WhatIsSocialNetworking?
Social Networking… It'sthewaythe21stcenturycommunicatestoday.Wanttoknowwhatitreallymeans?
Socialnetworkingisthegroupingofindividualsintospecificgroups,likesmallruralcommunitiesoraneighborhoodsubdivision,ifyouwill.Althoughsocialnetworkingispossibleinperson,especiallyintheworkplace,universities,andhighschools,itismostpopularonline.Thisisbecauseunlikemosthighschools,colleges,orworkplaces,theinternetisfilledwith millions of individuals who are lookingtomeetotherpeople,togatherandsharefirst-handinformationandexperiencesaboutcooking,golfing,gardening,developingfriendshipsorprofessionalalliances,findingemployment,business-to-businessmarketingandevengroupssharinginformationabouttheendoftheMayancalendarandtheGreatShifttoarriveDecember21-2012.Thetopicsandinterestsareasvariedandrichasthestoryofourworld.
Whenitcomestoonlinesocialnetworking,websitesarecommonlyused.Thesewebsitesareknownassocialsites.Socialnetworkingwebsitesfunctionlikeanonlinecommunityofinternetusers.Dependingonthewebsiteinquestion,manyoftheseonlinecommunitymemberssharecommoninterestsinhobbies,religion,orpolitics.Onceyouaregrantedaccesstoasocialnetworkingwebsiteyoucanbegintosocialize.Thissocializationmayincludereadingtheprofilepagesofothermembersandpossiblyevencontactingthem.
Thefriendsthatyoucanmakearejustoneofthemanybenefitstosocialnetworkingonline.Anotheroneofthosebenefitsincludesdiversitybecausetheinternetgivesindividualsfromallaroundtheworldaccesstosocialnetworkingsites.ThismeansthatalthoughyouareintheUnitedStates,youcoulddevelopanonlinefriendshipwithsomeoneinDenmarkorIndia.Notonlywillyoumakenewfriends,butyoujustmightlearnathingortwoaboutnewculturesornewlanguagesandlearningisalwaysagoodthing.
Asmentioned,socialnetworkingofteninvolvesgroupingspecificindividualsororganizationstogether.Whilethereareanumberofsocialnetworkingwebsitesthatfocusonparticularinterests,thereareothersthatdonot.Thewebsiteswithoutamainfocusareoftenreferredtoas"traditional"socialnetworkingwebsitesandusuallyhaveopenmemberships.Thismeansthatanyonecanbecomeamember,nomatterwhattheirhobbies,beliefs,orviewsare.However,onceyouareinsidethisonlinecommunity,youcanbegintocreateyourownnetworkoffriendsandeliminatemembersthatdonotsharecommoninterestsorgoals.
AsI'msureyou'reaware,therearedangersassociatedwithsocialnetworkingincludingdatatheftandviruses,whichareontherise.Themostprevalentdangerthoughofteninvolvesonlinepredatorsorindividualswhoclaimtobesomeonethattheyarenot.Althoughdangerdoesexistwithnetworkingonline,italsoexistsintherealworld,too.Justlikeyou'readvisedwhenmeetingstrangersatclubsandbars,school,orwork--youarealsoadvisedtoproceedwithcautiononline.
Bybeingawareofyourcyber-surroundingsandwhoyouaretalkingto,youshouldbeabletosafelyenjoysocialnetworkingonline.Itwilltakemanyphoneconversationstogettoknowsomeone,butyoureallywon'tbeabletomakeaclearjudgmentuntilyoucanmeeteachotherinperson.Justusecommonsenseandlistentoyourinnervoice;itwilltellyouwhensomethingdoesn'tfeelrightabouttheonlineconversationstakingplace.
Onceyouarewellinformedandcomfortablewithyourfindings,youcanbeginyoursearchfromhundredsofnetworkingcommunitiestojoin.Thiscaneasilybedonebyperformingastandardinternetsearch.Yoursearchwilllikelyreturnanumberofresults,includingMySpace,FriendWise,FriendFinder,Yahoo!360, Facebook, Orkut, and Classmates.
