Social networking sites are growing more popular every year. In an article at www.about.com , Facebook is listed as the number social networking site in the United States. (http://webtrends.about.com/od/socialnetworking/a/social_network.htm) The article goes on to point out that there are different types of social networking sites, general purpose sites, special interest sites that follow a theme, and international sites. General purpose sites are sites like Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter. These sites offer social networking on a large scale with large user bases. Special interest sites are sites such as Flixster which combines social networking with movie reviews, and LinkedIn which is a business oriented social platform. Xanga is another special interest site that is a social network combined with a blogging platform. International social sites include Badoo, the number social networking site in Europe, and Studivz, a German version of Facebook popular with students. For anyone interested in social networking, there are plenty of options available and the sites can be used in different ways, regardless of the type.
I currently use Facebook for my social networking site and I previously used MySpace. I like the layout of Facebook and it is very user friendly for me. I think social networking sites can be impersonal, interpersonal or hyperpersonal depending on the people you are communicating with on the site. For me, Facebook is very interpersonal as I talk to a lot of family and friends that live in other states. I do notice that some people tend to over emphasize emotions when communicating on facebook. For instance, jokes that would get a good chuckle in person get an "LOL" (laughing out loud). I find e-mail communications to be somewhat impersonal, even when talking to those that I am close to. Facebook adds a more personal dimension to my communications. Facebook and other social networking sites give everyone a way to communicate at whatever level they are comfortable with, whether impersonal, interpersonal or hyperpersonal. The options available for social networking also meet the needs of a variety of users. It is easy to see why this communication trend is growing in popularity.
2 comments:
I think this social networking sites are great tools for businesses to expand their information to their audience through facebook, myspace, twitter, linked in and various other sites. Face book has been very user friendly for me and a great way to keep in touch with family and friends in other states that I wouldn't keep in touch with as well other wise.
At first I was a little leery of social networking, as I am a very private person. However, with a lot of my extended family far away I decided to jump on board and start using Facebook. I like how user friendly it is, and I also like the security of it. In fact I have my account so "super secret squirrel mission" locked down that I can not even find my account. I also like how it has re-kindled some old friendships from high school and such. I can see how it is a useful tool for corporations as well. I think social networking is the thing of the future!
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