Social Networking Sites (SNS)

Web 2.0 Social Media & Networks

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Contents Articles Web 2.0

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Social media

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Social networking service

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Network effect

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Metcalfe's law

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References Article Sources and Contributors

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Image Sources, Licenses and Contributors

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Article Licenses License

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Web 2.0

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Web 2.0 Web 2.0 is a loosely defined intersection of web application features that facilitate participatory information sharing, interoperability, user-centered design,[1] and collaboration on the World Wide Web. A Web 2.0 site allows users to interact and collaborate with each other in a social media dialogue as creators (prosumers) of user-generated content in a virtual community, in contrast to websites where users (consumers) are limited to the passive viewing of content that was created for them. Examples of Web 2.0 include social networking sites, blogs, wikis, video sharing sites, hosted services, web applications, mashups and folksonomies.

A tag cloud (a typical Web 2.0 phenomenon in itself) presenting Web 2.0 themes

The term is closely associated with Tim O'Reilly because of the O'Reilly Media Web 2.0 conference in late 2004.[2][3] Although the term suggests a new version of the World Wide Web, it does not refer to an update to any technical specification, but rather to cumulative changes in the ways software developers and end-users use the Web. Whether Web 2.0 is qualitatively different from prior web technologies has been challenged by World Wide Web inventor Tim Berners-Lee, who called the term a "piece of jargon",[4] precisely because he intended the Web in his vision as "a collaborative medium, a place where we [could] all meet and read and write". He called it the "Read/Write Web".[5]

History The term "Web 2.0" was first used in January 1999 by Darcy DiNucci, a consultant on electronic information design (information architecture). In her article, "Fragmented Future", DiNucci writes:[6] The Web we know now, which loads into a browser window in essentially static screenfuls, is only an embryo of the Web to come. The first glimmerings of Web 2.0 are beginning to appear, and we are just starting to see how that embryo might develop. The Web will be understood not as screenfuls of text and graphics but as a transport mechanism, the ether through which interactivity happens. It will [...] appear on your computer screen, [...] on your TV set [...] your car dashboard [...] your cell phone [...] hand-held game machines [...] maybe even your microwave oven.

Her use of the term deals mainly with Web design, aesthetics, and the interconnection of everyday objects with the Internet; she argues that the Web is "fragmenting" due to the widespread use of portable Web-ready devices. Her article is aimed at designers, reminding them to code for an ever-increasing variety of hardware. As such, her use of the term hints at, but does not directly relate to, the current uses of the term.

The term Web 2.0 did not resurface until 2002.[7][8][9][10] These authors focus on the concepts currently associated with the term where, as Scott Dietzen puts it, "the Web becomes a universal, standards-based integration platform".[9] John Robb wrote: "What is Web 2.0? It is a system that breaks with the old model of centralized Web sites and moves the power of the Web/Internet to the desktop."[10]

Web 2.0

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In 2003, the term began its rise in popularity when O'Reilly Media and MediaLive hosted the first Web 2.0 conference. In their opening remarks, John Battelle and Tim O'Reilly outlined their definition of the "Web as Platform", where software applications are built upon the Web as opposed to upon the desktop. The unique aspect of this migration, they argued, is that "customers are building your business for you".[11] They argued that the activities of users generating content (in the form of ideas, text, videos, or pictures) could be "harnessed" to create value.

O'Reilly and Battelle contrasted Web 2.0 with what they called "Web 1.0". They associated Web 1.0 with the business models of Netscape and the EncyclopĂŚdia Britannica Online. For example, Netscape framed "the web as platform" in terms of the old software paradigm: their flagship product was the web browser, a desktop application, and their strategy was to use their dominance in the browser market to establish a market for high-priced server products. Control over standards for displaying content and applications in the browser would, in theory, give Netscape the kind of market power enjoyed by Microsoft in the PC market. Much like the "horseless carriage" framed the automobile as an extension of the familiar, Netscape promoted a "webtop" to replace the desktop, and planned to populate that webtop with information updates and applets pushed to the webtop by information providers who would purchase Netscape servers.[12] In short, Netscape focused on creating software, updating it on occasion, and distributing it to the end users. O'Reilly contrasted this with Google, a company that did not at the time focus on producing software, such as a browser, but instead on providing a service based on data such as the links Web page authors make between sites. Google exploits this user-generated content to offer Web search based on reputation through its "PageRank" algorithm. Unlike software, which undergoes scheduled releases, such services are constantly updated, a process called "the perpetual beta". A similar difference can be seen between the EncyclopĂŚdia Britannica Online and Wikipedia: while the Britannica relies upon experts to create articles and releases them periodically in publications, Wikipedia relies on trust in anonymous users to constantly and quickly build content. Wikipedia is not based on expertise but rather an adaptation of the open source software adage "given enough eyeballs, all bugs are shallow", and it produces and updates articles constantly. O'Reilly's Web 2.0 conferences have been held every year since 2003, attracting entrepreneurs, large companies, and technology reporters.

In terms of the lay public, the term Web 2.0 was largely championed by bloggers and by technology journalists, culminating in the 2006 TIME magazine Person of The Year (You).[13] That is, TIME selected the masses of users who were participating in content creation on social networks, blogs, wikis, and media sharing sites. In the cover story, Lev Grossman explains: It's a story about community and collaboration on a scale never seen before. It's about the cosmic compendium of knowledge Wikipedia and the million-channel people's network YouTube and the online metropolis MySpace. It's about the many wresting power from the few and helping one another for nothing and how that will not only change the world but also change the way the world changes.

Since that time, Web 2.0 has found a place in the lexicon; in 2009 Global Language Monitor declared it to be the one-millionth English word.[14]

Web 2.0

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Characteristics Web 2.0 websites allow users to do more than just retrieve information.

By increasing what was already possible in "Web 1.0", they provide the user with more user-interface, software and storage facilities, all through their browser. This has been called "Network as platform" computing.[3] Users can provide the data that is on a Web 2.0 site and exercise some control over that data.[3][15] These sites may have an "Architecture of participation" that encourages users to add value to the application as they use it.[2][3] Some scholars have made the case that cloud computing is a form of Web 2.0 because cloud computing is simply an implication of computing on the Internet. [16] The concept of Web-as-participation-platform captures many of these characteristics. Bart Decrem, a founder and former CEO of Flock, calls Web 2.0 the "participatory Web"[17] and regards the Web-as-information-source as Web 1.0.

A list of ways that people can volunteer to improve Mass Effect Wiki, on the main page of that site. Mass Effect Wiki is an example of content generated by users working collaboratively.

The Web 2.0 offers all users the same freedom to contribute. While this opens the possibility for rational debate and collaboration, it also opens the possibility for "spamming" and "trolling" by less rational users. The impossibility of excluding group members who don’t Edit box interface through which anyone could contribute to the provision of goods from sharing profits gives rise to edit a Wikipedia article. the possibility that rational members will prefer to withhold their [18] contribution of effort and free ride on the contribution of others.

This requires what is sometimes called radical trust by the management of the website. According to Best,[19] the characteristics of Web 2.0 are: rich user experience, user participation, dynamic content, metadata, web standards and scalability. Further characteristics, such as openness, freedom[20] and collective intelligence[21] by way of user participation, can also be viewed as essential attributes of Web 2.0.

Technologies The client-side/web browser technologies used in Web 2.0 development are Asynchronous JavaScript and XML (Ajax), Adobe Flash and the Adobe Flex framework, and JavaScript/Ajax frameworks such as YUI Library, Dojo Toolkit, MooTools, jQuery and Prototype JavaScript Framework. Ajax programming uses JavaScript to upload and download new data from the web server without undergoing a full page reload.

To allow users to continue to interact with the page, communications such as data requests going to the server are separated from data coming back to the page (asynchronously). Otherwise, the user would have to routinely wait for the data to come back before they can do anything else on that page, just as a user has to wait for a page to complete the reload. This also increases overall performance of the site, as the sending of requests can complete quicker independent of blocking and queueing required to send data back to the client....

The data fetched by an Ajax request is typically formatted in XML or JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) format, two widely used structured data formats. Since both of these formats are natively understood by JavaScript, a programmer can easily use them to transmit structured data in their web application. When this data is received via Ajax, the JavaScript program then uses the Document Object Model (DOM) to dynamically update the web page based on the new data, allowing for a rapid and interactive user experience. In short, using these techniques, Web designers can make their pages function like desktop applications. For example, Google Docs uses this technique to create a Web based word processor.

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Adobe Flex is another technology often used in Web 2.0 applications. Compared to JavaScript libraries like jQuery, Flex makes it easier for programmers to populate large data grids, charts, and other heavy user interactions.[22] Applications programmed in Flex, are compiled and displayed as Flash within the browser. As a widely available plugin independent of W3C (World Wide Web Consortium, the governing body of web standards and protocols) standards, Flash is capable of doing many things that were not possible pre-HTML5, the language used to construct web pages. Of Flash's many capabilities, the most commonly used in Web 2.0 is its ability to play audio and video files. This has allowed for the creation of Web 2.0 sites where video media is seamlessly integrated with standard HTML. In addition to Flash and Ajax, JavaScript/Ajax frameworks have recently become a very popular means of creating Web 2.0 sites. At their core, these frameworks do not use technology any different from JavaScript, Ajax, and the DOM. What frameworks do is smooth over inconsistencies between web browsers and extend the functionality available to developers. Many of them also come with customizable, prefabricated 'widgets' that accomplish such common tasks as picking a date from a calendar, displaying a data chart, or making a tabbed panel.

On the server side, Web 2.0 uses many of the same technologies as Web 1.0. New languages such as PHP, Ruby, Perl, Python and JSP are used by developers to output data dynamically using information from files and databases.

What has begun to change in Web 2.0 is the way this data is formatted. In the early days of the Internet, there was little need for different websites to communicate with each other and share data. In the new "participatory web", however, sharing data between sites has become an essential capability. To share its data with other sites, a website must be able to generate output in machine-readable formats such as XML (Atom, RSS, etc.) and JSON. When a site's data is available in one of these formats, another website can use it to integrate a portion of that site's functionality into itself, linking the two together. When this design pattern is implemented, it ultimately leads to data that is both easier to find and more thoroughly categorized, a hallmark of the philosophy behind the Web 2.0 movement.

In brief, Ajax is a key technology used to build Web 2.0 because it provides rich user experience and works with any browser whether it is Firefox, Chrome, Internet Explorer or another popular browser. Then, a language with very good web services support should be used to build Web 2.0 applications. In addition, the language used should be iterative meaning that the addition and deployment of features can be easily and quickly achieved.

Concepts Web 2.0 can be described in 3 parts, which are as follows: • Rich Internet application (RIA) — defines the experience brought from desktop to browser whether it is from a graphical point of view or usability point of view. Some buzzwords related to RIA are Ajax and Flash.

• Web-oriented architecture (WOA) — is a key piece in Web 2.0, which defines how Web 2.0 applications expose their functionality so that other applications can leverage and integrate the functionality providing a set of much richer applications (Examples are: Feeds, RSS, Web Services, Mash-ups) • Social Web — defines how Web 2.0 tends to interact much more with the end user and make the end-user an integral part.

As such, Web 2.0 draws together the capabilities of client- and server-side software, content syndication and the use of network protocols. Standards-oriented web browsers may use plug-ins and software extensions to handle the content and the user interactions. Web 2.0 sites provide users with information storage, creation, and dissemination capabilities that were not possible in the environment now known as "Web 1.0".

Web 2.0 websites include the following features and techniques: Andrew McAfee used the acronym SLATES to refer to them:[23] Search Finding information through keyword search.

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Links Connects information together into a meaningful information ecosystem using the model of the Web, and provides low-barrier social tools.

Authoring The ability to create and update content leads to the collaborative work of many rather than just a few web authors. In wikis, users may extend, undo and redo each other's work. In blogs, posts and the comments of individuals build up over time.

Tags Categorization of content by users adding "tags"—short, usually one-word descriptions—to facilitate searching, without dependence on pre-made categories. Collections of tags created by many users within a single system may be referred to as "folksonomies" (i.e., folk taxonomies).

Extensions Software that makes the Web an application platform as well as a document server. These include software like Adobe Reader, Adobe Flash player, Microsoft Silverlight, ActiveX, Oracle Java, Quicktime, Windows Media, etc.

Signals The use of syndication technology such as RSS to notify users of content changes.

While SLATES forms the basic framework of Enterprise 2.0, it does not contradict all of the higher level Web 2.0 design patterns and business models. In this way, a new Web 2.0 report from O'Reilly is quite effective and diligent in interweaving the story of Web 2.0 with the specific aspects of Enterprise 2.0. It includes discussions of self-service IT, the long tail of enterprise IT demand, and many other consequences of the Web 2.0 era in the enterprise. The report also makes many sensible recommendations around starting small with pilot projects and measuring results, among a fairly long list.[24]

Usage A third important part of Web 2.0 is the social Web, which is a fundamental shift in the way people communicate.

The social web consists of a number of online tools and platforms where people share their perspectives, opinions, thoughts and experiences. Web 2.0 applications tend to interact much more with the end user. As such, the end user is not only a user of the application but also a participant by: • • • • • •

Podcasting Blogging Tagging Contributing to RSS Social bookmarking Social networking

The popularity of the term Web 2.0, along with the increasing use of blogs, wikis, and social networking technologies, has led many in academia and business to coin a flurry of 2.0s,[25] including Library 2.0,[26] Social Work 2.0,[27] Enterprise 2.0, PR 2.0,[28] Classroom 2.0,[29] Publishing 2.0,[30] Medicine 2.0,[31] Telco 2.0, Travel 2.0, Government 2.0,[32] and even Porn 2.0.[33] Many of these 2.0s refer to Web 2.0 technologies as the source of the new version in their respective disciplines and areas. For example, in the Talis white paper "Library 2.0: The Challenge of Disruptive Innovation", Paul Miller argues Blogs, wikis and RSS are often held up as exemplary manifestations of Web 2.0. A reader of a blog or a wiki is provided with tools to add a comment or even, in the case of the wiki, to edit the content. This is what we call the Read/Write web. Talis believes that Library 2.0 means harnessing this type of

Web 2.0

6 participation so that libraries can benefit from increasingly rich collaborative cataloging efforts, such as including contributions from partner libraries as well as adding rich enhancements, such as book jackets or movie files, to records from publishers and others.[34]

Here, Miller links Web 2.0 technologies and the culture of participation that they engender to the field of library science, supporting his claim that there is now a "Library 2.0". Many of the other proponents of new 2.0s mentioned here use similar methods.

The meaning of web 2.0 is role dependent, as Dennis D. McDonalds noted. For example, some use Web 2.0 to establish and maintain relationships through social networks, while some marketing managers might use this promising technology to "end-run traditionally unresponsive I.T. department[s]."[35] There is a debate over the use of Web 2.0 technologies in mainstream education. Issues under consideration include the understanding of students' different learning modes; the conflicts between ideas entrenched in informal on-line communities and educational establishments' views on the production and authentication of 'formal' knowledge; and questions about privacy, plagiarism, shared authorship and the ownership of knowledge and information produced and/or published on line.[36] Marketing For marketers, Web 2.0 offers an opportunity to engage consumers. A growing number of marketers are using Web 2.0 tools to collaborate with consumers on product development, service enhancement and promotion.

Companies can use Web 2.0 tools to improve collaboration with both its business partners and consumers.

