An Introduction to social networking Web sites

By Meryl K. Evans

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Facebook, Flickr, Friendster, LinkedIn, MySpace, Ryze, Xanga. You've probably heard of at least one of these Web sites especially because some have made the news. Such Web sites are called "social networks": Users create a personal profile, private or public, and create connections.

 

Social networks focus on connecting people and allowing users to meet new people through their connections' own connections. Think of social networks like "six degrees of separation" gone high tech. People use social networks for finding dates, finding clients, selling products or services, promoting bands or authors, making new friends and colleagues, and sharing common interests.

The sites vary based on their purpose, design, and profile templates. When users fill their profiles, one social network site may ask more personal questions while another asks career-related questions. They also differ in the features offered and pricing. Some social network sites are free, while others provide a basic account at no cost and charge fees for advanced features.

Basic Features

Every social network provides its users with a profile page that can include a photo, name, basic information, interests and anything related to the site's main purpose. It also shows a user's connections; social networks serve to illustrate a person's extended connections (their connection's connections). The rest of the features depend on the site's purpose and target audience.

Most social networks let users decide how much of their information they want to share with the public. MySpace lets users hide their pages from the public so that only their selected friends can view their information. Users can select what information their connections can view in Plaxo, an address book network. They can share professional and/or personal contact information on a per-person basis.

Email notification is a popular feature that sends users an email whenever something changes on their profile. The email could notify the user that someone posted a comment, someone sent or accepted a friend request, or a connection has an upcoming birthday.

A site can contain forums for discussions or chat, for example. 

Special Applications

Business: LinkedIn targets professionals to help them network for opportunities, clients, partners and jobs. A LinkedIn profile — typical of most social networks with a professional focus — contains a user's current and past employment information along with industry and link information. LinkedIn features recommendations and job postings where users can post testimonials about another user or advertise a job. It also has a Q&A section allowing the community to ask and answer questions in various subjects.

 

Photos: Instead of networking for career and business purposes, Flickr is about managing and sharing photos. Flickr profiles display a user's public groups, basic information such as hometown and interests, and photos. Flickr also makes worldly connections where it ties photos and people to locations. A person interested in Japan can search for photos and people tagged with "Japan" to see the country in pictures. Flickr lets users set privacy options for individual photos and albums as well as determine the licensing for photos based on the creativecommons.org licensing options.

 

Education: Sites such as Classmates and Reunion are about connecting with former classmates. So their profiles include schools attended, reunion information (if one is coming up), and then and now photos. Sconex and Bebo are also education social networks, but bring together current rather than past high school students. Facebook originated as a social network for college students, but has grown to include everyone.

Other social network specialty sites include 43 Things (goal achievement), Buzznet (music), Clubpenguin (for kids 4-8 years old), Gaia Online (games and anime), MyCreativeCommunity (screen writers), RateItAll (opinions), Sermo (physicians), Shelfari (books), and TravBuddy (travel). This list barely scratches the surface of the social network sites available. Wikipedia provides a list of many social networking sites, but even that list is far from complete.

Problems

Social networks would seem to provide a dream come true for students, hobbyists and professionals wanting to expand their networks, but they have their issues. Users commonly receive invitations from people they don't know. These strangers tend to try to connect with everyone they find on the network to drive up their connection numbers. Thus, the friends of a person who blindly accepts an invitation from a stranger might think that stranger is a trusted contact.

Plenty of reports have circulated about sexual predators taking advantage of social networks to lure children. The predator makes up a phony profile and looks for children based on their physical descriptions. Creating a fake profile based on a real identity takes little effort and could affect the actual person's reputation. Users often mistake the fake identity for the real thing. Some people get their kicks trolling the site and harassing legitimate users. Most sites come with features allowing users to block or delete such users.

Privacy is also a concern. Younger users may be unaware of the problems in revealing too much information. Thieves might use profile information for identity theft. Businesses worry about their employees giving out proprietary information or using the business brand in an inappropriate way; for example, one flight attendant posted unprofessional photos of herself wearing her official uniform.

With the abundance of social networks, some people are tired of them and don't want to bother with registration and putting in the effort to use the site. One friend could be on five networks and another on four -- it becomes overwhelming to keep up with all the accounts and add connections to all of the sites.

Benefits

Considering new social networks continue to go online and user numbers climb, social networking obviously has many good things going for it. People find jobs, bands find audiences, professionals find clients, people with shared interests make friends, friends stay connected, and physicians share life-saving information. One site can provide a user with all the needed tools to keep a journal, manage appointments, receive customized news, and converse on hot topics. In short, social networks help users connect and share information.

Users and businesses with their own Web sites create profiles with links back to their sites to improve their site's search engine ranking. Furthermore, they widen their reach. A user needing a product or service might prefer to search for the product or service on a social network site rather than using a basic search engine. Or, a potential customer could discover the company while browsing connections of connections.

Livemocha adds languages to the social networking concept creating a place where users can learn a language and practice conversations with native speakers and other learners. Social networks connect people who are miles and even oceans apart. Facebook provides opportunities for students about to enter college for the first time to make friends before arriving on campus and not feel alone.

So many different social networking sites are out there that there is surely one for anyone inclined to go out and make a connection. Use caution, exercise common sense and the rewards of sharing information will soon be at your fingertips.