Social Networks

Definition: Social networking sites allow people to create personal profiles, mingle with friends, and define an identity online.

Historical retrospective: http://jcmc.indiana.edu/vol13/issue1/boyd.ellison.html

(sorry about some of this formatting. MS Word throws Typepad for a hissyfit)

Most Popular

MySpace:

  • Most      used to connect with friends/meet new friends. Heavily driven by music, as      artists have the ability to create their own profile and stream MP3s for      their songs thus building up their fan base. Basic functionality: Finding People +      Messaging + Content-Sharing.
  • Most      popular website in the US in July 2007, as ranked by Hitwise based on US      Internet usage for July, 2007, ranked by market share of visits across all      Hitwise industries.
  • Doesn't cater to a specific audience, unlike more      targeted platforms such as LinkedIn or Care2. Besides offering user blogs      and message boards, MySpace has a classified ad section where nonprofits      can place job listings for free, and a space where you can announce      upcoming events. MySpace lets you create groups or join one of the      10,000-plus groups formed by nonprofit and philanthropic organizations. Unlike      other social networking tools, MySpace lets you post videos, making it a      good platform for exposing your nonprofit's advocacy films to a larger      audience.
  • MySpace lets you create groups or join one of the      10,000-plus groups formed by nonprofit and philanthropic organizations.      Unlike other social networking tools, MySpace lets you post videos, making      it a good platform for exposing your nonprofit's advocacy films to a      larger audience.

Facebook:

  • Most used to connect with friends/meet new      people. Originally focused on students in high schools and      universities, this simple tool lets you establish networks within your      current school and track people from former schools. While now open to all users still today,      Facebook is still primarily organized around real-world physical      communities – college campuses, high schools, employers, etc.
  • What sets Facebook apart is a culture of      authentic identity. When first started (for college students only), users      were required to register with their real names and real college email      addresses. At most other social networks, role-playing, pseudonyms, and      anonymity are rampant
  • Active users defined as users      active on the site in the last 30 days -- 50% of active users return to      the site daily. 100,000 new users join per day. 45 billion page views per      month and growing. 50 million users, and a lot more page views, predicted      by the end of 2007. http://blog.pmarca.com/2007/06/analyzing_the_f.html
  • Site characteristics: user can create      profiles, connect to friends, send messages, post to friends’ message      boards (a feature called “The Wall” that appears on each user’s profile      page), create groups dedicated to specific topics, photo albums,      create/promote events, import external blogs, and keep in touch through      the News Feed.
  • News Feed: It's very similar to an RSS feed. An automated flow of information into your      Facebook home page that told you which friends had new friends and what      groups they joined, among other things. As businesses build applications      and users install them, their friends will automatically be notified. This      function is the key to Facebook’s viral power.
  • Open platform: enables      outside web developers to inject new features and content into the      Facebook environment. After signing up      for a developer account on Facebook, the developer writes a web      application and hosts it on her own servers. The developer then registers      her application with Facebook, and then users can add that application to      their Facebook user experience in several different ways, including within      their Facebook profile pages.      Facebook’s News Feed makes the sight a highly viral distribution engine for applications      that plug into its platform. As a user, you get notified when your friends      start using an application; you can then start using that same application      with one click.

2nd Tier (qua Social Network)

Friendster:

  • One of the first and best-known      social networking applications, Friendster currently boasts nearly 30      million members. Through the site, users can share photos, blog, post to      message boards, sort through classified ads, and create and join groups      where members can share announcements and engage in discussions.      Friendster categorizes groups by subject matter and has a designated      section for nonprofit and philanthropic organizations. There, you'll find      nonprofit groups ranging from high school students who want to help end      global poverty to supporters of Amnesty International.

YouTube:

  • World’s largest video sharing site. Users      upload videos or make their own channels for videos they like. Viral      nature of YouTube is enhanced by the ability to easily cut and paste      videos hosted by YouTube into your blog. Bought by Google for $1.75      billion in 2006.

Hi5:

  • Launched      in late 2003, is a massive MySpace-style social network. The site targets      the teens and twenties demographic and claims to have over 40 million      members.
  • Hi5      is now ranked as the 11th most popular site online above Facebook at 13th      [Alexa]. Most of Hi5’s traffic doesn’t come from the United States. Hi5 is      the No. 1 ranking site online in Portugal, Ecuador, Costa Rica, El      Salvador and Guatemala, and ranks at No 2 in Jamaica, Honduras and The      Dominican Republic. 16.2% of visitors to Hi5 come from Peru and 7.7% from      Portugal, by comparison visitors to Hi5 from the Unites States make up      only 2% of the sites traffic.
  • As      of December 2006, Hi5 claimed to have 50 million registered users

Bebo:

  • popular among schoolchildren and has a huge      member base, thanks to the fact that it is grouped around schools and      colleges

Flickr:

