I visited four of the most well known social networking sites which include Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.
Facebook is the king of all social networking sites at the moment. It has the largest number of users. It is an amalgam of news-feeds, photo albums, statuses, walls, and real time chats. It is very easy to see why it has so many users. Finding friends is simple with the help of friends suggestion bars and mutual friends. Facebook in a way exhibits the theory of six degrees of separation quite nicely.
Twitter is reminiscent of blogs. I can see why they call Twitter a micro-blogging site. Tweets remind me of short public declarations. Keeping the posts to a maximum of 140 characters has an appeal to it. It keeps everything sweet and short. Moreover, hashtags are fun in that they allow for creativity in the titles that you can come up with.
Instagram is awesome in that the contents are mostly photos. I think having images as the main focus of a social networking site is a phenomenal idea. Most people are visual and would rather see images as opposed to reading lengthy posts. In retrospect, Facebook acquiring Instagram for a ludicrous, staggering amount of $1 billion was a shrewd move on Facebook’s part. Instagram is the vanguard of all social networks when it comes to growth.
YouTube has been my favorite social networking site since 2006. I surf YouTube every day. I am amazed at how far YouTube has come. There are so much more content now compared to its early days. YouTube is a conglomerate of communities, networks, and niches across the spectrum. YouTube was the first social network to create virality and internet celebrities. Case in point: Justin Bieber. Most old media companies have started to converge on YouTube. Major TV networks and popular shows on TV have their own dedicated YouTube Channels. These TV networks have established themselves pretty well in recent years, and have garnered millions of subscribers to their channels.
All things run on a cycle. Myspace was the juggernaut of social networks back when I was in middle school. It will be interesting to see how Facebook and other sites develop in the upcoming years.
The sites are fairly different from each other, however, Facebook is particularly good at promoting discussion and events, while Twitter is particularly good for connecting with organizations and the media and LinkedIn provides an interesting way to network with potential new supporters.
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