Among other things, company employees have created wikis—Web sites that allow users to add, delete, and edit content — to list answers to frequently asked questions about each product, and consumers have added significant contributions. Another marketing Web 2.0 lure is to make sure consumers can use the online community to network among themselves on topics of their own choosing.[37] Mainstream media usage of web 2.0 is increasing. Saturating media hubs—like The New York Times, PC Magazine and Business Week — with links to popular new web sites and services, is critical to achieving the threshold for mass adoption of those services.[38] Web 2.0 offers financial institutions abundant opportunities to engage with customers. Networks such as Twitter, Yelp and Facebook are now becoming common elements of multichannel and customer loyalty strategies, and banks are beginning to use these sites proactively to spread their messages. In a recent article for Bank Technology News, Shane Kite describes how Citigroup's Global Transaction Services unit monitors social media outlets to address customer issues and improve products. Furthermore, the FI uses Twitter to release "breaking news" and upcoming events, and YouTube to disseminate videos that feature executives speaking about market news.[39] Small businesses have become more competitive by using Web 2.0 marketing strategies to compete with larger companies. As new businesses grow and develop, new technology is used to decrease the gap between businesses and customers. Social networks have become more intuitive and user friendly to provide information that is easily reached by the end user. For example, companies use Twitter to offer customers coupons and discounts for products and services.[40] According to Google Timeline, the term Web 2.0 was discussed and indexed most frequently in 2005, 2007 and 2008. Its average use is continuously declining by 2–4% per quarter since April 2008.

Web 2.0

Web 2.0 in education Web 2.0 technologies provide teachers with new ways to engage students in a meaningful way. "Children raised on new media technologies are less patient with filling out worksheets and listening to lectures"[41] because students already participate on a global level. The lack of participation in a traditional classroom stems more from the fact that students receive better feedback online. Traditional classrooms have students do assignments and when they are completed, they are just that, finished. However, Web 2.0 shows students that education is a constantly evolving entity. Whether it is participating in a class discussion, or participating in a forum discussion, the technologies available to students in a Web 2.0 classroom does increase the amount they participate.

Will Richardson stated in Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts and other Powerful Web tools for the Classrooms, 3rd Edition that, "The Web has the potential to radically change what we assume about teaching and learning, and it presents us with important questions to ponder: What needs to change about our curriculum when our students have the ability to reach audiences far beyond our classroom walls?"[42] Web 2.0 tools are needed in the classroom to prepare both students and teachers for the shift in learning that Collins and Halverson describe. According to Collins and Halverson, the self-publishing aspects as well as the speed with which their work becomes available for consumption allows teachers to give students the control they need over their learning. This control is the preparation students will need to be successful as learning expands beyond the classroom."[41] Some may think that these technologies could hinder the personal interaction of students, however all of the research points to the contrary. "Social networking sites have worried many educators (and parents) because they often bring with them outcomes that are not positive: narcissism, gossip, wasted time, 'friending', hurt feelings, ruined reputations, and sometimes unsavory, even dangerous activities, [on the contrary,] social networking sites promote conversations and interaction that is encouraged by educators."[43] By allowing students to use the technology tools of Web 2.0, teachers are actually giving students the opportunity to learn for themselves and share that learning with their peers. One of the many implications of Web 2.0 technologies on class discussions is the idea that teachers are no longer in control of the discussions. Instead, Russell and Sorge (1999) conclude that integrating technology into instruction tends to move classrooms from teacher-dominated environments to ones that are more student-centered.

While it is still important for them to monitor what students are discussing, the actual topics of learning are being guided by the students themselves.

Web 2.0 calls for major shifts in the way education is provided for students. One of the biggest shifts that Will Richardson points out in his book Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms[42] is the fact that education must be not only socially but collaboratively constructed. This means that students, in a Web 2.0 classroom, are expected to collaborate with their peers. By making the shift to a Web 2.0 classroom, teachers are creating a more open atmosphere where students are expected to stay engaged and participate in the discussions and learning that is taking place around them. In fact, there are many ways for educators to use Web 2.0 technologies in their classrooms.

"Weblogs are not built on static chunks of content. Instead they are comprised of reflections and conversations that in many cases are updated every day [...] They demand interaction."[42] Will Richardson's observation of the essence of weblogs speaks directly to why blogs are so well suited to discussion based classrooms. Weblogs give students a public space to interact with one another and the content of the class. As long as the students are invested in the project, the need to see the blog progress acts as motivation as the blog itself becomes an entity that can demand interaction.

For example, Laura Rochette implemented the use of blogs in her American History class and noted that in addition to an overall improvement in quality, the use of the blogs as an assignment demonstrated synthesis level activity from her students. In her experience, asking students to conduct their learning in the digital world meant asking students "to write, upload images, and articulate the relationship between these images and the broader concepts of the course, [in turn] demonstrating that they can be thoughtful about the world around them."[44] Jennifer Hunt, an 8th grade language arts teacher of pre-Advanced Placement students shares a similar story. She used the WANDA

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Web 2.0 project and asked students to make personal connections to the texts they read and to describe and discuss the issues raised in literature selections through social discourse. They engaged in the discussion via wikis and other Web 2.0 tools, which they used to organize, discuss, and present their responses to the texts and to collaborate with others in their classroom and beyond.

The research shows that students are already using these technological tools, but they still are expected to go to a school where using these tools is frowned upon or even punished. If educators are able to harness the power of the Web 2.0 technologies students are using, it could be expected that the amount of participation and classroom discussion would increase. It may be that how participation and discussion is produced is very different from the traditional classroom, but nevertheless it does increase.

Web 2.0 and philanthropy The spread of participatory information-sharing over the internet, combined with recent improvements in low-cost internet access in developing countries, has opened up new possibilities for peer-to-peer charities, which allow individuals to contribute small amounts to charitable projects for other individuals. Websites such as Donors Choose and Global Giving now allow small-scale donors to direct funds to individual projects of their choice.

A popular twist on internet-based philanthropy is the use of peer-to-peer lending for charitable purposes. Kiva pioneered this concept in 2005, offering the first web-based service to publish individual loan profiles for funding.

Kiva raises funds for local intermediary microfinance organizations which post stories and updates on behalf of the borrowers. Lenders can contribute as little as $25 to loans of their choice, and receive their money back as borrowers repay. Kiva falls short of being a pure peer-to-peer charity, in that loans are disbursed before being funded by lenders and borrowers do not communicate with lenders themselves.[45][46] However, the recent spread of cheap internet access in developing countries has made genuine peer-to-peer connections increasingly feasible. In 2009 the US-based nonprofit Zidisha tapped into this trend to offer the first peer-to-peer microlending platform to link lenders and borrowers across international borders without local intermediaries. Inspired by interactive websites such as Facebook and eBay, Zidisha's microlending platform facilitates direct dialogue between lenders and borrowers and a performance rating system for borrowers. Web users worldwide can fund loans for as little as a dollar.[47]

Web-based applications and desktops Ajax has prompted the development of websites that mimic desktop applications, such as word processing, the spreadsheet, and slide-show presentation. In 2006 Google, Inc. acquired one of the best-known sites of this broad class, Writely.[48] WYSIWYG wiki and blogging sites replicate many features of PC authoring applications.

Several browser-based "operating systems" have emerged, including EyeOS[49] and YouOS.(No longer active.)[50] Although coined as such, many of these services function less like a traditional operating system and more as an application platform. They mimic the user experience of desktop operating-systems, offering features and applications similar to a PC environment, and are able to run within any modern browser. However, these so-called "operating systems" do not directly control the hardware on the client's computer.

Numerous web-based application services appeared during the dot-com bubble of 1997–2001 and then vanished, having failed to gain a critical mass of customers. In 2005, WebEx acquired one of the better-known of these, Intranets.com, for $45 million.[51]

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Web 2.0

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Distribution of media XML and RSS Many regard syndication of site content as a Web 2.0 feature. Syndication uses standardized protocols to permit end-users to make use of a site's data in another context (such as another website, a browser plugin, or a separate desktop application). Protocols permitting syndication include RSS (really simple syndication, also known as web syndication), RDF (as in RSS 1.1), and Atom, all of them XML-based formats. Observers have started to refer to these technologies as web feeds.

Specialized protocols such as FOAF and XFN (both for social networking) extend the functionality of sites or permit end-users to interact without centralized websites.

Web APIs Web 2.0 often uses machine-based interactions such as REST and SOAP. Servers often expose proprietary Application programming interfaces (API), but standard APIs (for example, for posting to a blog or notifying a blog update) have also come into use. Most communications through APIs involve XML or JSON payloads.

REST APIs, through their use of self-descriptive messages and hypermedia as the engine of application state, should be self-describing once an entry URI is known. Web Services Description Language (WSDL) is the standard way of publishing a SOAP API and there are a range of web service specifications. EMML, or Enterprise Mashup Markup Language by the Open Mashup Alliance, is an XML markup language for creating enterprise mashups.

Criticism Critics of the term claim that "Web 2.0" does not represent a new version of the World Wide Web at all, but merely continues to use so-called "Web 1.0" technologies and concepts. First, techniques such as AJAX do not replace underlying protocols like HTTP, but add an additional layer of abstraction on top of them. Second, many of the ideas of Web 2.0 had already been featured in implementations on networked systems well before the term "Web 2.0" emerged. Amazon.com, for instance, has allowed users to write reviews and consumer guides since its launch in 1995, in a form of self-publishing. Amazon also opened its API to outside developers in 2002.[52] Previous developments also came from research in computer-supported collaborative learning and computer supported cooperative work (CSCW) and from established products like Lotus Notes and Lotus Domino, all phenomena that preceded Web 2.0.

But perhaps the most common criticism is that the term is unclear or simply a buzzword. For example, in a podcast interview,[4] Tim Berners-Lee described the term "Web 2.0" as a "piece of jargon": "Nobody really knows what it means...If Web 2.0 for you is blogs and wikis, then that is people to people. But that was what the Web was supposed to be all along."[4] Other critics labeled Web 2.0 "a second bubble" (referring to the Dot-com bubble of circa 1995–2001), suggesting that too many Web 2.0 companies attempt to develop the same product with a lack of business models. For example, The Economist has dubbed the mid- to late-2000s focus on Web companies "Bubble 2.0".[53] Venture capitalist Josh Kopelman noted that Web 2.0 had excited only 53,651 people (the number of subscribers at that time to TechCrunch, a Weblog covering Web 2.0 startups and technology news), too few users to make them an economically viable target for consumer applications.[54] Although Bruce Sterling reports he's a fan of Web 2.0, he thinks it is now dead as a rallying concept.[55] Critics have cited the language used to describe the hype cycle of Web 2.0[56] as an example of Techno-utopianist rhetoric.[57] In terms of Web 2.0's social impact, critics such as Andrew Keen argue that Web 2.0 has created a cult of digital narcissism and amateurism, which undermines the notion of expertise by allowing anybody, anywhere to share and

Web 2.0 place undue value upon their own opinions about any subject and post any kind of content, regardless of their particular talents, knowledge, credentials, biases or possible hidden agendas. Keen's 2007 book, Cult of the Amateur, argues that the core assumption of Web 2.0, that all opinions and user-generated content are equally valuable and relevant, is misguided. Additionally, Sunday Times reviewer John Flintoff has characterized Web 2.0 as "creating an endless digital forest of mediocrity: uninformed political commentary, unseemly home videos, embarrassingly amateurish music, unreadable poems, essays and novels", and also asserted that Wikipedia is full of "mistakes, half truths and misunderstandings".[58] Michael Gorman, former president of the American Library Association has been vocal about his opposition to Web 2.0 due to the lack of expertise that it outwardly claims though he believes that there is some hope for the future as "The task before us is to extend into the digital world the virtues of authenticity, expertise, and scholarly apparatus that have evolved over the 500 years of print, virtues often absent in the manuscript age that preceded print".[59]

Trademark In November 2004, CMP Media applied to the USPTO for a service mark on the use of the term "WEB 2.0" for live events.[60] On the basis of this application, CMP Media sent a cease-and-desist demand to the Irish non-profit organization IT@Cork on May 24, 2006,[61] but retracted it two days later.[62] The "WEB 2.0" service mark registration passed final PTO Examining Attorney review on May 10, 2006, and was registered on June 27, 2006.[60] The European Union application (application number 004972212, which would confer unambiguous status in Ireland) was [63] refused on May 23, 2007.

Web 3.0 Definitions of Web 3.0 vary greatly. Some[64] believe its most important features are the Semantic Web and personalization. Focusing on the computer elements, Conrad Wolfram has argued that Web 3.0 is where "the computer is generating new information", rather than humans.[65] Andrew Keen, author of The Cult of the Amateur, considers the Semantic Web an "unrealisable abstraction" and sees Web 3.0 as the return of experts and authorities to the Web. For example, he points to Bertelsmann's deal with the German Wikipedia to produce an edited print version of that encyclopedia.[66] CNN Money's Jessi Hempel expects Web 3.0 to emerge from new and innovative Web 2.0 services with a profitable business model.[67] Futurist John Smart, lead author of the Metaverse Roadmap[68] defines Web 3.0 as the first-generation Metaverse (convergence of the virtual and physical world), a web development layer that includes TV-quality open video, 3D simulations, augmented reality, human-constructed semantic standards, and pervasive broadband, wireless, and sensors. Web 3.0's early geosocial (Foursquare, etc.) and augmented reality (Layar, etc.) webs are an extension of Web 2.0's participatory technologies and social networks (Facebook, etc.) into 3D space. Of all its metaverse-like developments, Smart suggests Web 3.0's most defining characteristic will be the mass diffusion of NTSC-or-better quality open video [69] to TVs, laptops, tablets, and mobile devices, a time when "the internet swallows the television."[70] Smart considers Web 4.0 to be the Semantic Web and in particular, the rise of statistical, machine-constructed semantic tags and algorithms, driven by broad collective use of conversational interfaces, perhaps circa 2020.[71] David Siegel's perspective in Pull: The Power of the Semantic Web, 2009, is consonant with this, proposing that the growth of human-constructed semantic standards and data will be a slow, industry-specific incremental process for years to come, perhaps unlikely to tip into broad social utility until after 2020.

According to some Internet experts, Web 3.0 will allow the user to sit back and let the Internet do all of the work for them.[72] Rather than having search engines gear towards your keywords, the search engines will gear towards the user. Keywords will be searched based on your culture, region, and jargon.[73]

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Web 2.0

References [1] "Core Characteristics of Web 2.0 Services" (http:/ / www. techpluto. com/ web-20-services/ ). .

[2] Paul Graham (November 2005). "Web 2.0" (http:/ / www. paulgraham. com/ web20. html). . Retrieved 2006-08-02. "I first heard the phrase 'Web 2.0' in the name of the Web 2.0 conference in 2004."

[3] Tim O'Reilly (2005-09-30). "What Is Web 2.0" (http:/ / www. oreillynet. com/ pub/ a/ oreilly/ tim/ news/ 2005/ 09/ 30/ what-is-web-20. html). O'Reilly Network. . Retrieved 2006-08-06.

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[6] DiNucci, Darcy (1999). "Fragmented Future" (http:/ / darcyd. com/ fragmented_future. pdf) (pdf). Print 53 (4): 32. .

[7] Idehen, Kingsley. 2003. RSS: INJAN (It's not just about news). Blog. Blog Data Space. August 21 OpenLinksW.com (http:/ / www. openlinksw. com/ dataspace/ kidehen@openlinksw. com/ weblog/ kidehen@openlinksw. com's BLOG [127]/ 241) [8] Idehen, Kingsley. 2003. Jeff Bezos Comments about Web Services. Blog. Blog Data Space. September 25. OpenLinksW.com (http:/ / www. openlinksw. com/ blog/ ~kidehen/ index. vspx?id=373) [9] Knorr, Eric. 2003. The year of Web services. CIO, December 15.

[10] "John Robb's Weblog" (http:/ / jrobb. mindplex. org/ 2003/ 08/ 16. html). Jrobb.mindplex.org. . Retrieved 2011-02-06.

