Social Networks:- Social Networking is a good form of entertainment for meeting people with similar interests and can be useful for staying in touch with friends. It can be an effective proportional promotional tool for businesses, entrepreneurs, writers, actress, musician or artists.
Social networking is a broad concept that includes all sorts of networking websites, from business to personal. People use the services to network with others, catch up with old friends, and share common interests. Users can update their statuses, create blogs, share photos and impact in numerous other ways.
Social networking on the internet is popular with users of all age groups, but more so with youngsters and Universities, high school and colleges, as well as people in workplaces. It is a convenient way to get to know people who share same interests, opinions, likes and dislikes. The internet contain various social networking sites, and people only need to register at these website to be part of a social network. After registering at a social networking site, they can create their own list of friends to interact and share views with them. They can also share their photos, audio, or video files with others.
Common Networking Sites are: –
- Facebook:- Facebook is an online social networking service. After registering to use the site, users can create a User Profile, add other users as ‘freind’, exchange messages, post status updates and photos, share videos and receive notification when other update their profile. Additionally, users may join common-interest user groups, organized by workplace, school or college, or other characteristics, and categories their friends into list such as ‘people from work’ or ‘close friends’.
- Twitter:- Twitter is an online social networking service that enable user to send hi to short 140 character messages called tweets. Registered user can read and post tweets, but unregistered users can only read them. Users access twitter through the website interface, SMS, or mobile device app. Twitter Inc. is based in San Francisco and has more than 25 offices around the world.
- Instagram:- Instagram is a photo and video sharing social media site. It was designed for mobile use with the intention that users would take photos on their mobile devices then upload the images “instantly” through the Instagram app. Like most social media sites, the intention is to connect users with friends, family, colleagues and other users with similar interest.
- LinkedIn:- LinkedIn is a professional social networking site design for the business community. It allows registered members to established and document network of people they know and trust professionally. It founded on December 28 2002 and launched on May 5th 2003.
- Google:- Google is the most popular Search Engine across the globe which is used very frequently. It’s popularity is assumed in the way like most of people have set this as it’s home page and default search engine for the browsers. It is a web portal, contains number of service like Mail, Books, Translate, Map, Google+, YouTube and so on.
- Telegram:- It is a cloud based instant messaging and voice over IP service developed by Telegram Messanger LLP,London
- WhatsApp:- it is the mobile best messaging application that you can download to your smartphone and used to easily send text, video and audio messages to other people mobile phone.
- Goggle + :- Google Plus is a social networking and identity service that is owned and operated by Google Inc. Google has described Google Plus as a ‘social layer’ that in hands many of it online properties, and that is not simply a social networking website, but also an authorship tool that associates web content directly with its owner/author.It is second-largest social networking sites in the world after Facebook.
Characteristics of Social Networking
There are certain features of social networking which includes.
- User Based: Before social networks, websites were based on content that was updated by one user and read by Internet visitors. The flow of information was in a single directions, and the direction of future update was determined by Webmaster or writer. Online social networks, are built on a directed by users themselves. Without users, network would be an empty space trade with Infinity forums, applications and chat rooms. Users populate the network with conversation and content. The direction of that content is determined by anyone who takes part in the discussion. This is what makes social network so much more exciting and dynamic for internet users.
- Interactive: Modern social networks is interactive which is not just a collection of and forums anymore, but where website like Facebook or filled with network-based gaming application for playing. These social networks of quickly becoming a pastime that more are choosing over television because it’s more than just entertainment, it’s a way to connect and have fun with friends.
- Relationship: Just like websites of past, social networks drive on relationships. The more relationship that you have within the network, more established you are toward the centre of that network.
- Emotions over content: While websites of past stressed on providing information to visitor, social network really provides users with emotional security and sense that no matter what happenes, their friends are within easy reach.
Advantages of Social Networking
- Connect with friends/families:- Social networking always helps to stay connected with friends and family members.
- Share photos and information:- Helps in sharing information, content, image, file or photographs to friends/ relatives anytime.
- Find people with similar interests:- It always feel good to talk with paper who share interest and helps in finding certain groups of communities with paper of similar interest.
- Business promotion branding and expansion:- Social networking helps in promoting and expanding of business. It helps in displaying products, brands, offers, etc personal account and for the promote business.
- Express opinions:- You can express your opinions and thoughts or any post/link posted by others.
- Cost Effective:- It helps people in promoting, marketing, and expanding their businesses with less cost involved.
Disadvantages of Social Networking
- Threats to privacy:- It is suggested that members of various social networking sites should use these online platform carefully. They should not share their personal information with anyone unless they are completely assured about the same.
- Misuse of Freedom:- Freedom of expression on social networking sites can be misused by many and unwanted element in the form of pranks and harmful jokes, Bullying, invasion on user privacy etc.
- Increased Threat:- Some people can use these sites for sending illegal or offensive messages that can create tension in various communities.
- Innocent people fall easy prey of false schemes.
- Fake and incorrect information sharing
- Lacks emotional connect
- Wastage of time, energy, and money
Chat Sites on Social Networking
Chatting on internet is talking to other people through internet at the same time. Basically, talking relates to exchange of typed in message which needs a site as repository for the messages along with group of users, who can take part from anywhere on internet. For chatting on internet, different chat rooms are available that allow you to communicate with different kinds of people across the globe. Chat room is a place where different times of people share and discuss on similar interests, goal, hobbies and desires. Internet chats can also be a great learning center where people can ask question and receive answer on product and services, computer troubleshooting and more.
Chats rooms, runs on different chatting websites and are less formal way of communication which can be worked by entering user name and password in real time.
Website | Description | Messaging | File Sharing | Send Video | Receive Video |
7 Cups | Trained listener support for emotionally distressed people | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
Airtime.com | Group Live video streaming and Instant messaging | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
BongaCams | One-way Webcam model live video streaming | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
Chat-Avenue | Adobe Flash chat rooms | Yes | No | No | No |
Chatroulette | Two-way Live video streaming between random pairs of people | No | No | Yes | Yes |
Chaturbate | One way webcam model live video streaming | Yes | No | No | Yes |
Flirt4free | One-way webcam model live video streaming | Yes | No | No | Yes |
Gitter | Instant messaging for software development, integrates with GitHub | Yes | No | No | No |
Google Hangouts | Group Live video streaming and Instant messaging | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
HipChat | Instant messaging for enterprise software development, integrates with Atlassian products | Yes | Yes | No | No |
Kik | Photo / video sharing 1 to 1 or 1 to many messaging | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
LiveJasmin | One-way webcam model live video streaming | Yes | No | No | Yes |
Meebo Rooms | Yes | No | No | Yes | |
MyFreeCams.com | One-way webcam model live video chats | Yes | No | No | Yes |
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