Social Media Networking (SMN) has evolved to become such an important part of our daily lives so much so that it begs the question, are Social Networking Sites (SNS) such as Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, etc taking over our lives?  Maybe not taking over ALL our lives but it is definitely and profoundly changing the way we live.

 

Social Media Sites was originally designed for people to share thoughts and views about different topics with other members and also share content such as personal thoughts, photos, links and videos.  Social Networking Sites are web-based services that allow individuals to:

 

1. Create a public (or private) profile within given parameters

2. Connect with personal (past and present) friends (acquaintances, co-workers and even strangers) 

3. View and traverse their list of connections

 

If you haven’t noticed yet,  there is a revolution taking place in the online world.  According to Wikipedia, Facebook has over 200 Million subscribers worldwide and if MySpace was a country it would be the 7th largest after Russia. Since their introduction SNSs have attracted millions of people who have integrated these sites into their daily lives.  Every SNS has various technological affordances supporting a wide range of interests and practices but while their key features are fairly consistent – the cultures that emerge around SNSs are varied.  Aside from Facebook, Twitter and MySpace there are also OTHER Social Media Networking Sites that deserve a second look.  

 

Please note that there are many more SMN Sites out there but this list  only includes the more popular ones.   The SNSs have been categorized for better understanding of their services. 

 

 

1. Blogs –  A blog is an online journal.  The social aspect of the blog is its feature of allowing random comments and interaction between the writer/author/blogger and his/her audience.  Most popular blog sites are:

a. blogger.com 

b. livejournal.com 

c. typepad.com

d. wordpress.com 

e. xanga.com

 

2. Micro Blogs – Same definition as a blog but very limited in the amount of information to be shared.  Twitter only allows 140 characters.  Most popular micro-blogging sites are:

a. twitter.com 

b. plurk.com 

c. jaiku.com 

 

3. Social Networking  -  An online website that allows you to connect with friends, family and colleagues as well as meet people with similar interests.  Most popular social networking sites are:

a. Bebo.com 

b. Facebook.com

c. LinkedIn.com 

d. MySpace.com 

e. Orkut.com 

f. Skyrock.com 

g. Hi5.com

h. Ning.com

 

4. Social Network Aggregation –  Pulls information from different social networking sites into a single location.  FriendFeed.com was recently bought by Facebook and is being used in their Real-Time Search.  Most  popular Network Aggregators are:

a. FriendFeed.com 

b. Nutshellmail.com

 

 

1. Wikis –  is a website that allows multiple users to create, modify and organize web page content in a collaborative manner.  Most popular wikis are:

a. wikipedia.com

b. wetpaint.com

 

2. Social Bookmarking –  is an online version of local bookmarking or ‘favorites’ but it is more advanced because you can comment, discuss, recommend, etc on others bookmarks, tags, etc.   Samples of the most popular Social Bookmarking Networks are:

a. delicious.com 

b. stumbleupon.com 

c. reader.google.com

 

3. Social news – refers to websites where users can submit and vote on news stories and post links.  Most popular social news sites are:

a. Digg.com 

b. Mixx.com 

c. Reddit.com 

d. NowPublic.com

 

4. Opinion Sites – this is self explanatory and opinions are given opinions too.  The most popular opinion sites are:

a. Yelp.com 

b. epinions.com 

 

 

1. Photo-Sharing –  the publishing of digital photos online allowing users to share them with others.  The most popular photo-sharing websites are:

a. Flickr.com 

b. Zooomr.com

c. Photobucket.com

d. Picasa

 

2. Video Sharing – Same as photo-sharing but using Video.  The most popular video-sharing sites are:

a. Youtube.com

b. Vimeo.com

c. Sevenload.com

 

3. Livecasting – watch live videos online and interact with your hosts.  This might just replace television as we know it!  The most popular livecasting websites are:

a. Ustream.tv

b. Justin.tv

c. stickam.com