Semester Conclusion

Social networking is a concept that has quickly begun to work its way into the lives of people across the world. Because of its usefulness on so many different levels, many different types of people can utilize social networking for many different reasons. Most commonly, social networking sites are used for personal motives. However, people are starting to realize the diversity of social networking and its potential uses for much more.

Connecting people is essentially the goal of any social networking site. Anyone from anywhere can choose whatever site they wish, and immediately begin chatting, sharing material and making friends. Typically, it has been students and younger adults that take advantage of social networking. But we are seeing more and more demographically and psychographically different people joining. For example, sites like SagaZone.com for adults 50 years of age and older, are welcoming an entirely new group of people to social networking. It’s a great way for parents and grandparents to keep in touch with family, former colleagues and friends on a more frequent basis.

The latest trend in social networking, specialized sites, also welcomes new users. Previously, some people may not have joined a social network because they were not sure of its benefits or uses. But, with the concept of specialization in one single topic, people can more easily see exactly what these sites are for. Among these specialized networking sites is Zolve.com for property and estate realtors, Sawxheads.com for Boston Red Sox fans, and a site designed for Xbox live users.

However, with so many new people getting online and joining a social network, safety and security become an issue. Most sites promise their users that they are constantly monitoring the site and making sure that any explicit or inappropriate content is removed. However, many sites aren’t keeping their word, and the risk of running into material like this is growing. The lack of supervision also makes social networks a playground for online predators, and a very unsafe place for children and young adults.

The solution? People need to be responsible for themselves when joining a social network. Like we saw in the case of the British pro tennis players, putting up any compromising material of yourself is not the smartest decision, and can get you into trouble. Stay safe by keeping any of this type of material off of the Internet. Also, it seems like people today are more concerned with the number of friends they have, instead of the quality of their friends. Another way to stay safe on social networking sites is to remember that just because someone wants to be your friend, doesn’t mean you have to accept the request. Okaying a friendship with someone on a social networking site is Okaying a friendship with a complete stranger. Without knowing exactly who the person is, means you cannot fully trust them, and doing so may result in an unfortunate event.

With the popularity of joining a social network continuously growing, so is the number of networking sites. Company after company sees this trend as an opportunity for them to get their foot in the door and eventually grow to be a successful networking site such as MySpace, Facebook or Bebo. However, what most of these companies don’t realize is that with these three sites leading the social networking field, there is realistically a very small chance for them to actually become successful. Each new site that is launched claims that it has something new to offer users. Most times they don’t. Yahoo! is a great example of trying to keep up with the social networking phenomenon. Yahoo! has introduced two new social networking sites, Mash.com and Kickstart.com, both of which are not doing very well. There are just too many different companies trying to dive into a very shallow pool, and failure is likely.

But how are the sites that have so far been successful, staying that way? The introduction of personalized ads onto the Facebook social network is a new concept that is hopefully going to keep the site at the top of the competition. It is a way to receive advertising dollars from large corporations such as Coca-Cola, Sony and Microsoft but stay in the advertising safe zone, meaning that users won’t get annoyed with advertisements. Facebook predicts the strategy to be extremely successful. Bebo has taken a different route to innovation, by partnering with major media companies who will add music and videos to the site.

Even though growth is supposed to trail off in the year 2012, technologies surrounding social networking are still advancing. Spinvox has come out with a social network that allows users to take advantage of voice technologies. And, a company called Six Apart has come out with a standardized networking site that any company can easily implement to help employees start networking.

Social networking relates to audience research in that it is a new and very improved way of finding out exactly what consumers want. Whereas before, marketers could only look at consumers’ buying patterns, behaviors and what surveys said, they can now go to the audience directly. Network users are publicizing their interests, wants and needs. Companies can then take this information and use it to better market their products and services to the target audience.

Social networking will undoubtedly affect me in my search for a job as well. With the establishment of sites like LinkedIn.com, I have already begun to network with professionals in the public relations and communications field. It is a great way to connect with the people that have the job that I want in the future. I can get my name out there and hopefully provoke some interest in my abilities among potential employers.