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)