What is Social Networking?
Social networking is no longer a buzz word, but an Internet phenomenon. It represents a way for people to interact without traveling half way around the globe or even leaving their home’s comfort. Read on to find out exactly what social networking is and its potential to enhance your life.
Think of it like this. We all have at least one friend. To keep in touch with that friend we call, write, and meet face to face. Through our jobs we meet other friends. The more interactions we have with people, the more chances we have of meeting more folks.
Social networking sites provide the platform for getting to know more “friends.” It is like our job or school or church. They supply the venue and we mingle to find people who have similar interests. Someone had the bright idea to package this not unfamiliar social concept into a cyberspace platform. Now, people can meet others they already know but have lost contact with and new people.
Social networking took off among the younger generation first. They found a way to talk to their friends when they weren’t within sight of each other. For guys, it meant meeting girls in a non-threatening social situation. For girls, the feeling was mutual.
But, social networking is not just for the teeny boppers. Adults enjoy social networking as well. The first social networking sites we all heard about were Facebook and MySpace. This was mostly due to controversy surrounding what some Generation Y kids were posting, but it made parents aware of the social networking craze.
Adults use social networking for a number of reasons. First, it is personal. We reconnect with busy friends and family. If you can’t reach Aunt Charlotte because she’s always off around the world on one adventure or another, post new pictures of the kids on your MySpace page. She can view them when she comes down from Mount Everest.
Social networking gurus discovered that while finding old friends, business owners could form valuable alliances through their associations on social networking websites. Now, social networking has become valuable to anyone wanting to develop a website presence for their business. Social networking for business is akin to going door to door and telling people about your product. Create a compelling business profile and draw in the people you know by joining social groups with similar interests.
Social networking has a place in the life of both young and old alike. Use it to meet new people, make business contacts, stay in touch with family, or just to beef up your Internet presence. The wave of the future is social networking. Don’t you want to join?
What Makes Twitter so Hot?
Oh Twitter how I love thee! Although you might not hear those exact words said very often online, you know it’s true when you login to your Twitter account or visit someone’s blog. With the emergence of WordPress plug-ins like “TwitThis” and the various twitter badges found on numerous blogs throughout the Internet, it is obvious people adore Twitter. Just what is it that makes this social networking site so lovable? Let’s find out.
The question posed by Twitter, “What are you doing?” has become almost as popular as AOL’s “You’ve got mail.” So much so that it has even caught the eye of offline news mediums such as USA Today, CNN, and ABC. This helps to make the application popular all on its own. Those who think Twitter is just a place for computer or Internet geeks can rest assured it’s nothing of the sort.
For many, Twitter is a way to interact with like-minded individuals. Whether one is a stay at home mom who craves adult conversation, an at home worker who misses the water cooler chit-chat from past jobs, or the business owner who wants to reach more of their target market, this form of social media fills a need. It makes it easier for people to connect with others in a way they might not have previously been able to.
The fact Twitter is easily accessible and even simpler to navigate makes it a favorite as well. Anyone can create a twitter account of their own with nothing more than a user name and a password. Once that’s done, it’s easy to customize your profile and begin following other tweeps, as those who use Twitter affectionately call one another. To follow what another person is doing, just visit their page and click the follow button. You’ve now been added as a follower and when you login to your account you will see their messages on your screen.
Want to use Twitter even when you’re not at home or don’t have access to your computer? No problem. Inside your account you can choose whether to have messages sent via cell phone or instant messenger programs as well. Just browse to your settings and choose the devices tab and in a few steps you’re good to go. This feature makes it possible to tweet on the go. This is perfect for those who travel frequently or while out and about come across something interesting or amusing that they’d like to share with their followers.
Twitter’s arrival has also lead to the creation of different platforms and applications to make it appealing to just about everyone. Popular applications include, Twitter Fox, Twhirl, TweetDeck, and TweetMyBlog. Twitter Fox and Twhirl give users who are prefer the instant messaging look and feel a way to use Twitter in somewhat the same manner. Twitter Fox is an extension for the Firefox browser and Twhirl is a desktop application.
TweetMyBlog is a way to automatically post updates from a user’s blog to Twitter. In order to use it all one needs is a Twitter account and an RSS feed from their blog. It will automatically posts a tweet using your account when your blog is updated.
Tweet Deck is another desktop application that allows for more organization of updates. Instead of posting all a users tweets one right after another, it allows the user to organize tweets into separate columns within the application. For those who have customers and friends on Twitter this is a great feature.
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