What Is Social Networking All About?

Posted by Madhavi on Aug 24, 2010 in Social Networking | 2 comments

Everywhere you go, the world is buzzing about the ‘Social Media Web’. Everyone you know is ‘sharing’ or ‘liking’ something and ‘friending’ someone. A variety of ‘trends’ have taken over the Internet – some of which stick around for a long time, and some of them don’t. In short, the Social Networks have taken over what we think about, and what we like, and who we prefer. Whether we like it or not, social networking is here to stay!

A Bit of History

In the early days of the 2000s, a new buzzword floated around the Internet. It was ‘Web 2.0‘. Web 2.0 was heralded as the new change that came over how we surfed the waves of the Internet websites, and most especially, how we perceived the Internet in its entirety.

In fact, Web 2.0 did all of the above and summarily changed the way the Internet behaved completely.

Yes, we still had websites – but now, those websites had options for people to share information with each other without resorting to sending e-mails with links in them! Yes, websites still sold products and services, but now people can vote about them and share the information with each other. Yes, we can still search for stuff on Google and find the best prices, but we can also view what our friends thought of those things and how their experiences with it was, before we hit the ‘Pay’ button.

In short, the Web, as we know it, has become Social. And Social Networking has become a part of our everyday life.

Social Networking : Then and Now

Used to be a time that when people wanted to meet other people, they had to go out there (in the world) and make friends. You could do that at cafes, bus stops, school, parties, and even at work. Social networking back then was actually a very face-to-face experience.

But nowadays, if you want to connect with someone, all you have to do is get on to FaceBook and search for people who share your interests. With a click of a button, you can add someone as a friend and communicate with them and get to know them.

And if you want to know what your peers in the industry are up to, all you have to do is subscribe their blog’s RSS feed and follow them on Twitter.

Today, the Internet has been converted into one huge party where different people have gathered together in different groups based on their shared, common interests and they are exchanging thoughts, ideas and information.

So, if you want to join this group or that, all you have to do is sign on to these websites and get into the group.

Sites like these (FaceBook and Twitter) have now become an integral part of what is called the ‘Social Network’.

Social Networking Today

With the Social Networks taking over the Internet, you can easily find people who are like you and share the same interests and ideas. If you have any new ideas and thoughts to share, you can easily publish them and get your friends to share their opinions about it. Social networking has made this entire process very easy and seamless.

If, on the other hand, you find something interesting, all you have to do is press one of the myriad ‘Share’ buttons on the site and share that tidbit with your friends.

The Social Network is a place where you can innovate, ideate, share and opine about anything and everything under the sun!

So Why Is Social Networking So Damned Important?

Well, it is simple really.

Your company has a product or a service to sell. These social networking websites are the places where you can easily find your old, current and prospective clients.

Naturally, you have to put up your shop where your customers are more likely to find you.

Besides which, your competitors are more than likely over there already!

So yes, it is very important that you be there.

In Conclusion…

Social Networks and social networking are here to stay. And they already are a very big part of our lives. Learn more about them and become a part of them to fully experience them and utilize their benefits.

You can start by Following Me on Twitter.

Go on! You know you want to!