SOCIAL
NETWORK
Abstract
A social networking service is
an online service, platform, or
site that focuses on building and reflecting of social
networks or social
relations among
people, who, for example, share interests and/or activities. A social network
service 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 provide means for users to interact over the Internet,
such as e-mail and instant
messaging
Social Media is the next big thing in
India after cricket and Bollywood, and we are only getting started. With a
total of only 16 million Internet subscriptions and users ranging from 50
million to 80 million, the real fun has just begun. As per the new report ,social media reaches
60 percent of the online audience.
Face book and
Orkut dominate dominate 90 percent of the Indian social media space which are
followed by iBibo, Twitter, LinkedIn and BharatStudent. Facebook, which overtook
Orkut in May 2010, has 22.1 million users. Twitter, for all the hype, has seen
its growth has seen drop from May to June followed by a rise from June to July.
Overall Twitter growth is slowing down.
History
The potential
for computer
networking to
facilitate newly improved forms of computer-mediated social interaction was
suggested early on. Efforts to support social networks via computer-mediated
communication were made in many early online services, including Usenet ,ARPANET, LISTSERV,
and bulletin board services (BBS) Some
communities - such as Classmates.com-
took a different approach by simply having people link to each other via email
addresses.
This newer
generation of social networking sites began to flourish with the emergence
ofSixDegrees.com in 1997, followed
by Makeoutclub in 2000,[Hub
Cultureand Friendster in
2002, and soon became part of the
Internet mainstream. Attesting
to the rapid increase in social networking sites' popularity, by 2005, it was
reported that MySpace was
getting more page views than Google. Facebook launched
in 2004, became the largest social networking site in the world[ in
early 2009, and remains largest of all social networks.
Social
impact
Web-based social networking services make
it possible to connect people who share interests and activities across
political, economic, and geographic borders. Through
e-mail and instant messaging. In 2011, HCL
Technologies conducted research that showed that 50% of British employers had
banned the use of social networking sites/services during office hours.
Facebook and
other social networking tools are increasingly the object of scholarly
research. Scholars in many fields have begun to investigate the impact of
social-networking sites, investigating how such sites may play into issues of identity, privacy, social
capital, youth culture, and education.
Emerging
trends
One popular use
for this new technology is social networking between businesses. Companies have
found that social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter are great ways
to build their brand image. According to Jody Nimetz, author of Marketing Jive, there
are five major uses for businesses and social media: to create brand awareness,
as an online reputation management tool, for recruiting, to learn about new
technologies and competitors, and as a lead
generation tool
to intercept potential prospects. These
companies are able to drive traffic to their own online sites while encouraging
their consumers and clients to have discussions on how to improve or change
products or service
Social networks and science
One other use
that is being discussed is the use of social networks in the science
communities. Julia Porter Liebeskind et al. have published a study on how new
biotechnology firms are using social networking sites to share exchanges in
scientific knowledge. They state in their study that by
sharing information and knowledge with one another, they are able to
"increase both their learning and their flexibility in ways that would not
be possible within a self-contained hierarchical organization." Social
networking is allowing scientific groups to expand their knowledge base and
share ideas, and without these new means of communicating their theories might
become "isolated and irrelevant
.
Social networks and
education
Social networks are also being used by
teachers and students as a communication tool. Because many students are
already using a wide-range of social networking sites, teachers have begun to
familiarize themselves with this trend and are now using it to their advantage.
Teachers and professors are doing everything from creating chat-room forums and
groups to extend classroom discussion to posting assignments, tests and
quizzes, to assisting with homework outside of the classroom setting
Social networks are also being used to
foster teacher-parent communication. These sites make it possible and more
convenient for parents to ask questions and voice concerns without having to
meet face-to-face.The use of online social
networks by libraries is also an increasingly prevalent and growing tool that
is being used to communicate with more potential library users, as well as
extending the services provided by individual libraries
Social networks and
employment
A final rise in social network use is
being driven by college students using the services to network with
professionals for internship and job opportunities. Many studies have been done
on the effectiveness of networking online in a college setting, and one notable
one is by Phipps Arabie and Yoram Wind published in Advances
in Social Network Analysis.
Many schools have implemented online
alumni directories which serve as makeshift social networks that current and
former students can turn to for career advice. However, these alumni
directories tend to suffer from an oversupply of advice-seekers and an
undersupply of advice providers. One new social networking service, Ask-a-peer,
aims to solve this problem by enabling advice seekers to offer modest
compensation to advisers for their time.
Social Interaction
Social networking is a way for one person
to meet up with other people on the Net. That's not all though. Some people use
social networking sites for meeting new friends on the Net. Other's use it to
find old friends. Then there are those who use it to find people who have the
same problems or interests they have, this is called niche networking.
Following this trend is the emerging trend of people meeting online to meet
offline. More and more relationships and friendships are being formed online
and then carried to an offline/in person setting.
Conclusion
You are
putting out information about your name, location, age, gender, and many other
types of information that you may not want to let others know. Most people
would say be careful, but no one can be certain at any given time. As long as
people can know who you exactly are, then some can find ways to do you in.
Definitely,
it's cheaper to use online social networking for both personal and business use
because most of it is usually free. While personal use is rather simple for
anyone, the business functions are underestimated by many. In a social
networking site, you can scout out potential customers and target markets with
just a few clicks and keystrokes, adding a boost to your usual advertisements
and promotional strategies. It lets you learn about their likes and dislikes,
which is tremendous. If you want to fine tune your business, then this is the way
to go, whether on a budget or not.
Reference:
·
Boyd, Danah; Ellison, Nicole
(2007). "Social Network Sites:
Definition, History, and Scholarship". Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication 13 (1).
·
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Sites". First Monday 11(12).
·
Ellison, Nicole B.; Steinfield,
Charles; Lampe, Cliff (2007). "The
benefits of Facebook "friends": Exploring the relationship between
college students' use of online social networks and social capital". Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication 12 (4).
·
Fraser, Matthew; Dutta,
Soumitra (2008). Throwing Sheep in the Boardroom: How Online Social
Networking Will Transform Your Life, Work and World,
Wiley. ISBN 978-0470740149.
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Mazer, J. P.; Murphy, R. E.;
Simonds, C. J. (2007). "I'll
See You On "Facebook": The Effects of Computer-Mediated Teacher
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·
Prensky, Marc (2001). "Digital
Natives, Digital Immigrants". On the Horizon 9 (5).
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White, D.S.; Le Cornu, A.
(2011). "Visitors and Residents: A
New Typology for Online Engagement". First Monday 16 (9).
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