In March 2002, Friendster became the first website geared toward the creation of online personal networks. Since that time, we've seen an explosion of websites dedicated to providing fun and unique ways to socialize in cyberspace. So where are the best places on the web to go and meet new people? In this article, we'll explore some of these social sites and how you can make the most out of your online experience.
What Types of Social Networking Websites Can I Sign Up For?
Today's online social networking landscape continues to expand daily. While MySpace and Facebook are the most widely recognized social networking titans, there are many other types of social sites where you can create an online profile, meet new friends, and share common interests. Let's take a brief look at a sampling of some of these sites from around the web.
General Social Networking Websites
The original social networking concept of creating a personal profile, adding friends, writing and sharing blogs, sharing videos and other and media, and building your social network of people with common interests comprise this category. The aforementioned Friendster, MySpace, and Facebook are undoubtedly the most widely recognized; others include Bebo, Orkut, hi5, and Tagged.
Social Bookmarking Websites
Storing bookmarks in your browser is a thing of the past. Share all of your favorite bookmarked websites with the online community at large using a social bookmarking site such as Delicious, Furl, Yahoo! Bookmarks, Blinklist, and Magnolia. A particularly unique take on social bookmarking is StumbleUpon, where you can submit sites for inclusion using the StumbleUpon toolbar. When you feel like doing a little web surfing, simply start "stumbling" and see what comes up. I've stumbled on numerous occasions, and I'm always amazed at what I find.
Blogging Websites
While blogging works a bit differently than adding friends on general social sites such as MySpace, they are nonetheless considered part of the social networking landscape. Registering for blogging sites such as Blogger, Xanga, WordPress,. TypePad, or the original blogging site LiveJournal allows you to publish your thoughts in daily blogs and syndicate them on the web. Anyone in cyberspace can come to your blog, add their comments, and message you. Others can come in and comment on other's comments, generating interesting (sometimes heated) conversations.
Microblogging Websites
Like blogs, micro-blogs allow you to share your thoughts and have others comment or message you directly. However, micro-blogs differ in one significant way: your blog must not exceed a certain size. The most popular in this category is Twitter, which allows you to write a 140-character or less micro-blog. People can follow you (receive your micro-blog updates), and you can follow them. And since Twitter is mobile, you can receive daily "tweets" on your cell phone. Other micro-blogging sites include Jaiku and Indenti.ca.
News Rating Websites
Submit and share news stories and articles that get rated up by the online community. These are great sites to both to get news updates and to network with others. Sites include Newsvine, Digg, Technorati, Reddit, Yahoo! Buzz, Propeller, and Mixx. Digg is an especially popular site where you can make friends, "shout" news stories to each other, and submit articles, videos, or pictures you find particularly cool. Mixx is equally cool and is a sort of cross between social bookmarking and news rating. And Technorati is a unique website as well that is based on rating up news stories in prominent blogs.
Photo Sharing Websites
If you're an avid photog, you'll love hopping online and sharing your life in pictures. One of the most popular photo social networking sites is Flickr, which allows you to create a profile and share your photos with the world. Other sites include Photobucket, TinyPic, and Picasa. If you're a professional photographer, make sure you understand your licensing rights by viewing the site's Terms of Service.
Video Sharing Websites
Of course, YouTube is the first video sharing site that comes to mind. However, Google Video is a strong contender, as is MySpace Video. Specialized video sharing sites have also emerged including the Christian-themed overnight internet sensation GodTube. All of these video sharing sites allow members to add friends, rate and comment on each others' videos, grab video URLs, embed videos on other websites, and send private messages back and forth.
Business Networking Websites
While social networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook allow you to share your personal life, business networking sites provide you with a platform where you can build your professional network. The business networking site Linkedin is the leader in this category and allows you to create a professional profile; add your work experience, skills, and resume; add professionals who you already know; recommend others and have them recommend you; and search for jobs. Startupspace.com is another business networking site catering toward entrepreneurs and business owners.
Revenue Sharing Websites
These sites allow you make new friends and build your social network while you submit content and make money based on a combination of page views and advertising revenue. Depending on the site, content can take several forms including images, videos, and text. eHow is a great example of a revenue sharing social site that also provides a valuable service to the online community. Helium, Associated Content, Bukisa, and Xomba are other social sites where you can expand your online network while making a little money on the side. If you're a professional writer, make sure you understand your licensing rights by viewing the Terms of Service on these sites.
Movie Rating Websites
In a category of its own is the fun and unique social site Flixster. Using Flixster, you can create your user profile; add friends and share movie information; rate movies; take movie quizzes; play movie-related games; view celebrity photos and videos; get in on celebrity news; and even watch free movies on your computer. If you're an avid movie buff, you'll absolutely think Flixster is the best thing since sliced bread.
People Finder Social Websites
There's no doubt that people searching has always been popular on the web. I don't know anyone who hasn't secretly typed in the name of a lost friend, relative, or ex-boyfriend/girlfriend to see what they're up to. Classmates.com and Reunion.com are two popular people-searching sites that allow you to build a profile, add friends, and reunite you with people from your past. While Classmates.com is geared mainly toward reuniting you with your former schoomates, Reunion.com specializes in reuniting you with anyone from your past so long as the person is listed in online directories.
As you can see, social networking sites have much to offer and the list is growing by the day. For more information, see the List of Social Networking Websites wiki.