[11] O'Reilly, Tim, and John Battelle. 2004. Opening Welcome: State of the Internet Industry. In San Francisco, California, October 5.

[12] O’Reilly, T., 2005.

[13] Grossman, Lev. 2006. Person of the Year: You. December 25. Time.com (http:/ / www. time. com/ time/ covers/ 0,16641,20061225,00. html) [14] "'Millionth English Word' declared". NEWS.BBC.co.uk (http:/ / news. bbc. co. uk/ 1/ hi/ world/ americas/ 8092549. stm) [15] Dion Hinchcliffe (2006-04-02). "The State of Web 2.0" (http:/ / web2. wsj2. com/ the_state_of_web_20. htm). Web Services. . Retrieved 2006-08-06.

[16] [SSRN: http:/ / ssrn. com/ abstract=732483 Wireless Communications and Computing at a Crossroads: New Paradigms and Their Impact on Theories Governing the Public's Right to Spectrum Access], Patrick S. Ryan, Journal on Telecommunications & High Technology Law, Vol. 3, No. 2, p. 239, 2005.

[17] Bart Decrem (2006-06-13). "Introducing Flock Beta 1" (http:/ / www. flock. com/ node/ 4500). Flock official blog. . Retrieved 2007-01-13.

[18] Gerald Marwell and Ruth E. Ames: "Experiments on the Provision of Public Goods. I. Resources, Interest, Group Size, and the Free-Rider Problem". The American Journal of Sociology, Vol. 84, No. 6 (May, 1979), pp. 1335–1360 [19] Best, D., 2006. Web 2.0 Next Big Thing or Next Big Internet Bubble? Lecture Web Information Systems. Techni sche Universiteit Eindhoven.

[20] Greenmeier, Larry and Gaudin, Sharon. "Amid The Rush To Web 2.0, Some Words Of Warning – Web 2.0 – InformationWeek" (http:/ / www. informationweek. com/ news/ management/ showArticle. jhtml;jsessionid=EWRPGLVJ53OW2QSNDLPCKHSCJUNN2JVN?articleID=199702353& _requestid=494050). www.informationweek.com. . Retrieved 2008-04-04.

[21] O’Reilly, T., 2005. What is Web 2.0. Design Patterns and Business Models for the Next Generation of Software, 30, p.2005 [22] Marak Squires dot com : JavaScript/jQuery versus Actionscript/Flex : Take 1 (http:/ / maraksquires. com/ articles/ 2009/ 11/ 16/ javascript-jquery-versus-actionscript-flex-take-1/ ) [23] McAfee, A. (2006). Enterprise 2.0: The Dawn of Emergent Collaboration. MIT Sloan Management review. Vol. 47, No. 3, p. 21–28.

[24] Web 2.0 definition updated and Enterprise 2.0 emerges | ZDNet (http:/ / blogs. zdnet. com/ Hinchcliffe/ ?p=71) [25] Schick, S., 2005. I second that emotion. IT Business.ca (Canada).

[26] Miller, P., 2008. Library 2.0: The Challenge of Disruptive Innovation. Available at: Google.com (http:/ / www. talis. com/ resources/ documents/ 447_Library_2_prf1. pdf) [27] Singer, Jonathan B. (2009). The Role and Regulations for Technology in Social Work Practice and E-Therapy: Social Work 2.0. In A. R. Roberts (Ed). (http:/ / www. us. oup. com/ us/ catalog/ general/ subject/ SocialWork/ ~~/ dmlldz11c2EmY2k9OTc4MDE5NTM2OTM3Mw==). New York, U.S.A.: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195369373. .

[28] Breakenridge, D., 2008. PR 2.0: New Media, New Tools, New Audiences 1st ed., FT Press.

[29] "Classroom 2.0" (http:/ / www. classroom20. com/ ). . Retrieved 2010-09-22 [30] Karp, Scott. "Publishing 2.0" (http:/ / publishing2. com/ ). Publishing2.com. . Retrieved 2011-02-06.

[31] Medicine 2.0 [32] Eggers, William D. (2005). Government 2.0: Using Technology to Improve Education, Cut Red Tape, Reduce Gridlock, and Enhance Democracy (http:/ / www. manhattan-institute. org/ government2. 0/ ). Lanham MD, U.S.A.: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc..

ISBN 978-0742541757. .

[33] Rusak, Sergey (2009). Web 2.0 Becoming An Outdated Term (http:/ / www. progressiveadvertiser. com/ web-2-0-becoming-an-outdated-term/ ). Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A.: Progressive Advertiser. .

[34] Miller 10–11

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Web 2.0 [35] "i-Technology Viewpoint: It's Time to Take the Quotation Marks Off "Web 2.0" | Web 2.0 Journal" (http:/ / web2. sys-con. com/ node/ 207411). Web2.sys-con.com. . Retrieved 2011-02-06.

[36] Anderson, Paul (2007). "What is Web 2.0? Ideas, technologies and implications for education" (http:/ / citeseerx. ist. psu. edu/ viewdoc/ download?doi=10. 1. 1. 108. 9995& rep=rep1& type=pdf). JISC Technology and Standards Watch. .

[37] Parise, Salvatore (2008). "The Secrets of Marketing in a Web 2.0 World" (http:/ / online. wsj. com/ article/ SB122884677205091919. html).

The Wall Street Journal. .

[38] MacManus, Richard (2007). "Mainstream Media Usage of Web 2.0 Services is Increasing" (http:/ / www. readwriteweb. com/ archives/ mainstream_media_web20. php). Read Write Web. .

[39] "Banks use Web 2.0 to increase customer retention" (http:/ / www. pntmarketingservices. com/ newsfeed/ article/ Banks_use_Web_2_0_to_increase_customer_retention-800226524. html). PNT Marketing Services. 2010. .

[40] "Small Businesses Need Innovation — New Company May Have Their Solution" (http:/ / www. sfgate. com/ cgi-bin/ article. cgi?f=/ g/ a/ 2010/ 10/ 25/ prwebprweb4693214. DTL). San Francisco Chronicle. 2010. .

[41] Collins, Allan (2009). Rethinking Education in the Age of Technology. New York, NY: Teachers College Press. pp. 176.

ISBN 978-0-8077-5002-5.

[42] .

[43] Hargadon, Steve. "Educational Networking: The Important Role Web 2.0 Will Play In Education" (http:/ / www. scribd. com/ doc/ 24161189/ Educational-Networking-The-Important-Role-Web-2-0-Will-Play-in-Education). . Retrieved 19 May 2011.

[44] Rochette, Laura (2007). "What Classroom Technology Has Taught Me about Curriculum, Teaching, and Infinite Possibilities". English Journal. 2 37: 43–48.

[45] Kiva Is Not Quite What It Seems (http:/ / blogs. cgdev. org/ open_book/ 2009/ 10/ kiva-is-not-quite-what-it-seems. php), by David Roodman, Center for Global Development, Oct. 2, 2009, as accessed Jan. 2 & 16, 2010 [46] Confusion on Where Money Lent via Kiva Goes (http:/ / www. nytimes. com/ 2009/ 11/ 09/ business/ global/ 09kiva. html?_r=1& scp=1& sq=Kiva& st=cse), by Stephanie Strom, in The New York Times, Nov. 8, 2009, as accessed Jan. 2 & 16, 2010 [47] "Zidisha Set to "Expand" in Peer-to-Peer Microfinance", Microfinance Focus, Feb 2010 (http:/ / www. microfinancefocus. com/ news/ 2010/ 02/ 07/ zidisha-set-to-expand-in-peer-to-peer-microfinance-julia-kurnia/ ) [48] "Google buys Web word-processing technology" (http:/ / www. news. com/ 2100-1032_3-6048136. html). www.news.com. . Retrieved 2007-12-12.

[49] "Can eyeOS Succeed Where Desktop.com Failed?" (http:/ / www. techcrunch. com/ 2006/ 11/ 27/ eyeos-open-source-webos-for-the-masses/ ). www.techcrunch.com. . Retrieved 2007-12-12.

[50] "Tech Beat Hey YouOS! – BusinessWeek" (http:/ / www. businessweek. com/ the_thread/ techbeat/ archives/ 2006/ 03/ hey_youos. html). www.businessweek.com. . Retrieved 2007-12-12.

[51] "PC World — WebEx Snaps Up Intranets.com" (http:/ / www. pcworld. com/ article/ id,122068-page,1/ article. html). www.pcworld.com. .

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[52] Tim O'Reilly (2002-06-18). "Amazon Web Services API" (http:/ / www. oreillynet. com/ pub/ wlg/ 1707?wlg=yes). O'Reilly Network. .

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[53] "Bubble 2.0" (http:/ / www. economist. com/ business/ displaystory. cfm?story_id=E1_QQNVDDS). The Economist. 2005-12-22. .

Retrieved 2006-12-20.

[54] Josh Kopelman (2006-05-11). "53,651" (http:/ / redeye. firstround. com/ 2006/ 05/ 53651. html). Redeye VC. . Retrieved 2006-12-21.

[55] "Bruce Sterling presenta il web 2.0" (http:/ / www. lastampa. it/ multimedia/ multimedia. asp?p=1& IDmsezione=29& IDalbum=8558& tipo=VIDEO#mpos). "LASTAMPA.it". .

[56] "Gartner 2006 Emerging Technologies Hype Cycle" (http:/ / www. gartner. com/ it/ page. jsp?id=495475). .

[57] ""Critical Perspectives on Web 2.0", Special issue of First Monday, 13(3), 2008. UIC.edu (http:/ / www. uic. edu/ htbin/ cgiwrap/ bin/ ojs/ index. php/ fm/ issue/ view/ 263/ showToc)".

[58] Flintoff, JohnPaul (2007-06-03). "Thinking is so over" (http:/ / technology. timesonline. co. uk/ tol/ news/ tech_and_web/ personal_tech/ article1874668. ece). The Times (London). .

[59] Gorman, Michael. "Web 2.0: The Sleep of Reason, Part 1" (http:/ / www. britannica. com/ blogs/ 2007/ 06/ web-20-the-sleep-of-reason-part-i/ ). . Retrieved 26th April 2011.

[60] "USPTO serial number 78322306" (http:/ / tarr. uspto. gov/ servlet/ tarr?regser=serial& entry=78322306). Tarr.uspto.gov. . Retrieved 2011-02-06.

[61] "O'Reilly and CMP Exercise Trademark on 'Web 2.0'" (http:/ / yro. slashdot. org/ article. pl?sid=06/ 05/ 26/ 1238245). Slashdot.

2006-05-26. . Retrieved 2006-05-27.

[62] Nathan Torkington (2006-05-26). "O'Reilly's coverage of Web 2.0 as a service mark" (http:/ / radar. oreilly. com/ archives/ 2006/ 05/ more_on_our_web_20_service_mar. html). O'Reilly Radar. . Retrieved 2006-06-01.

[63] http:/ / oami. europa. eu/ CTMOnline/ RequestManager/ en_Result?transition=ResultsDetailed& ntmark=& application=CTMOnline& bAdvanced=0& language=en& deno=& source=search_basic. jsp& idappli=004972212# [64] Agarwal, Amit. "Web 3.0 concepts explained in plain English". Labnol.org (http:/ / www. labnol. org/ internet/ web-3-concepts-explained/ 8908/ ) [65] Conrad Wolfram on Communicating with apps in web 3.0 (http:/ / www. itpro. co. uk/ 621535/ q-a-conrad-wolfram-on-communicating-with-apps-in-web-3-0) IT PRO, 17 Mar 2010

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Web 2.0 [66] Keen, Andrew. "Web 1.0 + Web 2.0 = Web 3.0." TypePad.com (http:/ / andrewkeen. typepad. com/ the_great_seduction/ 2008/ 04/ web-10-web-20-w. html) [67] Hempel, Jessi. "Web 2.0 is so over. Welcome to Web 3.0." CNN Money. CNN.com (http:/ / money. cnn. com/ 2009/ 01/ 07/ technology/ hempel_threepointo. fortune/ index. htm) [68] "Metaverse Roadmap Overview" (http:/ / www. metaverseroadmap. org/ MetaverseRoadmapOverview. pdf) (PDF). . Retrieved 2011-02-06.

[69] http:/ / openvideoalliance. org/ about/ ?l=en [70] Smart, John. 2010. "The Television Will Be Revolutionized: The iPad, Internet TV, and Web 3.0." (http:/ / www. accelerating. org/ articles/ televisionwillberevolutionized. html) [71] "Smart, John. 2003. "The Conversational Interface."" (http:/ / www. accelerationwatch. com/ lui. html). Accelerationwatch.com.

2008-11-14. . Retrieved 2011-02-06.

[72] HowStuffWorks "Web 3.0 Basics" (http:/ / computer. howstuffworks. com/ web-302. htm) [73] STI International (http:/ / www. sti2. org)

External links • McKinsey & Company - Global Survey - McKinseyQuarterly.com (http://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/ Information_Technology/Applications/ How_businesses_are_using_Web_20_A_McKinsey_Global_Survey_1913?gp=1), How businesses are using Web 2.0, June 2008 • UIC.edu (http://www.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/ojs/index.php/fm/issue/view/263/showToc), "Critical Perspectives on Web 2.0", Special issue of First Monday, 13(3), 2008.

• MacManus, Richard. Porter, Joshua. Digital-Web.com (http://www.digital-web.com/articles/ web_2_for_designers/), "Web 2.0 for Designers", Digital Web Magazine, May 4, 2005.

• Graham Vickery, Sacha Wunsch-Vincent: OECD.org (http://www.oecd.org/document/40/ 0,3343,en_2649_201185_39428648_1_1_1_1,00.html), "Participative Web and User-Created Content: Web 2.0, Wikis and Social Networking; OECD, 2007

Social media Social media includes web-based and mobile technologies used to turn communication into interactive dialogue. Andreas Kaplan and Michael Haenlein define social media as "a group of Internet-based applications that build on the ideological and technological foundations of Web 2.0, and that allow the creation and exchange of user-generated content."[1] Social media is media for social interaction as a super-set beyond social communication. Enabled by ubiquitously accessible and scalable communication techniques, social media has substantially changed the way organizations, communities, and individuals communicate.[2]

Social media Classification of social media Social media technologies take on many different forms including Examples of the share buttons common to many social web pages magazines, Internet forums, weblogs, social blogs, microblogging, wikis, podcasts, photographs or pictures, video, rating and social bookmarking. By applying a set of theories in the field of media research (social presence, media richness) and social processes (self-presentation, self-disclosure) Kaplan and Haenlein created a classification scheme for different social media types in their Business Horizons article published in 2010. According to Kaplan and Haenlein there are

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Social media

14

six different types of social media: collaborative projects (e.g., Wikipedia), blogs and microblogs (e.g., Twitter), content communities (e.g., YouTube), social networking sites (e.g., Facebook), virtual game worlds (e.g., World of Warcraft), and virtual social worlds (e.g. Second Life). Technologies include: blogs, picture-sharing, vlogs, wall-postings, email, instant messaging, music-sharing, crowdsourcing and voice over IP, to name a few. Many of these social media services can be integrated via social network aggregation platforms.

The honeycomb framework defines how social media services focus on some or all of seven functional building blocks (identity, conversations, sharing, presence, relationships, reputation, and groups). These building blocks help understand the engagement needs of the social media audience. For instance, LinkedIn users care mostly about identity, reputation and relationships, whereas YouTube’s primary building blocks are sharing, conversations, groups and reputation.[2] Many companies build their own social containers that attempt to link the seven functional building blocks around their brands. These are private communities that engage people around a more narrow theme, as in around a particular brand, vocation or hobby, than social media containers such as Facebook or Google+.

