The way the 21st century communicates today.

To discuss this theme it is important to define first what Social Networking is.  This big phenomenon is defined as the grouping of individuals into specific groups.  Although social networking is possible in person, especially in universities, high schools, the workplace, etc., but it is most popular online.  The topics presented are as varied and rich as the story of our world.

When it comes to online social networking, the social sites are used.  Social networking websites function like an online community of internet users.  Depending on the profile of the website, the members share common interests in different topics.  Once you form part of a social site you can socialize with the other users, that include reading his profile pages or even contact them.

As mentioned before, social networking often involves grouping specific individuals or organizations together.  While there are a number of social networking websites that focus on particular interests, there are others that do not.  The websites without a main focus are often referred to as typical social networking websites and usually have open memberships.  This means that anyone can become a part of it as a member, no matter what their hobbies, beliefs, or views are.  However, once you are inside this big an varied online community, you can begin to create your own network of friends and eliminate members that do not share common interests or goals.

There are obviously many dangers associated with social networking.  The most prevalent danger involves online individuals who claim to be someone that they really are not.  Like in the real life, danger is presented by networking online and you are advised to proceed with caution.

By being aware of your cyber surroundings and who you are talking to, you should be able to safely enjoy social networking online too.  Just use common sense and listen to your inner voice;  it will tell you when something doesn't feel right about the online conversations taking place.

The pro­lif­er­a­tion of this types of media have shown that peo­ple love to share their opin­ion.  The pro­lif­er­a­tion of the open source move­ment shows that some peo­ple love to share their exper­tise.  There is a deeply rooted need among human beings to share, whether it is informa­tion or opin­ions.  Social net­works appeal to the altru­is­tic side of peo­ple by allow­ing them to share their con­nec­tion and intro­duce friends to other friends.

Most of all, though, human beings are social crea­tures.  As such, the root of all suc­cess from social net­work­ing sites is based on a need to con­nect and expand con­nec­tions.  For most of his­tory, con­nec­tions were largely lim­ited by geo­graph­i­cal or eco­nomic considerations.  The differences is that social net­works allow peo­ple to expand their connections around their inter­ests.

Once you are well informed and comfortable with your findings, you can begin your search from hundreds of networks you can join. This can easily be done by performing a standard internet search.  Your search will surely return a number of results:  Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, Orkud, BeautifulPeople, and many more.