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[T1107]Top 10 Social Networking Sites

by Arthur Raise, Art

Online communities provide information, spur creativity, channel new designs in technology, and bring like-minded people closer to one another. From the PC or laptop a person can connect and communicate with the whole world. There are over 400 plus social networking sites online facilitating business and social networking. The online community can congregate each day 24/7 according to specific needs or interests; music, sports, gaming, trekking, every human interest or activity has spurred its own unique social networking website or channel. It is not city specific but global.

1. Join a social networking site that signifies you. Do an online search and go through the directories on social networking to identify what interests you the most.

2. Never sign up or join on an impulse take the time to read about the website and browse through many similar sites until you find one that suits your needs. Read and understand the rules and privacy statements.

3. Once you have found a social networking website that is “you” go ahead and register. When choosing a user name think of its use if you are registering for business purposes the name should trigger off recall. So curb the flights of fantasy and use a name that is practical and will showcase you to the world.

4. Choose the level of membership. Basic memberships are usually free but paid ones have more features. Begin with a free membership and then upgrade once you are comfortable.

5. Fill the user profile with care and think of how your profile will be distinctive from others. In networking unless your profile stands out you will be one among an ocean of profiles. To draw benefits from the site you need to create a clear profile and maximize it by innovating on the layout.

6. Browse the World Wide Web for templates that are compatible with the social networking site you are registered on. Many templates are free while others are paid. Check before you select one.

7. Try and customize the layout. This will make your profile distinctive and unique. Add style, color, and panache by including clips, photos and more.

8. While customizing the layout think about the purpose of your profile. If its business then try and keep it dignified unless you are in a “hep” line of business like ornaments, cards, or music. Use fonts, colors, and graphics to add style.

9. Ensure that your profile has cohesiveness and actually represents you in every way. What drives traffic on social networking sites is a profile that grabs attention.

10. Network online successfully but pay attention to security and privacy too! Read up on how to protect yourself and ensure that social networking does not put you or your family in any dangers. While there are many positive aspects to social networking there are negatives too.

Social networking websites like Orkut, Myspace, Yahoo and more are channels through which people communicate, find lost friends, tap resources, and even find work. Online it is said to be the most vibrant and action packed space.

Are new age media shaking up old values? The internet is creating cyber shockwaves in all facets of our lives. Including your 2nd lives,so to speak. Look to Youtube, Facebook, MySpace, SecondLife to name a few, and in fact you could already be members of one or more of them. Below is a synopsis of each with statistics which hopefully will convince you the efficiency of such channels.

Facebook. This is a free-access website allows users to join one or more networks, such as a school, place of employment, or geographic region to easily connect and interact with other people. Users can post messages for their friends to see, and update their personal profile to notify friends about themselves. The website has more than 69 million active users worldwide and ranked 7th in Sept 07. It is the most popular website for uploading photos, with 14 million uploaded daily.

MySpace. This is a popular social networking website offering an interactive, user-submitted network of friends, personal profiles, blogs, groups, photos, music and videos for teenagers and adults internationally. The 100 millionth account was created on August 6, 2006 in the Netherlands and a news story claimed 106 million accounts on September 8, 2006, and the site reportedly attracts 230,000 new registrations per day.

YouTube. This is a video sharing website where users can upload, view and share video clips. It uses adobe flash technology to display a wide variety of user-generated video content, including movie clips, TV clips and music videos, as well as amateur content such as video-blogging and short original videos. In November 2006, Google Inc acquired the company for US$1.65 billion in Google stock. In July 2006, the company revealed that more than 100 million videos were being watched every day, and 2.5 billion videos were watched in June 2006. 50,000 videos were being added per day in May 2006, and this increased to 65,000 by July In January 2008 alone, nearly 79 million users watched over 3 billion videos on YouTube.

Second Life (abbreviated as SL) is an Internet-based virtual world launched in 2003. A downloadable client program called the second life viewer enables its users, called Residents, to interact with each other through motional avatars, providing an advanced level of a social network service combined with general aspects of a meta verse. Residents can explore, meet other residents, socialize, participate in individual and group activities, have virtual sex, and create and trade items (virtual property) and services from one another. At the end of March 2008, approximately 13 million accounts were registered, although a large percentage of these are inactive & some Residents have multiple accounts. In January 2008, residents spent 28,274,505 hours, so on average about 38,000 residents were logged on at any particular moment.

What actually do you see in common? You see social-centric sites which attempt to create communities via word of mouth. Each site offers unique and compelling reasons for you to become members of their respective communities with each site sharing different values and beliefs.

It uses what we might call a viral marketing approach which taps on the social networks to increase brand awareness of the site with the eventual goal to market or sell a product. Viral marketing is in essence, the power of word-of-mouth approach exemplified by the networking effects of the internet.

The most compelling reason of all, that as true marketers you should note in the above information, is the massive amount of traffic generated within these sites which serve as great business opportunities which you cannot afford to ignore.

Here is a parting note to all marketers. At the end of 1st quarter 2008, simply by count of the above major social networking platforms, there is a massive 270 million users (but assuming duplicate accounts in various site) giving rise to viral marketing potentials.

Article Source : Drivers For Network Card

About Author

Both Arthur Raise & Musa Aykac are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.

Arthur Raise has sinced written about articles on various topics from Basketball, GPS Cell Phones and Air Filters. . Arthur Raise's top article generates over 135000 views. to your Favourites.

Musa Aykac has sinced written about articles on various topics from Mercedes Benz, Family Travel and Marketing and Communications. All your and . Musa Aykac's top article generates over 110000 views. to your Favourites.