Patents There has been rapid growth in the number of US patent applications that cover new technologies related to social media. The number of published applications has been growing rapidly over the past five years. There are now over 250 published applications.[4] Only about 10 of these applications have issued as patents, however, largely due to the multi-year backlog in examination of business method patents[5]

Purpose Distinction from industrial media

Number of US social network patent applications [3] published per year and patents issued per year

Businesses may refer to social media as consumer-generated media (CGM). A common thread running through all definitions of social media is a blending of technology and social interaction for the co-creation of value.

People obtain information, education, news and other data from electronic media and print media. Social media are distinct from industrial or traditional media, such as newspapers, television, and film. They are relatively inexpensive and accessible to enable anyone (even private individuals) to publish or access information, compared to industrial media, which generally require significant resources to publish information.

One characteristic shared by both social media and industrial media is the capability to reach small or large audiences; for example, either a blog post or a television show may reach no people or millions of people. Some of the properties that help describe the differences between social media and industrial media are: 1. Reach - both industrial and social media technologies provide scale and are capable of reaching a global audience. Industrial media, however, typically use a centralized framework for organization, production, and dissemination, whereas social media are by their very nature more decentralized, less hierarchical, and distinguished by multiple points of production and utility.

2. Accessibility - the means of production for industrial media are typically government and/or privately owned; social media tools are generally available to the public at little or no cost.

3. Usability - industrial media production typically requires specialized skills and training. Conversely, most social media production does not require specialized skills and training, or requires only modest reinterpretation of existing skills; in theory, anyone with access can operate the means of social media production.

4. Immediacy - the time lag between communications produced by industrial media can be long (days, weeks, or even months) compared to social media (which can be capable of virtually instantaneous responses; only the

Social media participants determine any delay in response). However, as industrial media begins adopting aspects of production normally associated with social media tools, this feature may not prove distinctive over time.

5. Permanence - industrial media, once created, cannot be altered (once a magazine article is printed and distributed changes cannot be made to that same article) whereas social media can be altered almost instantaneously by comments or editing.

Community media constitute a hybrid of industrial and social media. Though community-owned, some community radio, TV and newspapers are run by professionals and some by amateurs. They use both social and industrial media frameworks.

Social media has also been recognized for the way in which it has changed how public relations professionals conduct their jobs. It has provided an open arena where people are free to exchange ideas on companies, brands and products. As stated by Doc Searls and David Wagner, two authorities on the effects of Internet on marketing, advertising, and PR, "the best of the people in PR are not PR Types at all. They understand that there aren't censors, they're the company's best conversationalists."[6] Social media provides an environment where uses and PR professionals can engage in conversation, where PR professionals can promote their brand and improve their company's image, be listening and responding to what the public is saying about their product.

Managing social media Kietzmann et al. (2011) contend that social media presents an enormous challenge for firms, as many established management methods are ill-suited to deal with customers who no longer want to be talked at but who want firms to listen, appropriately engage, and respond. The authors explain that each of the seven functional building blocks has important implications for how firms should engage with social media. By analyzing identity, conversations, sharing, presence, relationships, reputation, and groups, firms can monitor and understand how social media activities vary in terms of their function and impact, so as to develop a congruent social media strategy based on the appropriate balance of building blocks for their community.[2] Increasingly, the term 'social business' is being used. This reflects that social media is not just a marketing discipline, but that it has multiple touch-points in an organization such as customer service, sales, human resource management and R&D. Social business is where social media has broken down silos and barriers that enable employees to have a genuinely more open and collaborative relationship with the outside world.

Building "social authority" and vanity According to the European Journal of Social Psychology, one of the key components in successful social media marketing implementation is building "social authority". Social authority is developed when an individual or organization establishes themselves as an "expert" in their given field or area, thereby becoming an influencer in that field or area.[7] It is through this process of "building social authority" that social media becomes effective. That is why one of the foundational concepts in social media has become that you cannot completely control your message through social media but rather you can simply begin to participate in the "conversation" expecting that you can achieve a significant influence in that conversation.[8] However, this conversation participation must be cleverly executed because while people are resistant to marketing in general, they are even more resistant to direct or overt marketing through social media platforms. This may seem counter-intuitive but is the main reason building social authority with credibility is so important. A marketer can generally not expect people to be receptive to a marketing message in and of itself. In the Edleman Trust Barometer report [9] in 2008, the majority (58%) of the respondents reported they most trusted company or product information coming from "people like me" inferred to be information from someone they trusted. In the 2010 Trust Report [10], the majority switched to 64% preferring their information from industry experts and academics. According to Inc.

15

Social media Technology's Brent Leary, "This loss of trust, and the accompanying turn towards experts and authorities, seems to be coinciding with the rise of social media and networks."[11][12]

Internet usage effects A study by the University of Maryland suggested that social media services may be addictive,[13] and that users of social media services leads to a "fear of missing out".[14] It has been observed that Facebook is now the primary method for communication by college students in the U.S.[15][16] Several colleges have even introduced classes on best social media practices, preparing students for potential careers as digital strategists.[17] There are various statistics that account for social media usage and effectiveness for individuals worldwide. Some of the most recent statistics are as follows: • Social networking now accounts for 22% of all time spent online in the US.[18] • A total of 234 million people age 13 and older in the U.S. used mobile devices in December 2009.[19] • Twitter processed more than one billion tweets in December 2009 and averages almost 40 million tweets per day.[19] • Over 25% of U.S. internet page views occurred at one of the top social networking sites in December 2009, up from 13.8% a year before.[19] • Australia has some of the highest social media usage in the world. In usage of Facebook Australia ranks highest, with over 9 million users spending almost 9 hours per month on the site.[20][21] • The number of social media users age 65 and older grew 100 percent throughout 2010, so that one in four people in that age group are now part of a social networking site.[22] • As of June 2011 Facebook has 750 Million users.[23] • Facebook tops Google for weekly traffic in the U.S.[24] • Social Media has overtaken pornography as the #1 activity on the web.[24] • iPod application downloads hit 1 billion in 9 months.[24] • If Facebook were a country it would be the world's 3rd largest.[24] • U.S. Department of Education study revealed that online students out performed those receiving face-to-face instruction.[24] • YouTube is the 2nd largest search engine in the world.[24] • In four minutes and 26 seconds 100+ hours of video will be uploaded to YouTube.[24] • Indians spend more time on social media than on any other activity on the Internet.[25] According to a report by Nielson[26] “In the U.S. alone, total minutes spent on social networking sites has increased 83 percent year-over-year. In fact, total minutes spent on Facebook increased nearly 700 percent year-over-year, growing from 1.7 billion minutes in April 2008 to 13.9 billion in April 2009, making it the No. 1 social networking site for the month.”

The main increase in social media has been Facebook. It was ranked as the number one social networking site.

Approximately 100 million users access this site through their mobile phone. According to Nielsen, global consumers spend more than 6 hours on social networking sites. "Social Media Revolution" produced by Socialnomics author Erik Qualman contains numerous statistics on Social Media including the fact that 93% of businesses use it for marketing and that if Facebook were a country it would be the third largest.[27] In an effort to supplant Facebook's dominance, Google launched Google+ in the summer of 2011.

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Probable historic impact Social media may have been integral to the Arab revolutions and revolts of 2011.[28][29] As one Cairo activist succinctly put it.[30] However, there is some debate about the extent to which social media facilitated this kind of change.[31]

Criticisms Andrew Keen criticizes social media in his book The Cult of the Amateur, writing, "Out of this anarchy, it suddenly became clear that what was governing the infinite monkeys now inputting away on the Internet was the law of digital Darwinism, the survival of the loudest and most opinionated. Under these rules, the only way to intellectually prevail is by infinite filibustering."[32] Tim Berners-Lee contends that the danger of social networking sites is that most are silos and do not allow users to port data from one site to another. He also cautions against social networks that grow too big and become a monopoly as this tends to limit innovation.[33] Eric Ehrmann contends that social media in the form of public diplomacy creates a patina of inclusiveness that covers [34] traditional economic interests that are structured to ensure that wealth is pumped up to the top of the economic pyramid, perpetuating the digital divide and post Marxian class conflict. He also voices concern over the trend that finds social utilities operating in a quasi-libertarian global environment of oligopoly that requires users in economically challenged nations to spend high percentages of annual income to pay for devices and services to participate in the social media lifestyle.

Matthew Auer casts doubt on the conventional wisdom that social media are open and participatory. He also speculates on the emergence of "anti-social media" used as "instruments of pure control".[35]

Economic impact by social marketing Thus, using social media as a form of marketing has taken on whole new challenges. As the 2010 Trust Study [36] indicates, it is most effective if marketing efforts through social media revolve around the genuine building of authority. Someone performing a "marketing" role within a company must honestly convince people of their genuine intentions, knowledge, and expertise in a specific area or industry through providing valuable and accurate information on an ongoing basis without a marketing angle overtly associated. If this can be done, trust with, and of, the recipient of that information – and that message itself – begins to develop naturally. This person or organization becomes a thought leader and value provider - setting themselves up as a trusted "advisor" instead of marketer. "Top of mind awareness" develops and the consumer naturally begins to gravitate to the products and/or offerings of the authority/influencer.[11][37] Of course, there are many ways authority can be created – and influence can be accomplished – including: participation in Wikipedia which actually verifies user-generated content and information more than most people may realize; providing valuable content through social networks on platforms such as Facebook and Twitter; article writing and distribution through sites such as Ezine Articles and Scribd; and providing fact-based answers on "social question and answer sites" such as EHow and Yahoo! Answers.

As a result of social media – and the direct or indirect influence of social media marketers – today, consumers are as likely – or more likely – to make buying decisions based on what they read and see in platforms we call "social" but only if presented by someone they have come to trust. Additionally, reports have shown organizations have been able to bring back dissatisfied customers and stakeholders through social media channels.[38] This is why a purposeful and carefully designed social media strategy has become an integral part of any complete and directed marketing plan but must also be designed using newer "authority building" techniques.[39] In his 2006 book, The Wealth of Networks: How Social Production Transforms Markets and Freedom, Yochai Benkler analyzed many of these distinctions and their implications in terms of both economics and political liberty.

17

Social media However, Benkler, like many academics, uses the neologism network economy or "network information economy" to describe the underlying economic, social, and technological characteristics of what has come to be known as "social media". The basic assumption with social media is there will be a demand for the information published using such media. The quantity of subscribers to the various providers seems to prove that assumption. However, the quality of the contents casted by individuals may be subject of a more distant view, regarding the multicast or even broadcast distribution as powered by vanity of the issuers. In contrast the reception of contents published by organisations shows the curiosity of the subscribers to learn more about the ever renewing world they are part of.

Both aspects may generate economic value beyond the providers sake for the issuers of the contents.

However, building reputation and becoming recognized as an expert with a high yield in "social authority" may remind the fact that there is no quality assessment for the issued contents but the acclamation or applause by the readers or the opposite, deprecation or disapproval. That does not guarantee for a reasonable value of the messages.

Ownership of social media content Social media content is generated through social media interactions done by the users through the site. There has always been a huge debate on the ownership of the content on social media platforms since it is generated by the users and hosted by the company. Critics contend that the companies are making a huge amount of money by using the content that does not belong to them.[40] Hence the challenge for ownership is lesser with the communicated content, but with the personal data disclosed by the subscribed writers and readers and the correlation to chosen types of content. The security danger beyond is the parasitic conveying, diffunding or leaking of agglomerated data to third parties with certain economic interest.[41]

Application examples Brand monitoring • Social media measurement: Attensity, Statsit, Sysomos, Vocus

Communication • Blogs: Blogger, Drupal, ExpressionEngine, LiveJournal, Open Diary, TypePad, Vox, WordPress, Xanga

• • • • • •

• Microblogging: Dailybooth, FMyLife, Foursquare, Google Buzz, Identi.ca, Jaiku, Nasza-Klasa.pl, Plurk, Posterous, Qaiku, Tumblr, Twitter Engagement Advertising & Monetization: SocialVibe Location-based social networks: Facebook places, Foursquare, Geoloqi, Google Latitude, Gowalla, The Hotlist, Yelp, Inc. Events: Eventful, The Hotlist, Meetup.com, Upcoming, Yelp, Inc. Information Aggregators: Netvibes, Twine (website) Online Advocacy and Fundraising: Causes, Jumo, Kickstarter, IndieGoGo Social networking: ASmallWorld, Bebo, Chatter, Cyworld, Diaspora, Facebook, Google+, Hi5, Hyves, IRC, LinkedIn, Mixi, MySpace, Netlog, Ning, Orkut, Plaxo, The my2i, Tagged, Tuenti, XING, Yammer

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Collaboration/authority building • • • • • • • • •

Collaboration: Central Desktop Content Management Systems: E107_(CMS), Drupal, Joomla, Plone, Siteforum, Wordpress Diagramming and Visual Collaboration: Creately Document Managing and Editing Tools: Docs.com, Dropbox.com, Google Docs, Syncplicity Social bookmarking (or social tagging):[42] CiteULike, Delicious, Diigo, Google Reader, StumbleUpon, folkd Social Media Gaming: Empire Avenue[43] Social navigation: Trapster, Waze [44] Social news: Digg, Chime.In (formerly Mixx), Newsvine, NowPublic, Reddit Wikis: PBworks, Wetpaint, Wikia, Wikidot, Wikimedia, Wikispaces, Wikinews

Entertainment • Game sharing: Armor Games, Kongregate, Miniclip, Newgrounds • Media and entertainment platforms: Cisco Eos, Myspace, Youtube • Virtual worlds: Active Worlds, Forterra Systems, Second Life, The Sims Online, World of Warcraft, RuneScape

Leisure example The Dutch man Ramon Stoppelenburg traveled around the world for free, without spending any money, from 2001 to 2003, thanks to his blog on Letmestayforaday.com [45]. His website was his profile with which he created his own necessary network of online offered places to stay for the night. This made Stoppelenburg one of the first people online who used the online media in a social and effective manner.

Multimedia • Livecasting: blip.tv, Justin.tv, Livestream, oovoo, OpenCU, Skype, Stickam, Ustream, Youtube • Music and audio sharing: Bandcamp, ccMixter, Groove Shark, The Hype Machine, imeem, Last.fm, MySpace Music, Pandora Radio, ReverbNation.com, ShareTheMusic, Soundclick, SoundCloud, Spotify, Turntable.fm • Photography and art sharing: deviantArt, Flickr, Photobucket, Picasa, SmugMug, Zooomr, Webshots • Presentation sharing: Prezi, scribd, SlideShare • Video sharing: Dailymotion, Metacafe, Nico Nico Douga, Openfilm, sevenload, Viddler, Vimeo, YouTube

Confidential Social Media • Next Generation / Future Technology Now: useORB.com

Reviews and opinions • Business reviews: Customer Lobby, Yelp, Inc. • Community Q&A: ask.com, Askville, EHow, Quora, Stack Exchange, WikiAnswers, Yahoo! Answers • Product reviews: epinions.com, MouthShut.com

References [1] Kaplan, Andreas M.; Michael Haenlein (2010). "Users of the world, unite! The challenges and opportunities of Social Media" (http:/ / www. sciencedirect. com/ science/ article/ B6W45-4XFF2S0-1/ 2/ 600db1bd6e0c9903c744aaf34b0b12e1). Business Horizons 53 (1): 59–68. doi:10.1016/j.bushor.2009.09.003. ISSN 0007-6813. . Retrieved 2010-09-15.

[2] Kietzmann, Jan H.; Kris Hermkens, Ian P. McCarthy, and Bruno S. Silvestre (2011). "Social media? Get serious! Understanding the functional building blocks of social media" (http:/ / www. sciencedirect. com/ science/ article/ pii/ S0007681311000061). Business Horizons 54 (3): 241–251. doi:10.1016/j.bushor.2011.01.005. ISSN 0007-6813. . Retrieved 2011-08-23.

