Social Networking Sites

"Man is a social animal"...this we all have read, heard, studied.Now that internet has become so widespread, web based social networking came as no surprise.

With so many different social networking sites available,each having its own unique format...users have plenty to choose from....Facebook,Orkut,Twitter,MySpace,Blogger etcetc.....There is a social community for everything...Religious Groups...Education...Political Factions...Entertainment...Adult Material...you name it and there is a community for it where like minded people interact and exchange information.

These networking sites have their advantages....In this fast moving world where people are ultra busy or people who arent so comfortable socialising in person...its the best way to remain in touch. It is also a very cheap and quick way of communicating between people who are located at different destinations. People can send each other messages or IMs....upload pictures...music and what not...

Blogs are another method of communicating ones ideas and thoughts and reaching out to like minded people from around the world. These networking sites are also proving to be a boon for the marketers as they can easily spot their target market from the online communities and through these social networking sites,it is much easier and cheaper to create a buzz about a product or service....

One can do almost anything through these sites...even get married...join a matrimony site and choose...talk about convenience!!!....

These networking sites have made exchanging information easier. Reaching out to people is relatively easier and cheaper. Privacy,Security and in some cases Anonymity is also guaranteed. Today world has become a small tight knit community and these sites have a major contribution in that.

But not all is hunky dory here....there are some or depending upon ones own opinion...many disadvantages of these sites too....question which normally arises is "do these sites really help in socialising online?".....umm....my contention is not always....for example...take Facebook...how many times do people actually message each other except on Birthdays or some other event??....are you really socialising by playing Farmville...Sorority Life...Mafia Wars etc?....and are these really games or just mindless clicking???.... Then there is the issue of fake identities and fake profiles which limits people to only interact with those who they already know in person....there are questions raised on the security of these sites too because many profiles have been hacked...pictures copied and morphed...adult content inserted etcetc

These and many other issues are prevalent but inspite of all this, one has to agree that these social networking sites are very popular and are here to stay. More than anything it has become a status symbol... if you dont want to sound or look like a douchebag...you gotta be a part of atleast one such site.

In this digital age,where information means everything,these social networking site are and will play a paramount role.