ShouldYouCreateYourOwnSocialNetworkingSite?
Socialnetworkingisnotjustanotherfad.Socialnetworksareheretostay.Facebookhas350,000,000registeredusers;Classmateshas50,000,000;Twitterwith75,000,000andMySpacehas263,000,000[Source:Wikipedia.com02-22-2010].Whileit'struethatsomesocialsiteswillcrashandburnontheinformationhighway,otherswillspringupandblossomintosmallermorespecificcommunities.
Thesesmallersocialnetworkingwebsitesofferamorepersonalizedexperiencebytightlyfocusingontheinterestsofitsmembersratherthantryingtobuildabrand.Theyareknownasspecialtynetworkingsitesor"niche"socialnetworkingsites,andpeoplearewillingtomovefromnetworktonetworkuntiltheyfindthatonespecialsitewheretheyfeelagenuinesenseofconnectionandcommunity.
Moreandmorelargecompanies,universitiesandsmallbusinessesaregettingtheirownsocialwebsitesupandrunningsotheycanconnectwiththeiremployeesandstudents;fansorcustomers;andpeoplefromallwalksoflifeandsocioeconomicbackgrounds.Thetypesofsocialnetworkingwebsitesdifferofcourse,duetothediversenatureofpeople,organizationsandbusinesses.Naturally,then,thereisacleardistinctionbetweensocialnetworksthathelpyoudosomething,likemarketingyourbusinessoraccomplishcertaingoalsandthosenetworksthatoffera"social"connection.
DoitYourself?
Areyouthinkingaboutdevelopingyourownsocialsite?Creatingastand-alonecommunitysocialsiteoraddingcommunityandsocialnetworkingtoacorporatewebsite?Iftheanswerisyes,thenyoumostlikelywillneedprofessionalhelp.Theconsiderationsonemustthinkaboutindevelopingasocialmediasiteareendless,andmostofusaren'tevensurewheretobegin.Eventhoughsocialsitedesignsmaylooklikenormalwebsites,alotmoreishappeninginthebackgroundthanmostpeopleareawareof.
Whatdoyouwanttoaccomplishwithyoursocialnetwork?Willyoudevelopandhostyourownapplication,orhiresomeone?Areyouawareofownershipandintellectualpropertyrights?Legalcontractswillneedtobereviewed,approvedandexecuted.Whataboutthedevelopmentprocessandfunctionalityofthesite?Thesequestionsandmany,manymorewillneedtobereviewedandansweredbyeveryoneinvolvedintheproject.Plus,itwillbean"on-going"project;notaone-timedeal.
SomeThingstoConsider
Onlinesocialnetworkingisaphenomenonthathasdrasticallychangedthelandscapeofhowpeopleconnectandsocializewitheachother.Thatsocializationispossiblethroughtheinternetandthesocialnetworkingwebsitesthatarebuiltbyprogrammersanddesigners,individuallyorthroughacompany.Peopleinteractandconnectwitheachotherfromand"on"thosewebsites.Theyprovideafoundationinwhichsocietyreactstonewideasthroughtheviewpointsandopinionsofothers;sharingideasandstories;findinginspirationandinformationrelativetoeachparticularusersinterests,desires,andambitions.Socialnetworkingwebsitesmakeitallhappenandmillionsofpeoplearehappierbecauseofthem.
So,ifyou'reseriouslythinkingaboutstartingasocialnetworkingsite,talkwiththeprofessionalsfirst;someonewhohasexperienceinwebdevelopmentandprogramming.Whetherit'sanindividualorcompany,tellthemwhatyouhaveinmind,whatserviceyouwanttoprovide,anicheproductthatyouwanttopromote,orifyousimplywantyourownpersonalnetworkingwebsite.Havingyourveryownpersonalsocialsiteforfamily,friends,andyourbusinesscanbefunandprofitable,too.