[3] Mark Nowotarski, "Do not Steal My Avatar! Challenges of Social Network Patents, IP Watchdog, January 23, 2011. (http:/ / ipwatchdog. com/ 2011/ 01/ 23/ donâ t-steal-my-avatar-challenges-of-social-networking-patents/ id=14531/ )

19

Social media [4] USPTO search on published patent applications mentioning “social media” (http:/ / appft. uspto. gov/ netacgi/ nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2& Sect2=HITOFF& u=/ netahtml/ PTO/ search-adv. html& r=0& p=1& f=S& l=50& Query=spec/ "social+ media"& d=PG01) [5] USPTO search on issued patents mentioning “social media” (http:/ / patft. uspto. gov/ netacgi/ nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2& Sect2=HITOFF& u=/ netahtml/ PTO/ search-adv. htm& r=0& p=1& f=S& l=50& Query=spec/ "social+ media"& d=PTXT) [6] Searls, D & Weinberger D.. "Error: no |title= specified when using {{[[Template:Cite web|Cite web (http:/ / www. cluetrain. com/ books/ markets. html)]}}"]. Markets are conversations. New York: Perseus. .

[7] European Journal of Social Psychology (http:/ / onlinelibrary. wiley. com/ doi/ 10. 1002/ ejsp. 355/ abstract) [8] Research Survey (http:/ / mprcenter. org/ blog/ 2010/ 08/ 04/ research-survey-launched-social-media-and-influence-of-photos-on-body-image/ ) [9] http:/ / www. edelman. com/ trust/ 2008/ [10] http:/ / www. edelman. co. uk/ trustbarometer/ files/ edelman-trust-barometer-2010. pdf [11] Inc. Technology Brent Leary Article (http:/ / technology. inc. com/ internet/ articles/ 201003/ leary. html) [12] Edelman 2010 Trust Barometer Study (http:/ / www. edelman. com/ trust/ 2010/ ) [13] "Students Addicted to Social Media - New UM Study" (http:/ / www. newsdesk. umd. edu/ sociss/ release. cfm?ArticleID=2144). .

Retrieved 23 May 2011.

[14] "FOMO: The Unintended Effects of Social Media Addiction" (http:/ / www. nbcnewyork. com/ news/ local/ Social-Media-Is-Causing-Anxiety-and-Depression-122260279. html). . Retrieved 23 May 2011.

[15] Harris, Kandace (2008). "Using Social Networking Sites as Student Engagement Tools". Diverse Issues in Higher Education 25 (18).

[16] "Statistics" (http:/ / www. facebook. com/ press/ info. php?statistics). Facebook. . Retrieved 23 May 2011.

[17] "Top 100 Social Media Colleges-StudentAdvisor" (http:/ / www. studentadvisor. com/ top-100-social-media-colleges). .

[18] http:/ / blog. nielsen. com/ nielsenwire/ global/ social-media-accounts-for-22-percent-of-time-online/ [19] http:/ / digital. venturebeat. com/ 2010/ 02/ 10/ 54-of-us-internet-users-on-facebook-27-on-myspace/ trackback/ [20] . http:/ / www. socialmedianews. com. au/ social-media-stats-in-australia-facebook-blogger-myspace/ .

[21] . http:/ / www. socialmedianews. com. au/ .

[22] "Boomers Joining Social Media at Record Rate" (http:/ / www. cbsnews. com/ stories/ 2010/ 11/ 15/ national/ main7055992. shtml). CBS News. 2010-11-15. .

[23] http:/ / techcrunch. com/ 2011/ 06/ 23/ facebook-750-million-users/ / [24] http:/ / www. socialnomics. net/ category/ statistics/ [25] http:/ / blog. nielsen. com/ nielsenwire/ global/ connecting-and-engaging-with-digital-indian-consumers/ [26] "Time Spent on Facebook up 700 Percent, but MySpace.com Still Tops for Video, According to Nielsen" (http:/ / www. nielsen. com/ us/ en/ insights/ press-room/ 2009/ time_on_facebook. html). .

[27] Social Media Revolution Video (http:/ / www. youtube. com/ watch?v=x0EnhXn5boM) [28] http:/ / www. wired. com/ threatlevel/ 2011/ 01/ tunisia/ [29] Kirkpatrick, David D. (2011-02-09). "Wired and Shrewd, Young Egyptians Guide Revolt" (http:/ / www. nytimes. com/ 2011/ 02/ 10/ world/ middleeast/ 10youth. html?_r=1). The New York Times. .

[30] http:/ / www. miller-mccune. com/ politics/ the-cascading-effects-of-the-arab-spring-28575/ [31] Malcolm Gladwell and Clay Shirky on Social Media and Revolution, Foreign Affairs March/April 2011 (http:/ / www. foreignaffairs. com/ articles/ 67325/ malcolm-gladwell-and-clay-shirky/ from-innovation-to-revolution) [32] Keen, Andrew. The Cult of the Amateur. Random House. p. 15. ISBN 9780385520812.

[33] http:/ / www. scientificamerican. com/ article. cfm?id=long-live-the-web [34] http:/ / www. huffingtonpost. com/ eric-ehrmann/ uruguay-prodded-to-end-ba_b_1144833. html [35] Auer, Matthew R. "The Policy Sciences of Social Media". Policy Studies Journal 39 (4): 709–736 (http:/ / papers. ssrn. com/ sol3/ papers. cfm?abstract_id=1974080) [36] http:/ / www. edelman. com/ trust/ 2010/ [37] Search Engine Watch (http:/ / searchenginewatch. com/ 3640221) [38] http:/ / www. marketingforecast. com/ archives/ 10548 [39] Business Expert Brent Leary on Inc Technology Website (http:/ / technology. inc. com/ internet/ articles/ 201003/ leary. html) [40] "How much is your content worth?" (http:/ / digitalanalog. in/ 2011/ 06/ 28/ how-much-is-your-content-worth/ ). .

[41] Jones, Soltren, Facebook: Threats to Privacy, MIT 2005 (http:/ / groups. csail. mit. edu/ mac/ classes/ 6. 805/ student-papers/ fall05-papers/ facebook. pdf) [42] Golder, Scott; Huberman, Bernardo A. (2006). "Usage Patterns of Collaborative Tagging Systems" (http:/ / www. hpl. hp. com/ research/ idl/ papers/ tags/ tags. pdf). Journal of Information Science 32 (2): 198–208. doi:10.1177/0165551506062337. .

[43] "Empire Avenue, the stockmarket where YOU'RE for sale" (http:/ / thenextweb. com/ apps/ 2010/ 07/ 26/ empire-avenue-the-stockmarket-where-youre-for-sale-invites/ ). . Retrieved 22 March 2011.

[44] 10 Ways Geolocation is Changing the World (http:/ / www. tonic. com/ article/ 10-ways-geolocation-is-changing-the-world/ ) [45] http:/ / www. letmestayforaday. com

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Further reading • Rheingold, Howard (2002). Smart mobs : the next social revolution (http://www.amazon.co.uk/ Smart-Mobs-Next-Social-Revolution/dp/0738206083) (1. printing. ed.). Cambridge, MA: Perseus Pub.. pp. 288.

ISBN 978-0738206080.

• Watts, Duncan J. (2003). Six degrees : the science of a connected age (http://www.amazon.co.uk/ Six-Degrees-Science-Connected-Age/dp/0099444968). London: Vintage. pp. 368. ISBN 978-0099444961.

• Benkler, Yochai (2006). The Wealth of Networks. New Haven: Yale University Press. ISBN 0300110561.

OCLC 61881089.

• Gentle, Anne (2009). Conversation and Community: The Social Web for Documentation. Fort Collins, Colo: XML Press. ISBN 9780982219119. OCLC 464581118.

• Johnson, Steven Berlin (2005). Everything Bad Is Good for You. New York: Riverhead Books.

ISBN 1573223077. OCLC 57514882.

• Li, Charlene; Bernoff, Josh (2008). Groundswell: Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies.

Boston: Harvard Business Press. ISBN 9781422125007. OCLC 423555651.

• Scoble, Robert; Israel, Shel (2006). Naked Conversations: How Blogs are Changing the Way Businesses Talk with Customers. Hoboken, N.J: John Wiley. ISBN 047174719X. OCLC 61757953.

• Shirky, Clay (2008). Here Comes Everybody. New York: Penguin Press. ISBN 9781594201530.

OCLC 458788924.

• Surowiecki, James (2004). The Wisdom of Crowds. New York: Anchor Books. ISBN 0385721706.

OCLC 156770258.

• Tapscott, Don; Williams, Anthony D. (2006). Wikinomics. New York: Portfolio. ISBN 1591841380.

OCLC 318389282.

• Powell, Guy R.; Groves, Steven W.; Dimos, Jerry (2011). ROI of Social Media: How to improve the return on your social marketing investment. New York: John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 9780470827413. OCLC 0470827416.

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Social networking service

Social networking service A social networking service is an online service, platform, or site that focuses on building and reflecting of social networks or social relations among people, who, for example, share interests and/or activities. A social network service consists of a representation of each user (often a profile), his/her social links, and a variety of additional services. Most social network services are web-based and provide means for users to interact over the Internet, such as e-mail and instant messaging. Online community services are sometimes considered as a social network service, though in a broader sense, social network service usually means an individual-centered service whereas online community services are group-centered. Social networking sites allow users to share ideas, activities, events, and interests within their individual networks.

The main types of social networking services are those that contain category places (such as former school year or classmates), means to connect with friends (usually with self-description pages), and a recommendation system linked to trust. Popular methods now combine many of these, with Facebook, Google+ and Twitter widely used worldwide, The Sphere (luxury network), Nexopia (mostly in Canada);[1] Bebo,[2] VKontakte, Hi5, Hyves (mostly in The Netherlands), Draugiem.lv (mostly in Latvia), Ask-a-peer (career oriented), StudiVZ (mostly in Germany), iWiW (mostly in Hungary), Tuenti (mostly in Spain), Nasza-Klasa (mostly in Poland), Decayenne, Tagged, XING,[3] Badoo[4] and Skyrock in parts of Europe;[5] Orkut and Hi5 in South America and Central America;[6] and Mixi, Multiply, Orkut, Wretch, renren and Cyworld in Asia and the Pacific Islands and Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google+ are very popular in India.

Another form of Social Network has been introuduced by airlines that allows passengers to meet others who share their interests before their flight so that seating may be pre-arranged. [7] There have been attempts to standardize these services to avoid the need to duplicate entries of friends and interests (see the FOAF standard and the Open Source Initiative). A 2011 survey found that 47% of American adults use a social network.[8]

History The potential for computer networking to facilitate newly improved forms of computer-mediated social interaction was suggested early on.[9] Efforts to support social networks via computer-mediated communication were made in many early online services, including Usenet[10], ARPANET, LISTSERV, and bulletin board services (BBS). Many prototypical features of social networking sites were also present in online services such as America Online, Prodigy, CompuServe, The WELL[11]. Early social networking on the World Wide Web began in the form of generalized online communities such as Theglobe.com (1995),[12] Geocities (1994) and Tripod.com (1995). Many of these early communities focused on bringing people together to interact with each other through chat rooms, and encouraged users to share personal information and ideas via personal webpages by providing easy-to-use publishing tools and free or inexpensive webspace. Some communities - such as Classmates.com - took a different approach by simply having people link to each other via email addresses. In the late 1990s, user profiles became a central feature of social networking sites, allowing users to compile lists of "friends" and search for other users with similar interests.

New social networking methods were developed by the end of the 1990s, and many sites began to develop more advanced features for users to find and manage friends.[13] This newer generation of social networking sites began to flourish with the emergence of SixDegrees.com in 1997,[14] followed by Makeoutclub in 2000,[15][16] Hub Culture and Friendster in 2002,[17] and soon became part of the Internet mainstream. Friendster was followed by MySpace and LinkedIn a year later, and, finally, Bebo. Attesting to the rapid increase in social networking sites' popularity, by 2005, it was reported that MySpace was getting more page views than Google. Facebook,[18] launched in 2004, became the largest social networking site in the world[19] in early 2009, and remains largest of all social networks.[20]

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Social impact Web-based social networking services make it possible to connect people who share interests and activities across political, economic, and geographic borders.[21] Through e-mail and instant messaging, online communities are created where a gift economy and reciprocal altruism are encouraged through cooperation. Information is particularly suited to gift economy, as information is a nonrival good and can be gifted at practically no cost.[22][23] Facebook and other social networking tools are increasingly the object of scholarly research. Scholars in many fields have begun to investigate the impact of social-networking sites, investigating how such sites may play into issues of identity, privacy,[24] social capital, youth culture, and education.[25] Several websites are beginning to tap into the power of the social networking model for philanthropy. Such models provide a means for connecting otherwise fragmented industries and small organizations without the resources to reach a broader audience with interested users.[26] Social networks are providing a different way for individuals to communicate digitally. These communities of hypertexts allow for the sharing of information and ideas, an old concept placed in a digital environment.

In 2011, HCL Technologies conducted research that showed that 50% of British employers had banned the use of social networking sites/services during office hours.[27][28]

Features Typical features Social networking sites (SNSs) share a variety of technical features. The most basic of these are visible profiles with a list of "friends" who are also users of the site. In an article entitled "Social Network Sites: Definition, History, and Scholarship," Boyd and Ellison adopt Sunden's (2003) description of profiles as unique pages where one can "type oneself into being."[29] A profile is generated from answers to questions, such as age, location, interests, etc. Some sites allow users to upload pictures, add multimedia content or modify the look and feel of the profile. Others, e.g., Facebook, allow users to enhance their profile by adding modules or "Applications."[29] Many sites allow users to post blog entries, search for others with similar interests and compile and share lists of contacts. User profiles often have a section dedicated to comments from friends and other users. To protect user privacy, social networks typically have controls that allow users to choose who can view their profile, contact them, add them to their list of contacts, and so on.

Additional features Some social networks have additional features, such as the ability to create groups that share common interests or affiliations, upload or stream live videos, and hold discussions in forums. Geosocial networking co-opts Internet mapping services to organize user participation around geographic features and their attributes.

There is a trend towards more interoperability between social networks led by technologies such as OpenID and OpenSocial. Lately, mobile social networking has become popular. In most mobile communities, mobile phone users can now create their own profiles, make friends, participate in chat rooms, create chat rooms, hold private conversations, share photos and videos, and share blogs by using their mobile phone. Some companies provide wireless services that allow their customers to build their own mobile community and brand it; one of the most popular wireless services for social networking in North America is Facebook Mobile.

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Emerging trends As the increase in popularity of social networking is on a constant rise,[30] new uses for the technology are constantly being observed.

At the forefront of emerging trends in social networking sites is the concept of "real-time web" and "location-based."

Real-time allows users to contribute content, which is then broadcast as it is being uploaded - the concept is analogous to live radio and television broadcasts. Twitter set the trend for "real-time" services, wherein users can broadcast to the world what they are doing, or what is on their minds within a 140-character limit. Facebook followed suit with their "Live Feed" where users' activities are streamed as soon as it happens. While Twitter focuses on words, Clixtr, another real-time service, focuses on group photo sharing wherein users can update their photo streams with photos while at an event. Facebook, however, remains easily the greatest photo sharing site - Facebook application and photo aggregator Pixable estimates that Facebook will have 100 billion photos by Summer 2011.[31] Companies have begun to merge business technologies and solutions, such as cloud computing, with social networking concepts. Instead of connecting individuals based on social interest, companies are developing interactive communities that connect individuals based on shared business needs or experiences. Many provide specialized networking tools and applications that can be accessed via their websites, such as LinkedIn. Others companies, such as Monster.com, have been steadily developing a more "socialized" feel to their career center sites to harness some of the power of social networking sites. These more business related sites have their own nomenclature for the most part but the most common naming conventions are "Vocational Networking Sites" or "Vocational Media Networks", with the former more closely tied to individual networking relationships based on social networking principles.

