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April 20, 2009 Social Networking . . . Digital Style Social Networking could be defined as sharing of similar interests, personal opinions, goals and the like in an informal environment, such as sporting and family events, cocktail parties and so on. In the digital age, however, Social Networking takes on a whole new meaning. Today we no longer have to wait for a gathering to share ideas. By using one of the many Social Networking web sites, we can have instant communication to the entire world, or a select group of friends or a even single friend--and we can get instant feedback. Let’s look at a few Social Networking sites and what they offer.
Facebook (www.facebook.com) is far and away the most popular, with nearly 200 million users worldwide. Facebook’s stated mission is "Giving people the power to share and make the world more open and connected." This site is not just for students, since more than two-thirds are out of college, and the fastest-growing group is those 35+ years old. The average Facebook user is linked to 120 friends. And the site is extraordinarily active, with an average of 140 million discrete pieces of information shared each day and average daily uploads of 28 million new photos. The principal focus of facebook is to encourage users to use the site to nurture relations with people they already know and to stay in touch with scores of old friends and relatives. You can’t use the facebook site without registering. When you register, your location or your school becomes your first network. You can search for friends in that network and invite them to become a friend in your network. If the friend joins you, then you can check his or her list of friends to enlarge your network. Once you’ve got your list of friends started, you can choose how you want to communicate with them. The most active, the RSS (variously Really Simple Syndication or Rich Site Summary) feed will automatically display a message (called a "change of status") from any of your friends as soon as they enter a new message. It doesn’t have to be text; it could be a photo, video, link to a great new site and the like, or it can be the name of a new friend you might want to meet. Post your own new message or respond to others, and soon you’re addicted. Mobile access is available as well. Privacy is very important, and facebook permits specific custom privacy settings that allow any or all of your friends access to your profile (essentially your home page) and which part they can access. Unlike other Social Networking sites, facebook doesn’t allow customization of the appearance of your profile page. This actually makes the site easier to use as you navigate from one friend to another, since you know where everything is and how to use it. Facebook has recently taken on a more commercial bend, with CEOs of various companies such as Starbucks and Dunkin’ Donuts setting up profiles and inviting a wide range of friends to join and exchange ideas. Similarly, your "friends" can be business associates forming their own group to discuss meetings, plans, problems and such.
MySpace (www.myspace.com) is similar in structure to facebook but does allow for customizing your pages with "skins," or custom decorations. MySpace is older than facebook and remains popular. MySpace has become more heavily entertainment, music and video oriented by offering music videos and member-generated videos and TV programs courtesy of YouTube and Hulu, but it still provides a friend-to-friend forum for sharing activities, news, views, photos and videos. The large music section is often used by new artists to promote themselves. In addition, the large gaming section provides a wealth of games to play with friends from around the world. Setting up your circle of friends is similar to facebook, but you’re given a wider range to search in. Although MySpace does not encourage connections between random people, they do not prohibit it, as does the structure in facebook. You do have control over your privacy settings by making your profile page viewable only to your circle of friends, or you can let your profile be viewable to anyone on MySpace. In either case, you can block individual members.
Twitter (www.twitter.com) is a short form text-only Social Networking site that enjoys immense popularity. Functionality is limited to sending and receiving posts of 140 characters maximum to your "followers" (similar to friends). You can limit who receives your messages or open them to everybody. Twitter could be described as a micro-blog used simply to keep contact with friends and their activities or in business to track meetings and more. Use of the site is exceptionally easy, and a mobile counterpart is available. The design intent is to provide mini-bits of info to help people keep in touch with what they are doing. What we’ve described here is a brief look at three of the more than 150 Social Networking web sites. Some, such as Orkut or Yahoo! 360, have a more general interest focus; others have a more narrow focus, such as CafeMoms for moms-to-be or Ravelry for knitting enthusiasts. Another site, heavily involved with video, is Youtube. Which is for you? That depends on your interests and where your friends are. But this is a cool way to stay connected--just ask any teenager. |
