Social networking - Definition

A social network is a map of the relationships between individuals, indicating the ways in which they are connected through various social familiarities ranging from casual acquaintance to close familial bonds. The analysis of social networks (sometimes called network theory) has emerged as a key technique in modern sociology, anthropology and organizational studies, as well as a popular topic of speculation and study. Research in a number of academic fields have demonstrated that social networks operate on many levels, from families up to the level of nations, and play a critical role in determining the way problems are solved, organizations are run, and the degree to which individuals succeed in achieving their goals.

Social networking also refers to a category of internet applications to help connect friends, business partners, or other individuals together using a variety of tools.

(Assessible on http://www.wordiq.com/definition/Social_networking)

List of Social Networking Websites

The main types of social networking services are those which contain category places (such as former school-year or classmates), means to connect with friends (usually with self-description pages) and a recommendation system linked to trust.

Popular methods now combine many of these, with Facebook, Bebo and Twitter widely used worldwide; MySpace and LinkedIn being the most widely used in North America; Nexopia (mostly in Canada); Bebo, Hi5, Hyves (mostly in The Netherlands), StudiVZ (mostly in Germany), iWiW (mostly in Hungary), Tuenti (mostly in Spain), Decayenne, Tagged, XING, Badoo and Skyrock in parts of Europe; Orkut and Hi5 in South America and Central America; and Friendster, Mixi, Multiply, Orkut, Wretch, renren and Cyworld in Asia and the Pacific Islands and Orkut and Facebook in India.

(Assessible on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_network_service)

The Pros & Cons for Social Networking Services

Pros

More than anything else, social sites provide better ways to keep in touch with our classmates, friends and family. Even though we are from them, you and these people both have easy access to how each other is doing, as you can send messages as well as upload photos and videos.

Creating your network of contacts goes beyond geographical and cultural differences as you get to know and meet people who share your interests from almost all sides of world. This one is tricky, but I choose to include it on the affirmative side. Online business people use these social services as tools to promote their websites, products and services basically because of the overwhelmingly significant number of people that they have brought together to form communities.

Cons

Identity theft and fraud are two bothersome concerns that have come out of social networking sites. The e-mail address, name, location, age, and many others are personal information that users give out, and others can use them in performing illegal activities. There are also people who pretend to be somebody else and convince you that they are in for a business deal. But, the truth is they are there to rob you out of your money.

Cases of online harassment and stalking have also been a concern. People who have issues with you or for whatever reason just can search on your name and stalk or harass you. In order to address this, users are allowed to report or block users that go out of bounds.

(Accessible on http://hubpages.com/hub/Pros-and-Cons-of-Social-Networking-Sites)

What is Social Network Analysis?

Social network analysis is based on an assumption of the importance of relationships among interacting units. The social network perspective encompasses theories, models, and applications that are expressed in terms of relational concepts or processes. Along with growing interest and increased use of network analysis has come a consensus about the central principles underlying the network perspective. In addition to the use of relational concepts, we note the following as being important:

• Actors and their actions are viewed as interdependent rather than independent, autonomous units.
• Relational ties (linkages) between actors are channels for transfer or "flow" of resources (either material or nonmaterial)
• Network models focusing on individuals view the network structural environment as providing opportunities for or constraints on individual action
• Network models conceptualize structure (social, economic, political, and so forth) as lasting patterns of relations among actors

The unit of analysis in network analysis is not the individual, but an entity consisting of a collection of individuals and the linkages among them. Network methods focus on dyads (two actors and their ties), triads (three actors and their ties), or larger systems (subgroups of individuals, or entire networks.

Wasserman, S. and K. Faust, 1994, Social Network Analysis. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

(Accessible on http://lrs.ed.uiuc.edu/TSE-portal/analysis/social-network-analysis/)

SWOT Analysis for Social Networking Services

Today I would like to talk about SWOT for social Networking Services. On the usual concerns, I think it is helpful to work on a SWOT analysis of social media or networking services as an information vehicle for any person or company. It will be great if you could leave your comment below so we can work on a final, more official version of this SWOT. Thanks in advance!

Here they come:

Strengths:

• Social sites provide better ways to keep in touch with our classmates, friends and family.
• Creating your network of contacts goes beyond geographical and cultural differences as you get to know and meet people.
• Procuring information on a specific subject is faster and easier.
• It leverages to reach more and more people with less effort to spread the words.
• It is cost-effective in the sense most of the platforms are free. They just demand time.
• There is a human factor that means a brand becomes more HUMAN as there are real people behind your Twitter, Bebo, LinkedIn, Facebook account.
• It can also build strong, long term relationships through online social networking.
  

Weaknesses:

• It is very personal. To ensure you get the best out of social networking service as a channel, these efforts should handled by individuals who MUST understand the company.
• Because the channel is in continuous change and improvement, this means that companies have to adapt effectively and promptly.
• Making up for mistakes: The time-frame to correct errors that affect your audience is less.
• Because you are heavily exposed, your company has to take action more promptly than if you weren’t

Opportunities:

• Your efforts in Social media, together with the effort of your following may mean that your audiences become your best sales people.
• Because Social media is for everyone, sooner or later you’ll come across people you never though of as your client. This opens the doors to building new relationships but also to valuable feedback that can help you develop your products or services more intelligently.
  

Threats:

• You can sometimes forget that the whole world can see your information. This might be your address, age, name, phone number.
• Identity theft and fraud are two bothersome concerns that have come out of social networking sites. The e-mail address, name, location, age, and many others are personal information that users give out, and others can use them in performing illegal activities.
• There are also people who pretend to be somebody else and convince you that they are in for a business deal. But, the truth is they are there to rob you out of your money.
  Virus’s and hackers are the biggest downfall. Never knowing when the site your viewing is secure or just a scam in order to get your personal information.
• While this is an opportunity it is also a threat because during conversations humans can make mistakes and your following will notice.

(Accessilbe on http://www.channelship.ie/blog/post-570-social-media-swot-analysis-whats-your-opinion.php

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