Foursquare gained popularity as it allowed for users to "check-in" to places that they are frequenting at that moment.

Gowalla is another such service that functions in much the same way that Foursquare does, leveraging the GPS in phones to create a location-based user experience. Clixtr, though in the real-time space, is also a location-based social networking site, since events created by users are automatically geotagged, and users can view events occurring nearby through the Clixtr iPhone app. Recently, Yelp announced its entrance into the location-based social networking space through check-ins with their mobile app; whether or not this becomes detrimental to Foursquare or Gowalla is yet to be seen, as it is still considered a new space in the Internet technology industry.[32] One popular use for this new technology is social networking between businesses. Companies have found that social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter are great ways to build their brand image. According to Jody Nimetz, author of Marketing Jive,[33] there are five major uses for businesses and social media: to create brand awareness, as an online reputation management tool, for recruiting, to learn about new technologies and competitors, and as a lead generation tool to intercept potential prospects.[33] These companies are able to drive traffic to their own online sites while encouraging their consumers and clients to have discussions on how to improve or change products or services.

Social networks and science One other use that is being discussed is the use of social networks in the science communities. Julia Porter Liebeskind et al. have published a study on how new biotechnology firms are using social networking sites to share exchanges in scientific knowledge.[34] They state in their study that by sharing information and knowledge with one another, they are able to "increase both their learning and their flexibility in ways that would not be possible within a self-contained hierarchical organization." Social networking is allowing scientific groups to expand their knowledge base and share ideas, and without these new means of communicating their theories might become "isolated and irrelevant".

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Social networks and education Social networks are also being used by teachers and students as a communication tool. Because many students are already using a wide-range of social networking sites, teachers have begun to familiarize themselves with this trend and are now using it to their advantage. Teachers and professors are doing everything from creating chat-room forums and groups to extend classroom discussion to posting assignments, tests and quizzes, to assisting with homework outside of the classroom setting. Social networks are also being used to foster teacher-parent communication. These sites make it possible and more convenient for parents to ask questions and voice concerns without having to meet face-to-face. The advent of social networking platforms may also be impacting the way(s) in which learners engage with technology in general. For a number of years, Prensky's (2001) dichotomy of Digital Natives and Digital Immigrants has been considered a relatively accurate representation of the ease with which people of different ages—in particular those born before and after 1980—use technology. Prensky's theory has been largely disproved not least on account of the burgeoning popularity of social networking sites and other metaphors such as White and Le Cornu's Visitors and Residents (2011) are gaining greater currency.

The use of online social networks by libraries is also an increasingly prevalent and growing tool that is being used to communicate with more potential library users, as well as extending the services provided by individual libraries.

Social networks and grassroots organizing Social networks are being used by activists as a means of low-cost grassroots organizing. Extensive use of an array of social networking sites enabled organizers of the 2009 National Equality March to mobilize an estimated 200,000 participants to march on Washington with a cost savings of up to 85% per participant over previous methods.[35] The August 2011 England riots were similarly considered to have escalated and been fuelled by this type of grassroots organization.

Social networks and employment A final rise in social network use is being driven by college students using the services to network with professionals for internship and job opportunities. Many studies have been done on the effectiveness of networking online in a college setting, and one notable one is by Phipps Arabie and Yoram Wind published in Advances in Social Network Analysis.[36] Many schools have implemented online alumni directories which serve as makeshift social networks that current and former students can turn to for career advice. However, these alumni directories tend to suffer from an oversupply of advice-seekers and an undersupply of advice providers. One new social networking service, Ask-a-peer, aims to solve this problem by enabling advice seekers to offer modest compensation to advisers for their time.

Social network hosting service A social network hosting service is a web hosting service that specifically hosts the user creation of web-based social networking services, alongside related applications. Such services are also known as vertical social networks due to the creation of SNSes that cater to specific user interests and niches; like larger, interest-agnostic SNSes, such niche networking services may also possess the ability to create increasingly niche groups of users. An example for this is Ning.

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Social networking service

Business model Few social networks currently charge money for membership. In part, this may be because social networking is a relatively new service, and the value of using them has not been firmly established in customers' minds. Companies such as MySpace and Facebook sell online advertising on their site. Their business model is based upon large membership count, and charging for membership would be counterproductive.[37] Some believe that the deeper information that the sites have on each user will allow much better targeted advertising than any other site can currently provide.[38] Social networks operate under an autonomous business model, in which a social network's members serve dual roles as both the suppliers and the consumers of content. This is in contrast to a traditional business model, where the suppliers and consumers are distinct agents. Revenue is typically gained in the autonomous business model via advertisements, but subscription-based revenue is possible when membership and content levels are sufficiently high.[39]

Social Interaction Put simply, social networking is a way for one person to meet up with other people on the Net. That's not all though.

Some people use social networking sites for meeting new friends on the Net. Other's use it to find old friends. Then there are those who use it to find people who have the same problems or interests they have, this is called niche networking. Following this trend is the emerging trend of people meeting online to meet offline. More and more relationships and friendships are being formed online and then carried to an offline/in person setting. Experts in relationships, such as the German psychologist Erich H. Witte, say that relationships which start online are much more likely to succeed, and he goes on to say that in less than 10 years, online dating will be the most widely used way to get to know someone for a possible relationship. One such popular site accredits that's 2% of all marriages start off its site which is equal to 236 marriages a day. Other sites claim 1 in 5 relationships start online. Social networking sites play a vital role in this area as well, being able to meet someone as a "friend" and see what common interests you share and how they have built up their friend base and "likes" you can truly see a more whole picture of the person you are talking with and most sites are free instead of being pay based which allows younger people with stricter budgets to enjoy some of the same features. While not the intended or original use for these social sites a large area of their current function has stemmed from people wanting to meet other people in person and with so many of us so busy it is a fast reliable and easy way in which to do so that costs you little time and money.

New trends in social networking New companies such as ORB are creating new trends in social networking, where all information is exchanged confidentially.[40]

Issues Privacy Privacy concerns with social networking services have been raised growing concerns amongst users on the dangers of giving out too much personal information and the threat of sexual predators. Users of these services also need to be aware of data theft or viruses. However, large services, such as MySpace and Netlog, often work with law enforcement to try to prevent such incidents.

In addition, there is a perceived privacy threat in relation to placing too much personal information in the hands of large corporations or governmental bodies, allowing a profile to be produced on an individual's behavior on which decisions, detrimental to an individual, may be taken.

26

Social networking service Furthermore, there is an issue over the control of data—information that was altered or removed by the user may in fact be retained and/or passed to third parties. This danger was highlighted when the controversial social networking site Quechup harvested e-mail addresses from users' e-mail accounts for use in a spamming operation.[41] In medical and scientific research, asking subjects for information about their behaviors is normally strictly scrutinized by institutional review boards, for example, to ensure that adolescents and their parents have informed consent. It is not clear whether the same rules apply to researchers who collect data from social networking sites.

These sites often contain a great deal of data that is hard to obtain via traditional means. Even though the data are public, republishing it in a research paper might be considered invasion of privacy.[42] Privacy on social networking sites can be undermined by many factors. For example, users may disclose personal information, sites may not take adequate steps to protect user privacy, and third parties frequently use information posted on social networks for a variety of purposes. "For the Net generation, social networking sites have become the preferred forum for social interactions, from posturing and role playing to simply sounding off. However, because such forums are relatively easy to access, posted content can be reviewed by anyone with an interest in the users' personal information".[43][44][45] Following plans by the UK government to monitor traffic on social networks[46] schemes similar to E-mail jamming have been proposed for networks such as Twitter and Facebook. These would involve "friending" and "following" large numbers of random people to thwart attempts at network analysis.

Data mining Through data mining, companies are able to improve their sales and profitability. With this data, companies create customer profiles that contain customer demographics and online behavior. A recent strategy has been the purchase and production of “network analysis software”. This software is able to sort out through the influx of social networking data for any specific company.[47] Facebook has been especially important to marketing strategists.

Facebook’s controversial and new “Social Ads” program gives companies access to the millions of profiles in order to tailor their ads to a Facebook user’s own interests and hobbies. However, rather than sell actual user information, Facebook sells tracked “social actions”. That is, they track the websites a user uses outside of Facebook through a program called “Facebook Beacon”.[48]

Notifications on websites There has been a trend for social networking sites to send out only 'positive' notifications to users. For example sites such as Bebo, Facebook, and Myspace will not send notifications to users when they are removed from a person's friends list. Likewise, Bebo will send out a notification if a user is moved to the top of another user's friends list but no notification is sent if they are moved down the list.

This allows users to purge undesirables from their list extremely easily and often without confrontation since a user will rarely notice if one person disappears from their friends list. It also enforces the general positive atmosphere of the website without drawing attention to unpleasant happenings such as friends falling out, rejection and failed relationships.

Access to information Many social networking services, such as Facebook, provide the user with a choice of who can view their profile.

This prevents unauthorized user(s) from accessing their information.[49] Parents who want to access their child's MySpace or Facebook account have become a big problem for teenagers who do not want their profile seen by their parents. By making their profile private, teens can select who may see their page, allowing only people added as "friends" to view their profile and preventing unwanted viewing of the profile by parents. Most teens are constantly trying to create a structural barrier between their private life and their parents.[50]

27

Social networking service To edit information on a certain social networking service account, the social networking sites require you to login or provide a password. This prevents unauthorized user(s) from adding, changing, or removing personal information, pictures, and/or other data.

Potential for misuse The relative freedom afforded by social networking services has caused concern regarding the potential of its misuse by individual patrons. In October 2006, a fake Myspace profile created in the name of Josh Evans by Lori Janine Drew led to the suicide of Megan Meier.[51][52] The event incited global concern regarding the use of social networking services for bullying purposes.

In July 2008, a Briton, Grant Raphael, was ordered to pay a total of GBP ÂŁ22,000 (about USD $44,000) for libel and breach of privacy. Raphael had posted a fake page on Facebook purporting to be that of a former schoolfriend Matthew Firsht, with whom Raphael had fallen out in 2000. The page falsely claimed that Firsht was homosexual and that he was dishonest.

At the same time, genuine use of social networking services has been treated with suspicion on the ground of the services' misuse. In September 2008, the profile of Australian Facebook user Elmo Keep was banned by the site's administrators on the grounds that it violated the site's terms of use. Keep is one of several users of Facebook who were banned from the site on the presumption that their names aren't real, as they bear resemblance the names of characters like Sesame Street's Elmo.[53]

Risk for child safety Citizens and governments have been concerned by a misuse by child and teenagers of social networking services, in particular in relation to online sexual predators. A certain number of actions have been engaged by governments to better understand the problem and find some solutions. A 2008 panel concluded that technological fixes such as age verification and scans are relatively ineffective means of apprehending online predators.[54] In May 2010, a child pornography social networking site with hundreds of members was dismantled by law enforcement. It was deemed "the largest crimes against children case brought anywhere by anyone."[55]

Trolling A common misuse of social networking sites such as Facebook is that it is occasionally used to emotionally abuse individuals. Such actions are often referred to as trolling. It is not rare for confrontations in the real world to be translated online. Trolling can occur in many different forms, such as (but not limited to) defacement of deceased person(s) tribute pages, name calling, playing online pranks on volatile individuals and controversial comments with the intention to cause anger and cause arguments. Trolling is not to be confused with cyber-bullying.

Online bullying Online bullying, also called cyber-bullying, is a relatively common occurrence and it can often result in emotional trauma for the victim. Depending on the networking outlet, up to 39% of users admit to being “cyber-bullied�.[56] Danah Boyd, a researcher of social networks quotes a teenager in her article, Why Youth (Heart) Social Network Sites. The teenager expresses frustration towards networking sites like MySpace because it causes drama and too much emotional stress.[57] There are not many limitations as to what individuals can post when online. Individuals are given the power to post offensive remarks or pictures that could potentially cause a great amount of emotional pain for another individual.

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Interpersonal communication Interpersonal communication has been a growing issue as more and more people have turned to social networking as a means of communication. "Benniger (1987) describes how mass media has gradually replaced interpersonal communication as a socializing force. Further, social networking sites have become popular sites for youth culture to explore themselves, relationships, and share cultural artifacts".[58] Many teens and social networking users may be harming their interpersonal communication by using sites such as Facebook and MySpace. Stated by Baroness Greenfield, an Oxford University Neuroscientist, "My fear is that these technologies are infantilizing the brain into the state of small children who are attracted by buzzing noises and bright lights, who have a small attention span and who live for the moment."[59] The convenience that social network sites give users to communicate with one another can also damage their interpersonal communication. Sherry Turkle, the founder and director of the MIT Initiative on Technology and Self, stated, “Networked, we are together, but so lessened are our expectations of each other that we feel utterly alone. And there is the risk that we come to see others as objects to be accessed--and only for the parts we find useful, comforting, or amusing.”[60] Furthermore, social network sites can create insincere friendships, Turkle also noted, “They nurture friendships on social-networking sites and then wonder if they are among friends.

They become confused about companionship.”[61]

Psychological effects of social networking As social networking sites have risen in popularity over the past years, people have been spending an excessive amount of time on the Internet in general and social networking sites in specific. This has led researchers to debate the establishment of Internet addiction as an actual clinical disorder.[62] Social networking can also affect the extent to which a person feels lonely. In a Newsweek article, Johannah Cornblatt explains “Social-networking sites like Facebook and MySpace may provide people with a false sense of connection that ultimately increases loneliness in people who feel alone.” John T. Cacioppo, a neuroscientist at the University of Chicago, claims that social networking can foster feelings of sensitivity to disconnection, which can lead to loneliness.[63] However some scholars have expressed that concerns about social networking are often exaggerated and poorly researched .[64]

Patents There has been rapid growth in the number of US patent applications that cover new technologies related to social networking. The number of published applications has been growing rapidly since 2003. There are now over 3500 published applications. As many as 7000 applications may be currently on file including those that haven't been published yet.[65] Only about 400[66] of these applications have issued as patents, however, due largely to the multi-year backlog in examination of business method patents and the difficulty in getting these patent applications allowed.[67] Number of US social network patent applications

It has been reported that social networking patents are important for the published per year and patents issued per year establishment of new start-up companies.[68] It has also been reported, however, that social networking patents inhibit innovation.[69] On June 15, 2010, the United States Patent and Trademark Office awarded Amazon.com a patent for a "Social Networking System" based on its ownership of PlanetAll.[70] The patent describes a Social Networking System as A networked computer system provides various services for assisting users in locating, and establishing contact relationships with, other users. For example, in one embodiment, users can identify other users based on their affiliations with particular schools or other organizations. The system also provides a mechanism for a user to selectively establish contact relationships or connections with other users, and

Social networking service to grant permissions for such other users to view personal information of the user. The system may also include features for enabling users to identify contacts of their respective contacts. In addition, the system may automatically notify users of personal information updates made by their respective contacts.[71] The patent has garnered attention due to its similarity to the popular social networking site Facebook.[72]

Worker's rights What types of speech workers are protected from being fired for on social networking websites has been an issue for American companies with over 100 complaints as of 2011 on this topic having been made to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).[73] The National Labor Relations Act protects workers from being fired for "protected concerted activity," which prevents worker's for being fired for collective action, while allowing companies the right to fire workers for individual actions they take against the company.[73] Companies are concerned with the potential damage comments online can do to public image due to their visibility and accessibility, but despite over 100 cases being presented thus far to NLRB only 1 has led to a formal ruling, leaving uncertainty as to the boundaries of what types of speech the NLRB will ultimately put in place.[73]

Investigations Social networking services are increasingly being used in legal and criminal investigations. Information posted on sites such as MySpace and Facebook has been used by police (forensic profiling), probation, and university officials to prosecute users of said sites. In some situations, content posted on MySpace has been used in court.[74] Facebook is increasingly being used by school administrations and law enforcement agencies as a source of evidence against student users. The site, the number one online destination for college students, allows users to create profile pages with personal details. These pages can be viewed by other registered users from the same school, which often include resident assistants and campus police who have signed up for the service.[75] One UK police force has sifted pictures from Facebook and arrested some people who had been photographed in a public place holding a weapon such as a knife (having a weapon in a public place is illegal).[76]

Application domains Government applications Social networking is more recently being used by various government agencies. Social networking tools serve as a quick and easy way for the government to get the opinion of the public and to keep the public updated on their activity. The Centers for Disease Control demonstrated the importance of vaccinations on the popular children's site Whyville and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has a virtual island on Second Life where people can explore underground caves or explore the effects of global warming.[77] Likewise, NASA has taken advantage of a few social networking tools, including Twitter and Flickr. They are using these tools to aid the Review of U.S. Human Space Flight Plans Committee, whose goal it is to ensure that the nation is on a vigorous and sustainable path to achieving its boldest aspirations in space.[78]

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Business applications The use of social networking services in an enterprise context presents the potential of having a major impact on the world of business and work (Fraser & Dutta 2008).

