Facebook Social Networking
Welcome to My Facebook Bog – this site offers advice and information for people who want to know more about internet-based networking – including links to the main web networking sites and advice on how
to get started.
What is Social Networking?Boyd and Ellison (2007) define social networking as web-based services which allow users to:
- create an online profile within a system
- compile a list of friends or people with whom they share a connection
- view and interact with their list of friends online and view connections made by other users of the system.
Profiles can be either public – for anyone to view; or private – viewable only by your online friends or people within a specifically defined network
If you are thinking of joining a computer based network for the first time, it can seem quite daunting so here is the lowdown on the top three networking websites in the UK – Facebook, Google+, MySpace and Bebo – to help you get started online:
In it’s own words, Facebook is “a social utility that connects you with the the people around you.” It’s free to sign up, although you do need an e-mail address. Facebook allows you to create a profile and search for people online – you can then add them as your friend (subject to their approval). The privacy settings allow you to make your profile visible to everyone, just your friends or people within your network. Networks are based on location or other groups such as universities. You can be part of more than one network – for example you may be part of both the Bristol network and the University of The West of England network – although you do not have to be a member of a network at all if you don’t want to. Facebook was launched in 2004 and was initially set up for university students to share notes and discuss classes online but it has quickly blossomed to become a firm favourite for many internet users – in May 2008 it attracted 123.9 million unique visitors – putting it ahead of main competitor MySpace. Unlike MySpace and Bebo, which are enjoyed by a younger audience, Facebook is the networking system of choice for more mature users, allowing families to stay in touch and share photos and messages online – yet it also remains popular with students – A 2006 survey named Facebook as the second most popular thing among undergraduates, tied with beer and only ranked lower than the iPod!
Getting Started:
Creating your own Facebook account is quite simple – go to www.facebook.com fill in the 5 boxes on the signup panel and await a confirmation e-mail. Then you’re in – you can search for your friends by name or get it to search your e-mail address book to see if any of your friends have a Facebook account – you can then choose which ones you want to send a friendship request to. In addition to photo sharing and sending private and public messages Facebook has lots of applications, created by external developers which allow you to do pretty much anything – play scrabble – read you horoscope and also do completely random things like sending badgers to your friends or throwing virtual sheep at them.
Google+
Google+ is Google’s newest attempt to gain traction in the social networking world. And believe it or not, they may have something that will stick. Google Plus is very easy to use and has a short learning curve. The new social networking site has many interesting features as well, one of which goes by the name Circles. Circles seems to redefine the way we will “friend” on social networking sites. With other social networking sites you pretty much have to choose – friends or not friends. There are some advanced settings that can help you share content with only certain people, but it requires that you pay attention. However with the “Circles” feature, your boss and co-workers are not in the same “friend pile” as your college frat buddies. Therefore you are easily able to share content with certain people and not others, and it does this almost automatically. Circles allows you to filter your friends, co-workers, neighbors and family all into different categories or circles. Circles also gives you the ability to choose what content you share with which friends. Very cool feature.
Other features of the new Google Plus are:
Stream – Your stream is like your newsfeed that you see with Facebook. When you log in, just like FB, you are taken to the home page where you will see the most recent activity. It will update you with activity from friends and others. And similar to other social networking sites, you will be able to see what’s happening in real-time through your “stream”.
Sparks – This feature brings you information on topics you are interested in, right to your profile. Unlike your “newsfeed” your sparks feature generates content based on the “spark” you have shown interest in. For example, if you are someone interested in running/jogging, you choose the topic “running” in your sparks category. Now, when you check your “sparks” feed – you get information from Google search that Google believes to be the most relevant based on your interest in “running.” You will be able to see the most recent and most relevant information on your topics of interest or Sparks, as they happen!
Hangouts – Google+ allows users to socialize using video chat with the feature “Hangouts.” Video chat is nothing new. However, Google Plus is the first social networking platform to offer it. At this time a max of 10 people can all “hang out” at the same time. The main speaker of the “hangout” is featured in the center of the window; the screens showing everyone else in the group are in a row at the bottom. While connected, users can share links in a text chat which is typical of most chat programs. However, with Google+ Hangouts, you have the ability to watch YouTube videos at the same time and all from within the same screen.
It seems that Google Plus will is a force to be reckoned with. So many people are using Google search already. Now, from this point on, your social networking experience will become more and more integrated into Google Search results. You will see what other friends and acquaintances are using and recommending through Google and that’s the real power of social media and social networking. Thumbs up for Google Plus.
MySpace
MySpace differs from Facebook in that the layouts and aesthetic design of the user’s profile page are fully customisable – you could say that this was a drawback as many people do not apply the rule of ‘less is more’ and end up with waving moving technicolour-vomit styled layouts that make you feel seasick as you scroll down the page. Many also have blaring music which starts as soon as you click on them and leave you scrambling for the off switch – particularly if you are having a sneaky surfing session at work whilst your boss is out of the room. Unlike Facebook, Many MySpace users opt to keep their profiles completely public too, which means you can go from friend to friend, following lines of inter connectivity and discovering fascinating facts about complete strangers – it also more acceptable to befriend strangers on MySpace and meet new people – including for online dating – whereas Facebook is predominantly for keeping in touch with or tracking down existing acquaintances.
With it’s trendy styling and fast-paced friendship, MySpace predominantly appeals to the 18-25 yr old age group and is also very popular as a marketing tool, particularly in the music industry. Users are able to become ‘friends’ with their favourite bands and bands are able to provide downloads and even sell music through the site.
Getting Started: The MySpace interface is not as user-friendly as the Facebook one but you can get a simple page up within a matter of minutes. Just go to www.myspace.com and complete the simple signup process – again you will need an e-mail address to complete the verification process. Customizing layouts is not as easy as it would appear, you need to put HTML code in to the description boxes – there are many free layouts and graphics available for MySpace on the web. The best thing to do is type MySpace Layout editor into Google and then choose one that comes up – most work by pulling your page in from MySpace and then allowing you to edit it in a WYSIWIG editor before uploading or pasting the code into your profile. Many resources on the web offer advice on this process so a quick burst on Google should help you figure out the process – MySpace has recently added it’s own profile editing software too – click on ‘edit profile’ and then ‘profile editor’ – it takes a few moments to load.
Bebo
Bebo describes itself as a “media network where friends share their lives and explore great entertainment” it is the social networking site of choice for teens and this becomes apparent from the profile page which carries advice for teachers and parents about safe networking. It is similar to MySpace in that members choose to keep customisable public profiles – these are updated with downloadable ‘skins’ – available from various sources and often tied to products such as new movies and mobile phones. Bebo carries the same ‘Zoosk’ application as Facebook which can be used for online flirting and dating with strangers – although it is implemented in a slightly different way.
Getting Started: Simply Click ‘Sign Up’ on the menu bar at www.bebo.com and follow the simple instructions.
The Best of the Rest:
Windows Live Spaces – Microsoft’s Blogging and Web Networking platform
LinkedIn – An employment-oriented site to present a professional persona online.
Flixster – for sharing movie reviews and more with friends
AOL Hometown – for creating journals, your own home page and blogging.
Club Penguin – Safe internet networking for kids
