Social Networking

Have you ever wondered what the world would be like without social networking? Social networking is defined by Indiana University as “web-based services that allow individuals to (1) construct a public or semi-public profile within a bounded system, (2) articulate a list of other users with whom they share a connection, and (3) view and traverse their list of connections and those made by others within the system”(1) Social networking is the modern communication that everyone is participating in. “Facebook has grown to more than 800 million active users, adding more than 200 million in a single year. Twitter now has 100 million active users and LinkedIn has over 64 million users in North America alone.”(2) Social networking has a major impact on students and their lives. Social networking affects the time management, communication and identity of students. Social networking sites include Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, MySpace, etc. Social networking began in 1997 with sixdegrees.com. “Six Degrees was launched in 1997 and was the first modern social network. It allowed users to create a profile and to become friends with other users. While the site is no longer functional, at one time it was actually quite popular and had around a million members at its peak.”(1)

The top 4 popular social networks are Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and MySpace and according to ebizma.com. Every website became popular in their own way, every one was different. Facebook.com was first created for usage by Harvard University students and staff only, but it quickly spread to other schools and eventually everyone. It was noted as the most popular social network website in 2008. Mark Zuckerberg, the creator of Facebook, stated, “Everyone has an identity that they want to express and friends and family that they wanna stay connected with. And it has grown from that original six-thousand-person student body to more than and friends and family that they wanna stay connected with. And it has grown...