Social networks connect people at low cost; this can be beneficial for entrepreneurs and small businesses looking to expand their contact bases. These networks often act as a customer relationship management tool for companies selling products and services. Companies can also use social networks for advertising in the form of banners and text ads. Since businesses operate globally, social networks can make it easier to keep in touch with contacts around the world.

Two examples of social networking being used for business purposes are LinkedIn.com and Youngblackprofessionals.org. LinkedIn aims to interconnect professionals. LinkedIn has over 100 million users in over 200 countries.[79] Youngblackprofessionals.org or YBP aims to do the same thing, but is targeted toward professional minorities. .[80] Another is the use of physical spaces available to members of a social network such as Hub Culture, an invitation-only social network for entrepreneurs, and other business influentials, with Pavilions in major cities such as London, UK. Having a physical presence allows members to network in the real world, as well as the virtual, adding extra business value.

Applications for social networking sites have extended toward businesses and brands are creating their own, high functioning sites, a sector known as brand networking. It is the idea a brand can build its consumer relationship by connecting their consumers to the brand image on a platform that provides them relative content, elements of participation, and a ranking or score system. Brand networking is a new way to capitalize on social trends as a marketing tool.

Dating applications Many social networks provide an online environment for people to communicate and exchange personal information for dating purposes. Intentions can vary from looking for a one time date, short-term relationships, and long-term relationships.[81] Most of these social networks, just like online dating services, require users to give out certain pieces of information.

This usually includes a user's age, gender, location, interests, and perhaps a picture. Releasing very personal information is usually discouraged for safety reasons.[82] This allows other users to search or be searched by some sort of criteria, but at the same time people can maintain a degree of anonymity similar to most online dating services. Online dating sites are similar to social networks in the sense that users create profiles to meet and communicate with others, but their activities on such sites are for the sole purpose of finding a person of interest to date. Social networks do not necessarily have to be for dating; many users simply use it for keeping in touch with friends, and colleagues.[83] However, an important difference between social networks and online dating services is the fact that online dating sites usually require a fee, where social networks are free.[84] This difference is one of the reasons the online dating industry is seeing a massive decrease in revenue due to many users opting to use social networking services instead.

Many popular online dating services such as Match.com, Yahoo Personals, and eHarmony.com are seeing a decrease in users, where social networks like MySpace and Facebook are experiencing an increase in users.[85] The number of Internet users in the U.S. that visit online dating sites has fallen from a peak of 21% in 2003 to 10% in 2006.[86] Whether its the cost of the services, the variety of users with different intentions, or any other reason, it is undeniable that social networking sites are quickly becoming the new way to find dates online.

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Educational applications The National School Boards Association reports that almost 60 percent of students who use social networking talk about education topics online, and more than 50 percent talk specifically about schoolwork. Yet the vast majority of school districts have stringent rules against nearly all forms of social networking during the school day — even though students and parents report few problem behaviors online.

Social networks focused on supporting relationships between teachers and their students are now used for learning, educator professional development, and content sharing. Ning for teachers, TermWiki, Learn Central,[87] TeachStreet and other sites are being built to foster relationships that include educational blogs, eportfolios, formal and ad hoc communities, as well as communication such as chats, discussion threads, and synchronous forums.

These sites also have content sharing and rating features.

Social networks are also emerging as online yearbooks, both public and private. One such service is MyYearbook, which allows anyone from the general public to register and connect. A new trend emerging is private label yearbooks accessible only by students, parents, and teachers of a particular school, similar to Facebook's beginning within Harvard.

Finance applications The use of virtual currency systems inside social networks create new opportunities for global finance. Hub Culture operates a virtual currency Ven used for global transactions among members, product sales[88] and financial trades in commodities and carbon credits.[89][90] In May 2010, Carbon pricing contracts were introduced to the weighted basket of currencies and commodities that determine the floating exchange value of Ven. The introduction of carbon to the calculation price of the currency made Ven the first and only currency that is linked to the environment.[91]

Medical and health applications Social networks are beginning to be adopted by healthcare professionals as a means to manage institutional knowledge, disseminate peer to peer knowledge and to highlight individual physicians and institutions. The advantage of using a dedicated medical social networking site is that all the members are screened against the state licensing board list of practitioners.[92] The role of social networks is especially of interest to pharmaceutical companies who spend approximately "32 percent of their marketing dollars" attempting to influence the opinion leaders of social networks.[93] A new trend is emerging with social networks created to help its members with various physical and mental ailments.[94] For people suffering from life altering diseases, PatientsLikeMe offers its members the chance to connect with others dealing with similar issues and research patient data related to their condition. For alcoholics and addicts, SoberCircle gives people in recovery the ability to communicate with one another and strengthen their recovery through the encouragement of others who can relate to their situation. DailyStrength is also a website that offers support groups for a wide array of topics and conditions, including the support topics offered by PatientsLikeMe and SoberCircle.

Some social networks aim to encourage healthy lifestyles in their users. SparkPeople offers community and social networking tools for peer support during weight loss. Fitocracy is focused on exercise, enabling users to share their own workouts and comment on those of other users.

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Social and political applications Social networking sites have recently showed a value in social and political movements. In the Egyptian revolution, Facebook and Twitter both played a pivotal role in keeping people connected to the revolt. Egyptian activist have credited social networking sites with providing a platform for planning protest and sharing news from Tahrir Square in real time. By presenting a platform for thousands of people to instantaneously share videos of mainly events featuring brutality, social networking proves to be a vital tool in revolutions.[95]

Open source software There are a number of projects that aim to develop free and open source software to use for social networking services. The projects include Anahita Social Networking Engine,[96] Diaspora, Appleseed Project,[97] OneSocialWeb[98] and StatusNet. These technologies are often referred to as Social engine or Social networking engine software.

Market share According to ComScore, up to end of November 2011:[99] Worldwide

Unique Visitors (000) Percentage

Facebook.com 792,999 Twitter.com

167,903

Linkedln.com 94,823

55.1 % 11.7 % 6.6 %

Google Plus

66,756

4.6 %

MySpace

61,037

4.2 %

Others

255.539

17.8 %

1,438,877

100 %

Total

In the media • In December 2010, Time Magazine named Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg as person of the year.

• The Social Network - a 2010 drama biographical film about the origin of Facebook.

References • Boyd, Danah; Ellison, Nicole (2007). "Social Network Sites: Definition, History, and Scholarship" [100]. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication 13 (1).

• Boyd, Danah (2006). "Friends, Friendsters, and MySpace Top 8: Writing Community Into Being on Social Network Sites" [101]. First Monday 11 (12).

• Ellison, Nicole B.; Steinfield, Charles; Lampe, Cliff (2007). "The benefits of Facebook "friends": Exploring the relationship between college students' use of online social networks and social capital" [102]. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication 12 (4).

• Fraser, Matthew; Dutta, Soumitra (2008). Throwing Sheep in the Boardroom: How Online Social Networking Will Transform Your Life, Work and World [103]. Wiley. ISBN 978-0470740149.

• Mazer, J. P.; Murphy, R. E.; Simonds, C. J. (2007). "I'll See You On "Facebook": The Effects of Computer-Mediated Teacher Self-Disclosure on Student Motivation, Affective Learning, and Classroom Climate" [104] . Communication Education 56 (1): 1–17. doi:10.1080/03634520601009710.

• Prensky, Marc (2001). "Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants" [105]. On the Horizon 9 (5).

Social networking service • White, D.S.; Le Cornu, A. (2011). "Visitors and Residents: A New Typology for Online Engagement" [106]. First Monday 16 (9).

Notes [1] "Nexopia stats on" (http:/ / www. alexa. com/ data/ details/ traffic_details/ nexopia. com). Alexa.com. . Retrieved 2011-03-13.

[2] Bebo (http:/ / www. techcrunch. com/ 2007/ 08/ 20/ windows-live-messaging-coming-to-bebo/ ) - most popular of its kind in UK,(August 2007): TechCrunch website. Retrieved on January 15, 2008.

[3] German Xing Plans Invasion of LinkedIn Turf (http:/ / www. marketingvox. com/ german-xing-plans-invasion-of-linkedin-turf-030727/ ): article from the MarketingVox website.

[4] Elevator Pitch: Why Badoo wants to be the next word in social networking (http:/ / blogs. guardian. co. uk/ digitalcontent/ 2008/ 03/ elevator_pitch_why_badoo_wants. html), Mark Sweney , The Guardian, December 24, 2007 , Accessed March 2008.

[5] Hi5 popular in Europe (http:/ / www. pbs. org/ mediashift/ 2007/ 06/ try_try_againorkut_friendster. html): article from the PBS MediaShift website. Retrieved on January 18, 2008.

[6] "Why Users Love Orkut" (http:/ / usability. about. com/ od/ websiteaudiences/ a/ Orkut. htm) - 55% of users are Brazilian: About.com website. Retrieved on January 15, 2008, [7] USA today feb 27, 2012 page 6B "Airlines connect social flyers" [8] finance.yahoo.com (http:/ / finance. yahoo. com/ family-home/ article/ 112952/ family-that-tweets-wsj?mod=family-kids_parents) [9] The Network Nation 2 by S. Roxanne Hiltz and Murray Turoff (Addison-Wesley, 1978, 1993) [10] Michael Hauben, Ronda Hauben, and Thomas Truscott (1997-04-27). Netizens: On the History and Impact of Usenet and the Internet (Perspectives). Wiley-IEEE Computer Society P. ISBN 0-8186-7706-6 [11] Katie Hafner, The WELL: A Story of Love, Death and Real Life in the Seminal Online Community (2001) Carroll & Graf Publishers ISBN 0-7867-0846-8 [12] Cotriss, David (2008-05-29). "Where are they now: TheGlobe.com" (http:/ / www. thestandard. com/ news/ 2008/ 05/ 29/ where-are-they-now-theglobe-com). The Industry Standard. .

[13] Romm-Livermore, C. & Setzekorn, K. (2008). Social Networking Communities and E-Dating Services: Concepts and Implications. IGI Global. p.271 [14] mcmc.indiana.edu (http:/ / jcmc. indiana. edu/ vol13/ issue1/ boyd. ellison. html) [15] longislandpress.com (http:/ / www. longislandpress. com/ 2010/ 09/ 30/ from-friendster-to-myspace-to-facebook-the-evolution-and-deaths-of-social-networks/ ) [16] bnet.com (http:/ / www. bnet. com/ videos/ gibby-miller-inventing-the-social-network/ 239462) [17] Knapp, E. (2006). A Parent's Guide to Myspace. DayDream Publishers. ISBN 1-4196-4146-8 [18] Steve Rosenbush (2005). News Corp.'s Place in MySpace (http:/ / www. businessweek. com/ technology/ content/ jul2005/ tc20050719_5427_tc119. htm), BusinessWeek, July 19, 2005. (MySpace Page Views figures) [19] "Social graph-iti" (http:/ / www. economist. com/ business/ displaystory. cfm?story_id=9990635): Facebook's social network graphing: article from The Economist's website. Retrieved on January 19, 2008.

[20] http:/ / blog. compete. com/ 2009/ 02/ 09/ facebook-myspace-twitter-social-network/ [21] "Social networking goes global" (http:/ / www. comscore. com/ press/ release. asp?press=1555). Reston, VAR: comscore.com. 2007. .

Retrieved September 9, 2007.

[22] Mackaay, Ejan (1990). "Economic Incentives in Markets for Information and Innovation". Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy 13 (909): 867–910.

[23] Heylighen, Francis (2007). "Why is Open Access Development so Successful?". In B. Lutterbeck, M. Barwolff, and R. A. Gehring. Open Source Jahrbuch. Lehmanns Media.

[24] Gross, R and Acquisti, A (2005). Information Revelation and Privacy in Online Social Networks (The Facebook case) (http:/ / www. heinz. cmu. edu/ ~acquisti/ papers/ privacy-facebook-gross-acquisti. pdf). Pre-proceedings version. ACM Workshop on Privacy in the Electronic Society (WPES) [25] danah boyd, (2007), Why Youth (Heart) Social Network Sites (http:/ / www. mitpressjournals. org/ doi/ pdf/ 10. 1162/ dmal.

9780262524834. 119), MacArthur Foundation Series on Digital Learning - Youth, Identity, and Digital Media Volume (ed. David Buckingham). MIT Press [26] "A New Generation Reinvents Philanthropy" (http:/ / online. wsj. com/ public/ article/ SB118765256378003494. html), Wall Street Journal website.

[27] "Half of employees banned from Facebook at work" (http:/ / www. telegraph. co. uk/ technology/ facebook/ 8506380/ Half-of-employees-banned-from-Facebook-at-work. html). The Daily Telegraph (London). 2011-05-11. .

[28] news.searchofficespace.com (http:/ / news. searchofficespace. com/ sos-news/ 50-of-british-employers-have-banned-facebook-from-the-office-what-do-you-think. html) [29] boyd, D. M., & Ellison, N. B. (2007). Social Network Sites: Definition, History, and Scholarship (http:/ / jcmc. indiana. edu/ vol13/ issue1/ boyd. ellison. html). Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 13(1), article 11. Retrieved on: 2012-01-30.

[30] Search for "e-commerce, social networking" (http:/ / www. google. com/ trends?q=e-commerce,+ social+ networking& ctab=0& geo=all& date=all& sort=1). Google Trends. Accessed 26 October 2009.

34

Social networking service [31] mashable.com (http:/ / mashable. com/ 2011/ 02/ 14/ facebook-photo-infographic/ ?asid=c228f21b) [32] MG Siegler Jan 15, 2010 (2010-01-15). "Yelp Enables Check-Ins On Its iPhone App; Foursquare, Gowalla Ousted As Mayors" (http:/ / www. techcrunch. com/ 2010/ 01/ 15/ yelp-iphone-app-4-check-ins/ ). Techcrunch.com. . Retrieved 2011-03-13.

[33] Nimetz, Jody. "Jody Nimetz on Emerging Trends in B2B Social Networking" (http:/ / www. marketing-jive. com/ 2007/ 11/ jody-nimetz-on-emerging-trends-in-b2b. html). Marketing Jive, November 18, 2007. Accessed 26 October 2009.

