The social web is a huge place, and it continues to grow and expand each day. From sites such as Twitter to other sites such as Facebook and Myspace, people from all around the world are looking for a variety of ways to connect and network. The other day, I was contacted by someone who used my Twitter profile to find my LinkedIn profile before contacting me about something regarding running (which is one of my main interests). I couldn't help but sit back and think how incredible networking is.

Often, people will compare the social web to something along the lines of leaving a trail for someone else to follow. For example, it's like that childhood story in which the two children throw down breadcrumbs so that they can find their way back home...The same thing applies to the social web. You are, in essence, often leaving a trail behind for other people to follow you in order to find the end. The social web is so much more than that though. For example, many business owners and small business are finding out that the social web is extremely helpful in their marketing efforts. Think about how much it would cost someone to put up a television advertisement on the television. Did you know that even a two minute television advertisement can sometimes cost millions of dollars? Now, look at how much it costs to put ads up in a newspaper or magazine. While magazine and news ads don't usually cost nearly as much as television ads, they are still extremely expensive. Finally, think about all of the online marketing that is out there. The social web is full of people who are talking back and forth to one another and who are constantly making connections on the web. This is what the Internet is all about.

Twitter, Facebook, Myspace, StumbleUpon, Digg, etc....these are all free social media tools and sites that people use constantly. Perhaps the biggest social media site at the moment is Twitter. Business people have been smart to market themselves here a) because it doesn't cost them anything and b) they are in direct contact with the consumer. The two of these things together is extremely powerful. For example, I was recently reading something about how you can follow some of your local supermarkets on Twitter. I checked it out, and it turns out that this is a great way to find out what sales are taking place and on what items. Additionally, some of these sites are run by actual people who are there to answer your questions should you be curious about something that your supermarket is selling.

When people complain about a company, its service or anything else related to it, the companies are actually hearing it and doing something about it (in most cases). For this reason, Twitter and other social networking sites are fantastic tools for communication. When considering starting up a business or even improving the marketability of an existing company, you absolutely must consider the social web for all that it has to offer.