  • A community based around digital      images, Flickr lets you upload and share your favorite photos. While      Flickr doesn't offer individual user blogs, it does allow you to join or      form groups where members can upload and share photos. Flickr also allows      you to add comments to your photos and supports tagging, whereby you add a      keyword or "tag" to an image so that other users and search      engines can find it more easily. And, if you publish your images on Flickr      under a Creative Commons license, other users can add them to their blogs,      increasing your organization's presence elsewhere on the Web. Bought by Yahoo in 2005 for $30M

Digg:

  • news and content community. Members submit      links to stories they think will be of interest and others vote on the      articles. Gets 10 million unique visitors a month.
  • breaking news,      video, podcasts, and pictures from all over the world - users      find, post, and rate the best of the web’s newest content.
  • Digg:      84th most-visited site on the      Web (alexa), Just over 1 million users (dugg), Over 12 million unique      visitors/month (compete), Largest demographic: 18-24 years [QUANTCAST], Second largest: 45-54 years      [QUANTCAST]

Gather:

  • A social networking site with a heavy focus on      content, Gather offers plenty of tools for nonprofits that want to share      their stories with others. In addition to photos, Gather allows you to      publish blogs (called "articles"), which can be tagged and rated      according to usefulness by other users. Articles and images with the      highest rankings appear on the home page and generally gain more      visibility on the site. Gather also allows users to create and join      groups, where they can share images and articles with people who have      similar interests. Plans are in the works to add a podcast-publishing      feature to the site.

Tribe:

  • Tribe takes its name from the nearly 45,000      online groups, or "tribes," on its site. Tribes consist of      groups of people who gather in Tribe's forums to discuss a specific topic.      Members of each tribe can post to message boards, upload photos, or list      events that will be of interest to the community. Tribe's groups are what      bring the community together, allowing a high level of interaction and      discussion. You can also add your favorite RSS feeds      to your profile, write a blog, or share links from del.icio.us.
  • Primarily      used for social purposes (ie: member moves to a new city and searches      Tribe for restaurant and hotel info). Individual users have their defined      network of friends and there are also categories of communities called      tribes, each with a message forum and event listing of its own.      Messages/forums available in RSS for use in news aggregating applications.     

StumbleUpon:

  • Surf the      best-reviewed sites on the web while blogging about your favorite content and connecting with others      who have similar interests. 363rd most-visited site on the Web [ALEXA]. Just over 2      million registered users [STUMBLEUPON]. Nearly 400,000 unique visitors/month [COMPETE]. Largest      demographic: 45-54 years [QUANTCAST]

Meetup.com:

  • Dedicated      to arranging meetings for communities with similar interests. The focus is      not on user profiles or networks of friends. Instead, organizes local      interest groups that meet monthly in local cafes, etc. Earns revenue from      establishments that pay to be listed as possible meeting spots.

Orkut.com:

  • Site      developer works for Google. Has relatively low user base because requires      an invite to join. Communities are created under approx 30 different      categories and contain message forums, event listings.

LiveJournal.com:

  • Blogging      service in which members can add other members as friends, getting a      summary blog line of friend’s blogs.

WhoAt.com:

  • Social      networking and dating site for mobile phones. You tell it where you are      and it tells you where your friends and nearby potential friends are. ER      note: this sounds like a potential security nightmare.

DodgeBall:

  • Finding People + Finding Where      People Are Right Now. DodgeBall gets around the invasiveness of tracking      other people by putting a reverse spin on it: You tell DodgeBall where you      are and it tells others in your network (current and desired associates,      friends, and crushes) when you are nearby, so that, if they are so      inclined, they can contact you to meet up

Insider Pages:

  • Content-Sharing + Finding People.      The content is reviews of companies by consumers. The idea is to take the      Consumer Reports or epinions concept local, so that consumers can see what      others think about local suppliers. Information not available elsewhere      and probably only ever available peer-to-peer. Enormous potential here,      especially if Google Maps is integrated. The challenge is getting people      to take the time to volunteer their opinions. The way around the challenge      is getting reviewers to sign up their friends and neighbours.

Professional Social Networks

LinkedIn:

  • Unlike many of the best-known social      networking sites, LinkedIn focuses primarily on creating and maintaining      professional contacts. You can use the site to touch base with former      coworkers and classmates, find people employed in the nonprofit sector,      and obtain professional references. The site, currently boasting 5.5 million      users, supports the creation of groups, and has a dedicated category for      nonprofits. LinkedIn offers plenty of resources for hiring employees,      consultants, or service providers.
  • Probably the most successful social network      for those 25+ but is criticized for charging for so many of its services.

Ryze:

  • Similar in concept to LinkedIn,      Ryze also emphasizes professional and career-based networking. Ryze lets      users join groups (called "networks") of like-minded people,      though you'll have to upgrade to a paying membership in order to create      such networks yourself. Other features include the ability to add events,      browse classified ads, and post job openings at your organization.

Ecademy.com:

  • Business      networking site of trusted business connections for people to share      contacts and business opportunities. Free to join, but membership can be      upgraded at a cost. Has lists of clubs members can join, listings of      meetings and when they will take place. Also includes a list of networking      regions globally for arranging meetings and events online.

OpenBC.com:

  • European      version of LinkedIn.

