Content and Contacts – the Social Networking Phenomenon
Social Networking is the latest ‘big thing’ sweeping the internet. It’s based on the idea of members creating an online profile promoting their interests with the aim of linking up with like-minded individuals. Some sites focus primarily on making business connections (Ecademy and LinkedIn for example) whilst others are more ‘hobbies and interests’ based (like MySpace and Friendster). Building an online network of friends and associates has never been easier.
Back in the 1960s a psychologist called Stanley Milgram calculated that any 2 people on the planet can be connected by (on average) six steps. The internet represents the ideal medium through which individuals can connect beyond their usual first or second step friends and acquaintances. But when the first networking sites found their way online in the 1990s, initial response was lukewarm, with few realising the full potential.
But today, such sites are experiencing massive growth, thanks mainly to the increase of user-generated content including photos, music, video, and other digital media. It seems that people are finally understanding just how powerful this method of networking can be as a way of establishing contacts outside their immediate circle of friends and friends-of-friends.
For example, business networking site LinkedIn has seen its membership grow from 1 million to 4.2 million in just over a year. Much of this rapid growth can be attributed to the introduction of features which allow job seekers to locate contacts at organisations where they wish to work. Social networking site MySpace now has over 95 million registered users - if it were a country, it would be the 12th largest in the world, ranking between Mexico and the Philippines. Friendster's current membership is around 21 million, with 9 million of those users returning to the site every month.
Of course some argue that substituting virtual relationships for everyday, real-life interactions is less than ideal – another case of overstimulation from the virtual world. That said, if users weren’t enjoying the benefits of online networking, they wouldn’t be signing up for it by the millions…
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