slide-shows and blogs.
Twitter – Twitter is in principle a much simpler concept than the other social-networking sites that fill up the internet. All it asks is one thing – “What are you doing?” – and you answer, then it tells all your friends, via a text on their mobiles or a message online, and they send their own messages back. That’s it.
Effectively it’s a blog but like all these networks, Twitter’s real strengths only appear when you have the right friends. Still, with the service doubling in size every few weeks, it’s one of the fastest growing social networking sites and is great for people who are ‘lazier’ in their approach and like the easy life.
Still can’t decide?
With a proliferation of online social networking sites, how do you determine which one to use?
I’ve come to the conclusion that the best way is just to suck it and see. You need to try the different networks for size and see which one fits you best. All networks and relationships whether online or offline need to be nurtured and have a little time invested in them. So, given that many of these networks are available at no cost, why not try building a profile in some of the different online communities? That way, if someone looks for you they will be sure to find you, and then YOU can decide the way in which you do or don’t prefer to develop your relationship with them. And if not, or if you just don’t get on with some of the techy aspects of the site, then you always have the others to fall back on.
Remember it’s not a decision for life… you don’t like it? Then you can close the account. Nothings irreversible.
You can’t break these things… try them, play with them, and you never know, you might just like it!
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