Spoke.com:

  • Professional      networking site helps people build their business network online. Members      can obtain referrals from people they already know on the site.

Social Networks Dedicated to Social Change

Care2:

  • This site helps activists network and mobilize      around specific issues, from human rights to environmental protection.      Care2 lets you create or join groups devoted to a cause; start and sign      petitions that can be sent to Congress and other lawmakers; share and      browse photos; post to message boards; solicit donations; and publicize      your organization's events. Currently, Care2 has more than 5 million      members.

change.org:

  • The      goal of this site is to transform social activism by serving as a central      platform that connects likeminded people and enables them to exchange      information, share ideas, and collectively act to address the social      issues they care about. Additionally, to reinforce the individual      connections made on the site, Change.org connects these networks to      nonprofit organizations that are already working to address these social      concerns. Change.org creates a social network around each nonprofit (over      1 million), allowing people to participate through idea posting/suggestions,      engaging in direct dialogue, organizing communities of donors, volunteer      events, rallies. Site launched in Feb 2007.
  • Benefit      to nonprofits: aims to enable NGOs the opportunity to build a sense of      community around their organization while extending their reach through a      powerful online social network (for every supporter there may be 10 to 20      in their network who are prospective supporters). Change.org also enables      NGOs to leverage the power of peer-to-peer fundraising and viral online      marketing.

Breakout:

  • Breakout      Pro is social software for getting things done. It provides a suite of Web      2.0 collaboration tools (wiki, discussion, feed aggregation, asset      management) along with team building and permissioning that can range from      completely private to completely public.

CommonCircle.net:

  • Social      network for the “Green Movement”,      eco powered servers. features: blog, events, groups, classifieds, chat/im,      gallery, polls.

CivicEvolution.org:

  • CivicEvolution      is a non-partisan public service that provides tools and support to help      citizens organize community projects, brainstorm for new ideas, develop a      plan, deliberate proposals and build consensus. Features include (a).      Private discussion group – users can create a discussion group on any      topic and CivicEvolution provides email and feeds to keep all participants      engaged. (b) Brainstorming – a brainstorming interface to allows      participants to easily create and recognize proposals/converge on a      consensus (c) Study an issue – access articles on a topic, comment on      them, discuss issues related to the article (d) Focus group – administer a      survey to participants (e) Proposal creation – collaboratively write an      action proposal with a group of participants interested in your      cause/social concern.

mybloc.net:

  • BLOC is a national network of young people      working in communities of color to build alliances and fundamentally      transform society. MyBloc.net Uses web 2.0      tools and the skills of emerging people of color organizer-technologists      to increase the effectiveness and impacts of base-building organizations      while laying the foundation for the progressive youth leadership pipeline.      BLOC aims to support face-to-face organizing, thereby building on      connections, community and networks that already exist. BLOC is built on      the principle that Web-based technologies can support organizing work, but      not replace it.

TakingITGlobal.org:

  • TakingITGlobal      connects youth around the world to find inspiration, information and get      involved in improving their local and global communities. What if youth      everywhere came together to inspire each other, get informed about social      issues, and involved in their communities? TakingITGlobal evolved from      this idea to a Social Network for Social Good, inspiring youth to create a      better world.

Wiser Earth:

  • WiserEarth      is a community directory and networking forum for organizations and people      addressing the central social issues: climate change, poverty, the      environment, peace, water, hunger, social justice, conservation, human      rights. WiserEarth provides tools to help these organizations find each      other, collaborate, share resources and build alliances. How does it do      this? (a) has a comprehensive taxonomy that allows for advanced      environmental and social justice search functionality. (b) offers standard      social networking functionality such as profiles, a place for grassroots      groups to organize, low-cost communication network, free posting      functionality (c) generates geographic maps to help users locate relevant      organizations in their community (d) will be available in multi-lingual      interfaces (e) designed to be a low-cost network, with content driven by      the users and thus theoretically requiring minimal support staff.
       
       

Faith-based SNS

  • Faith-based      social networks offer an alternative to the anything goes environment on      MySpace. Users make friends based on shared values, rather      than through friends of friends
  • Faith-based      sites such as Xianz (Christian social network), Schmooze (Jewish faith and      culture), Naseeb (muslim community) have certain rules of behavior (ie: no      swearing) in order to maintain a safe environment
  • Year-old Xianz, which bills itself as the      faith-based MySpace, has grown to 500,000 unique visitors and has 35,000      registered members
  • A Google search for "religious social      networks" returns 48 million links and hundreds of sites. Many of the      names are plays on MySpace or Friendster: Christianster, MyGodlyPlace, and      Jewster.

Social bookmarking tools

  • del.icio.us and Technorati, applications that let      users add their own keywords (or tags) to Web pages and blogs.
  • Del.icio.us: Content-Sharing/Filtering + Finding People (in your      Communities of Interest) + Publishing/Subscribing + Forum. Same formula as      blogging, but trading off less work for against a poorer-context      relationship, by publishing your bookmarks instead of your articles
       

 


 



       

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