Social Networking

[This is part of a series on Web 2.0 Business Networking]

Social Networking is such a huge part of Web 2.0 that we’re going to devote quite a bit of attention to it in this report.

Social Networks of every kind have popped up on the web, making interaction and connection easier than most would have imagined possible just five years ago.

Just in case you’re wondering, a Forum or Message Board on its own is not defined as a Social Network. Why? While a forum does allow for communication and the development of a community it does not usually provide a way for users to create, search for or store individual connections.

Social Networking is used to initiate relationships for friendship, romance, information, entertainment, careers and perhaps most importantly for our interests, Social Networking is used to foster and grow business relationships.

Here is a quick overview of some of the most highly traveled Social Networks on the web today.

Linked In –
This site’s purpose is to equip members with the means to grow a list of people (Connections) they meet and learn to trust in business. As your list of connections develops you can view their connections (known as 2nd degree connections) and ask them to help you with an introduction.

Linked In is used to locate work, make new business partnerships, find employees or freelancers, etc.
Xing http://www.xing.com
XING is a multilingual business network. They offer personal profiles, groups, forums, events , and other social networking features. Basic membership is free but full features are only available to premium members.
Ryze – http://www.ryze.com
Ryze is a widely used business network that allows you to create a page for free that can be customized with your own HTML. You can activate a guest book that lets other users comment and you can also communicate with each other via private messages. Gold and Platinum level members can host networks and set limitations on who can contact them based on level of membership.

Networks incorporate traits of an email list and a forum and network owners can communicate with their networks through broadcast emails.
Meet Up – http://www.meetup.com
Meetup.com is an online social networking site that helps members connect via offline meetings all around the globe. You can find groups by searching for a common interest and your ZIP code or city out of the US. You can find MeetUp events even in smaller communities.
My Space – http://www.myspace.com
MySpace is famous for social networking. The website offers users the ability to create highly interactive web profiles and a network of friends to share it with. They can post to blogs, participate in groups, share photos, music and videos.

Since MySpace is ranked as the fifth most visited website on Alexa.com and because it is relatively easy to create a large network of contacts using automated tools like ‘adder bots’, MySpace is constantly targeted by social network spammers. (Even though using these bots are against the MySpace terms of service.)

The popular Badderadder lets you send out bulletins, comments and messages automatically. Those who are using MySpace as it is intended, for social networking are usually quite irritated by the spam messages.
Freindster (), Bebo (http://www.bebo.com) and Facebook ()

These sites are all similar to MySpace in that they attract a young crowd focused on making social connections and are generally unfriendly to business networking.
Windows Live Spaces http://spaces.live.com/
Live Spaces looks and feels quite a lot like MySpace. You can create a profile, post to a blog, post photos and videos, make connections, etc.
Yahoo 360 http://360.yahoo.com/
Yahoo 360 again, has a similar feel to most of the other social networking sites out there, but if you’re using Yahoo Mail or a member of any Yahoo Groups you’ll soon find that your 360 connects you with these areas, making it quite useful.
An exhaustive list of social networking sites can be found here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_social_networking_websites

What about Squidoo?

Squidoo (http://www.squidoo.com) is certainly a Social Networking website but it does differ from most of the resources listed above in that it focuses on the creation of valuable web content more than on the development of individual connections.

Squidoo members create lenses, as many as they like, to display their expertise on the subject and in many cases, to draw traffic to their individual only projects. Squidoo lenses can be monetized in a variety of ways.

Lenses can be tweaked to allow commenting and Lens Masters can connect their lenses through Groups according to the topic of content they are focusing on.

How do I decide where to network?

It is time consuming to build a worthwhile presence on any of the above networks so it would be a mistake to jump into all of them at once. It’s smarter to take one at a time and give it your focused attention for a period of time.

If you have a multifaceted business, you should choose one aspect of your business to highlight and promote on a network. Profile pages that list every business you’re involved in and every website you own is not likely to be effective as visitors are faced with too many choices.

For example:

You can make your MySpace profile to highlight the part of your business that relates most closely to you on a personal level or that connects to a popular hobby. Then build a profile on LinkedIn that would appeal to professional contacts.

Create a Squidoo lens for each topic you have created an information product or content website about. Use your Ryze profile to highlight your partnering opportunities.

Next >>

Web 2.0 Business Networking