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What is Social Networking?

Social networking is the grouping of individuals into specific groups, like small rural

communities or a neighbourhood subdivision. Although social networking is achievable in

person, especially in the workplace, universities, and high schools, it is most famous online.

This is because unlike most high schools, colleges, or workplaces, the internet is filled with

millions of individuals who are looking to meet other people, to gather and share first- hand

information and experiences about any number of topics from golfing, gardening, developing

friendships and professional alliances.

There are two main types of social networking websites. The first type is often

classified as traditional networking websites. These websites are websites that tend to have

an open membership. An open membership means that anyone can join them. The second

type is known as specialty social networking websites. Specialty social networking websites

tend to focus on a particular topic or interest, such as online dating.

Social network analysis views social relationships in terms of network theory

consisting of nodes and ties. Nodes are the individual actors within the networks, and ties are

the relationships between the actors. The resulting graph- based structures are often very

complex. There can be many kinds of ties between the nodes. Research in a number of

academic fields has shown that social networks operate on many levels, from families up to

the level of nations, and play a critical role in determining the way problems are solved,

organizations are run, and the degree to which individuals succeed in achieving their goals.
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Examples of Social Networking Websites

There are many social networking websites used within and around the world. An

example of it is facebook. Facebook is a social networking website that is operated and

privately owned by Facebook, Inc. Users can add friends and send them messages, and

update their private profiles to notify friends about themselves. In addition, users can join

networks organised by city, workplace, school, and region. The website's name stems from

the colloquial name of books given at the start of the academic year by university

administrations with the intention of helping students to get to know each other better. It is

also a good way to keep in touch with friends, whom the users have not kept in touch for so

long, and helping the users to re- connect with them.

Another example of social networking website is twitter. Twitter is a free social

networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read messages

known as tweets. Tweets are text- based posts of up to 140 characters displayed on the

author's profile page and sent to the author's subscribers who are known as followers. Senders

can confine delivery to those in their circle of friends or, by default, allow open access. Users

can send and receive tweets via the Twitter website, Short Message Service (SMS) or

external applications. While the service itself costs nothing to use, accessing it through SMS

may incur phone service provider fees.

What is social networking website used for?

Social networks can be in use for many things, good and bad. Social networks are

really useful for business purposes. Many of the aforesaid ways that they can be used are

beneficial to companies. They can also do much more. For example, they can improve the

customer images of the business; help a business to get feedback on new products and
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services; help connect friends, family and long lost college friends, allow for idea sharing and

the creating dialog; and allow people to network with others in order to find jobs. Online

social networks are beneficial in many ways. They remove many of the complexities of the

offline world. In addition, they are often a very fun pastime.

A social network service focuses on building and reflecting of social networks or

social relations among people, e.g., who share interests and/ or activities. A social network

service essentially consists of a representation of each user (often a profile), his/ her social

links, and a variety of additional services. Most social network services are web- based, and

provides means for users to communicate over the internet, such as e- mail, and instant

messaging. Although online community services are sometimes considered as a social

network service in a broader sense, social network service usually means an individual-

centred service whereas online community services are group- centred.

Advantages of Using Social Networks

One of the benefits of using social networks is to lower costs. It is significantly

cheaper to employ online social networking strategies than to pay for advertising. When the

users use social network, they can pre- screen potential customers. Besides, they can learn

what their prospects are like and what they do not like. That personal relationship the users

gain when they connect with their potential customer is more valuable than what they would

get had they advertised.

Another advantage is credibility and trust. Connecting with prospects on a personal

level builds trust and credibility. A general rule of thumb is to offer the users’ services,

expertise or help before they ask for it. It is acceptable to promote their services when asked.
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If they are not careful, their attempts could be considered spam. Instead, wait for the

opportunities to present themselves instead of forcing a situation.

Moreover, social networks help the users to connect with the people, whom they

know. When they socialise, they meet others, who know others. Social networking

relationships are supposed to benefit both parties. There are many reasons to employ social

networking as a marketing tactic.

Social networks are also useful for educational purposes. The National School

Boards Association reports that almost 60 percent of students who use social networking talk

about education topics online and, surprisingly, more than 50 percent talk specifically about

schoolwork. Yet the vast majority of school districts have stringent rules against nearly all

forms of social networking during the school day even though students and parents report few

problem behaviours online. Social networks focus on supporting relationships between

teachers and between teachers and their students are now used for learning, educator

professional development, and content sharing.

Social networks are also beginning to be adopted by healthcare professionals as a

means to manage institutional knowledge, disseminate peer to peer knowledge and to

highlight individual physicians and institutions. The advantage of using a dedicated medical

social networking site is that all the members are screened against the state licensing board

list of practitioners. The role of social networks is especially of interest to pharmaceutical

companies who spend approximately "32 percent of their marketing dollars" attempting to

influence the opinion leaders of social networks. A new trend is emerging with social

networks created to help its members with various physical and mental ailments.
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Disadvantages of Using Social Networks

Although social networks have their advantages, there are disadvantages as well. One

of the main disadvantages is the cost of using the networks service especially on social

network dating. This is because most dating sites require a paid membership. To many, this

membership is worth the cost, but over time it could get quite expensive, and the users are not

guaranteed any results.

Besides that, there are a large number of safety concerns that could be considered

disadvantages as well. Unfortunately, the internet has made it easy for individuals to claim to

be someone, who they are not. It could also lead to danger. Some social networks have been

hacked, and a lot of private information might be known among strangers. Therefore, a lot of

precautions need to be taken into consideration while using social networks.

How to Use Social Networks Effectively?

One of the ways to use social networks effectively is by using the networks

judiciously. The networks have different audience demographics, and this should be kept in

mind when the users are deciding what and where to post. This should be done carefully.

Furthermore, users can use the networks’ automated tools for finding people they

know in facebook. The networks can, with their permission, review their address book and

see who they know who is already on their network. They also have a “people you may

know” function that recommends possible contacts. The recommendations presented to the

users are based on background data (schools attended, former jobs), and they provide to the

networks, so it is worth the time to provide complete information in your profiles assuming

the users are comfortable with their privacy policies.

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References

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_network_service

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Facebook

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_network

http://www.whatissocialnetworking.com/