[34] Liebeskind, Julia Porter, et al. "Social Networks, Learning, and Flexibility: Sourcing Scientific Knowledge in New Biotechnology Firms" (http:/ / www. jstor. org/ pss/ 2635102). Organization Science, Vol. 7, No. 4 (July–August 1996), pp. 428–443.

[35] Carlson, Ben (April 28, 2010). "March 2.0: Success of the National Equality March relied on social media tools" (http:/ / www. mediabullseye. com/ mb/ 2010/ 04/ march-2-0-success-of-the-national-equality-march-relied-on-social-media-tools. html#idc-container).

Media Bullseye. . Retrieved 2010-04-29.

[36] Arabie, Phipps, and Yoram Wind. "Marketing and Social Networks" (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?hl=en& lr=& id=C6juDKDmvCcC& oi=fnd& pg=PR9& dq=social+ networking& ots=Aw9oXw-AtG& sig=CPAZMmPPnAhSZzAu0lh-k4iUXt4#PRA1-PA254,M1). In Stanley Wasserman and Joseph Galaskiewicz, Advances in Social Network Analysis: Research in the Social and Behavioral Sciences. Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Sage Publications, 1994, pp. 254–273. ISBN 0-8039-4302-4 [37] Chambers, Clem. "Murdoch Will Earn a Payday from MySpace" (http:/ / www. forbes. com/ technology/ ebusiness/ 2006/ 03/ 29/ microsoft-myspace-newscorp-in_cc_0330soapbox_inl. html). Forbes, March 30, 2006. Accessed 26 October 2009.

[38] Tynan, Dan. "As Applications Blossom, Facebook Is Open for Business" (http:/ / www. wired. com/ techbiz/ startups/ news/ 2007/ 07/ facebook_platform) Wired, July 30, 2007. Accessed 26 October 2009.

[39] Flor, Nick V. (2000). Web Business Engineering: Using Offline Activities to Drive Internet Strategies. Reading, Mass.: Addison-Wesley.

ISBN 0-201-60468-X; Flor, Nick V. "Week 1: The Business Model Approach to Web Site Design" (http:/ / www. informit. com/ articles/ article. aspx?p=20882). InformIT, March 2, 2001. Accessed 26 October 2009. Description of the autonomous business model used in social networking services.

[40] Tynan, Dan. "Understanding ORB." (http:/ / www. useorb. com/ overview. php) ORB, December 31, 2011. Accessed 31 December 2011.

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[54] Enhancing Child Safety and Online Technologies (http:/ / cyber. law. harvard. edu/ pubrelease/ isttf/ ). Internet Safety Technical Task Force, Final Report of the Internet Safety Technical Task Force to the Multi-State Working Group on Social Networking of State Attorneys General of the United States. 2008 (published 31 December 2008). ; Mangu-Ward, Katherine (May 2009). "MySpace = Safe Space". Reason 41 (1): 16.

[55] Wilson, Charles (May 27, 2010). Child porn 'social networking site' busted by feds (http:/ / www. washingtonpost. com/ wp-dyn/ content/ article/ 2010/ 05/ 27/ AR2010052700559. html). Associated Press.

[56] Computer Science Illuminated [57] Boyd, Danah. "Why Youth (Heart) Social Networking Sites: The Role of Networked Publics in Teenage Social Life" (http:/ / eres. ucsc. edu/ eres/ coursepage. aspx?cid=3840& page=docs#). eres.ucsc.edu. .

[58] "A Privacy Paradox" (http:/ / firstmonday. org/ htbin/ cgiwrap/ bin/ ojs/ index. php/ fm/ article/ viewArticle/ 1394/ 1312#note4). .

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Social networking service [59] Derbyshire, David (24 February 2009). "Social websites harm children's brains: Chilling warning to parents from top neuroscientist" (http:/ / www. dailymail. co. uk/ news/ article-1153583/ Social-websites-harm-childrens-brains-Chilling-warning-parents-neuroscientist. html). Daily Mail (London). .

[60] Turkle, Sherry (2011). Alone Together: Why We Expect More from Technology and Less from Each Other. Basic Books. p. 154.

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[61] Turkle, Sherry (2011). Alone Together: Why We Expect More from Technology and Less from Each Other. Basic Books. p. 17.

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[62] "CBS "Social Networking: An Internet Addiction?", CBS News, June 24, 2008" (http:/ / www. cbsnews. com/ stories/ 2008/ 06/ 24/ earlyshow/ main4205009. shtml?tag=contentMain;contentBody). cbsnews.com. 2008-06-24. . Retrieved 2011-05-13.

[63] "Cornblatt, Johannah, "Lonely Planet", Newsweek, August 21, 2009" (http:/ / www. newsweek. com/ 2009/ 08/ 20/ lonely-planet. html). newsweek.com. 2009-08-29. . Retrieved 2011-05-13.

[64] "Magid, Larry, "Is there really 'Facebook depression?'"" (http:/ / news. cnet. com/ 8301-19518_3-20048148-238. html). CNET. 2011-03-29. . Retrieved 2011-10-18.

[65] "Mark Nowotarski, "Don't Steal My Avatar! Challenges of Social Network Patents, IP Watchdog, January 23, 2011" (http:/ / ipwatchdog. com/ 2011/ 01/ 23/ donâ t-steal-my-avatar-challenges-of-social-networking-patents/ id=14531/ ). Ipwatchdog.com. . Retrieved 2011-03-13.

[66] "USPTO search on issued patents mentioning "social network"" (http:/ / patft. uspto. gov/ netacgi/ nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2& Sect2=HITOFF& u=/ netahtml/ PTO/ search-adv. htm& r=0& p=1& f=S& l=50& Query=spec/ "social+ network"& d=PTXT).

Patft.uspto.gov. . Retrieved 2011-03-13.

[67] "Nowotarski, Mark "Reducing Patent Backlog and Prosecution Costs Using PAIR data", IP Watchdog, August 16, 2010" (http:/ / ipwatchdog. com/ 2010/ 08/ 16/ reducing-patent-backlog-prosecution-costs-using-pair-data/ id=12108/ ). Ipwatchdog.com. . Retrieved 2011-03-13.

[68] Added by Mikk Putk on July 30, 2009 at 6:48am View Videos (2009-07-30). "News 12 "On the Money" interview of Mark Nowotarski, July 30, 2009" (http:/ / ipestonia. ning. com/ video/ patents-on-social-media). Ipestonia.ning.com. . Retrieved 2011-03-13.

[69] "USPTO Lets Amazon Patent the Social Networking System" (http:/ / yro. slashdot. org/ story/ 10/ 06/ 16/ 2233230/ USPTO-Lets-Amazon-Patent-the-Social-Networking-System?from=twitter). yro.slashdot.org. 2010-06-16. . Retrieved 2011-03-13.

[70] Gold, Kimberly. "Amazon Secures Patent For Social Networking System" (http:/ / blogs. forbes. com/ docket/ 2010/ 06/ 17/ amazon-secures-patent-for-social-networking-system/ ). Forbes. .

[71] US Patent and Trademark Office (http:/ / patft. uspto. gov/ netacgi/ nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1& Sect2=HITOFF& d=PALL& p=1& u=/ netahtml/ PTO/ srchnum. htm& r=1& f=G& l=50& s1=7,739,139. PN. & OS=PN/ 7,739,139& RS=PN/ 7,739,139) Patent number 7,739,139 [72] "Network World" (http:/ / www. networkworld. com/ news/ 2010/ 061710-amazon-social-network-patent. html). Network World. .

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[73] "Facebook policies tricky for employers, workers" (http:/ / www. japantoday. com/ category/ technology/ view/ facebook-policies-tricky-for-employers-workers). japantoday.com. Japan Today. . Retrieved 28 September 2011.

[74] "MySpace exposes sex predators" (http:/ / www. news. com. au/ heraldsun/ story/ 0,21985,,00. html), use of its content in the courtroom: Herald and Weekly Times (Australia) website. Retrieved on January 19, 2008.

[75] "Getting booked by Facebook" (http:/ / www. jsonline. com/ story/ index. aspx?id=670380), courtesy of campus police: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel website. Retrieved on January 19, 2008.

[76] "Police use Facebook to identify weapon carriers" (http:/ / www. journal-online. co. uk/ article/ 5410-police-use-facebook-to-identify-weapon-carriers) The Journal (Edinburgh) website. Retrieved on May 11, 2009 [77] "Government Agencies Establishing Presence on Social-Networking Sites" (http:/ / www. itbusinessedge. com/ topics/ reader. aspx?oss=37848). Itbusinessedge.com. . Retrieved 2011-03-13.

[78] "OSTP Press Release Announcing Review (pdf, 50k)" (http:/ / www. nasa. gov/ pdf/ 358006main_OSTP Press Release. pdf) (PDF). .

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[79] "Latest LinkedIn Facts" (http:/ / press. linkedin. com/ about). Press.linkedin.com. . Retrieved 2011-03-13.

[80] "Terms of Joining YoungBlackProfessionals.org" (http:/ / www. youngblackprofessionals. org/ index. php?page=terms). . Retrieved 2011-12-14.

[81] MySpace, Facebook Add Opportunity for Love, Trouble to Online Dating (http:/ / www. foxnews. com/ story/ 0,2933,396461,00. html), FoxNews.com website.

[82] MySpace Adds a Security Monitor (http:/ / www. npr. org/ templates/ story/ story. php?storyId=5336688), NPR.com website.

[83] Online Dating: Can Social Networks Cut In? (http:/ / www. internetnews. com/ ec-news/ article. php/ 3659911), internetnews.com website.

[84] "Online Dating vs. Social Networking – Which Will Emerge as Premier Matchmaker?" (http:/ / localtechwire. com/ business/ local_tech_wire/ opinion/ story/ 2449164/ ). localtechwire.com. .

[85] Social networks vs. dating sites Commentary: Fragmenting may save online dating sites (http:/ / www. marketwatch. com/ news/ story/ story. aspx?guid={4640E6FF-17B8-40D5-901C-098EE74B03DD}), marketwatch.com website.

[86] Seeking Love Around The Web (http:/ / www. forbes. com/ 2007/ 12/ 20/ online-dating-love-tech-personal-cx_wt_1221dating. html), Forbes.com website.

[87] learncentral.org [88] Wall street journal blog article about Ven (http:/ / blogs. wsj. com/ economics/ 2009/ 09/ 09/ the-currency-revolution/ ) [89] finextra.com (http:/ / www. finextra. com/ news/ fullstory. aspx?newsitemid=22475)

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Social networking service [90] blog.americancarbonregistry.org (http:/ / blog. americancarbonregistry. org/ redd/ american-carbon-registry-offsets-retired-ven-carbon-transaction/ ) [91] hubculture.com (http:/ / www. hubculture. com/ groups/ 237/ news/ 486/ ) [92] "Social Networking: Now Professionally Ready" (http:/ / www. primarypsychiatry. com/ aspx/ articledetail. aspx?articleid=975). primarypsychiatry.com. .

[93] "Social Networks Impact the Drugs Physicians Prescribe According to Stanford Business School Research" (http:/ / www. medadnews. com/ News/ index. cfm?articleid=424455). medadnews.com. .

[94] Comprehensive listing of medical applications using social networking (http:/ / www. doseofdigital. com/ healthcare-pharma-social-media-wiki/ ) via Dose of Digital [95] Sutter, John D. (21 Feb 2011). "The faces of Egypt's 'Revolution 2.0'" (http:/ / www. cnn. com/ 2011/ TECH/ innovation/ 02/ 21/ egypt. internet. revolution/ index. html). CNN.com. . Retrieved 13 May 2011.

[96] Anahita Project. "The Anahita Social Networking Engine" (http:/ / www. anahitapolis. com). anahitapolis.com. . Retrieved 2011-01-18.

[97] The Appleseed Project. "The Appleseed Project - Open Source Social Networking" (http:/ / opensource. appleseedproject. org).

Opensource.appleseedproject.org. . Retrieved 2011-03-13.

[98] "Creating a free, open, and decentralized social networking platform" (http:/ / onesocialweb. org/ ). OneSocialWeb. . Retrieved 2011-03-13.

[99] "ComScore: Google+ Grows Worldwide Users From 65 Million In October To 67 Million In November" (http:/ / techcrunch. com/ 2011/ 12/ 22/ googlesplus/ ?utm_source=feedburner& utm_medium=feed& utm_campaign=Feed:+ Techcrunch+ (TechCrunch)). December 22, 2011. .

[100] http:/ / jcmc. indiana. edu/ vol13/ issue1/ boyd. ellison. html [101] http:/ / www. firstmonday. org/ issues/ issue11_12/ boyd/ index. html [102] http:/ / jcmc. indiana. edu/ vol12/ issue4/ ellison. html [103] http:/ / books. google. com/ ?id=SP92NwAACAAJ [104] http:/ / www. informaworld. com/ smpp/ ftinterface~content=a769651179~fulltext=713240930 [105] http:/ / www. marcprensky. com/ writing/ Prensky%20-%20Digital%20Natives,%20Digital%20Immigrants%20-%20Part1. pdf [106] http:/ / firstmonday. org/

Further reading • Alemán, Ana M. Martínez; Wartman, Katherine Lynk, "Online social networking on campus: understanding what matters in student culture" (http://books.google.com/books?id=GH4KOM3MS-sC&printsec=frontcover), New York and London : Routledge, 1st edition, 2009. ISBN 0-415-99019-X • Barham, Nick, Disconnected: Why our kids are turning their backs on everything we thought we knew, 1st ed., Ebury Press, 2004. ISBN 0-09-189586-3 • Baron, Naomi S., Always on : language in an online and mobile world (http://books.google.com/ books?id=X8-gaJM6NUIC&printsec=frontcover), Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press, 2008. ISBN 978-0-19-531305-5 • Cockrell, Cathy, "Plumbing the mysterious practices of 'digital youth': In first public report from a 'seminal' study, UC Berkeley scholars shed light on kids' use of Web 2.0 tools" (http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/ releases/2008/04/28_digitalyouth.shtml), UC Berkeley News, University of California, Berkeley, NewsCenter, 28 April 2008 • Kelsey, Todd (2010), Social Networking Spaces: From Facebook to Twitter and Everything In Between (http:// books.google.ca/books?id=1EgTu8fFMJgC&lpg=PP1&ots=HUuksBAE9m&dq=Social Networking Spaces: From Facebook to Twitter and Everything In Between&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q&f=true), Springer-Verlag, ISBN 9781430225966 • Davis, Donald Carrington, "MySpace Isn't Your Space: Expanding the Fair Credit Reporting Act to Ensure Accountability and Fairness in Employer Searches of Online Social Networking Services" (http://www.law.ku. edu/publications/journal/pdf/v16n2/davis.pdf), 16 Kan. J.L. & Pub. Pol'y 237 (2007).

• Else, Liz; Turkle, Sherry. "Living online: I'll have to ask my friends" (http://web.mit.edu/sturkle/www/ pdfsforstwebpage/ST_Living Online.pdf), New Scientist, issue 2569, 20 September 2006. (interview) • Glaser, Mark, Your Guide to Social Networking Online (http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2007/08/ digging_deeperyour_guide_to_so_1.html)," PBS MediaShift, August 2007 • Powers, William, Hamlet’s Blackberry : a practical philosophy for building a good life in the digital age, 1st ed., New York : Harper, 2010. ISBN 978-0-06-168716-7

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Social networking service

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• Video on the History of social networks by WikiLecture (http://wikilecture.org/Social_network_service) • C. Infant Louis Richards , "Advanced Techniques to overcome privacy issues and SNS threats" (http:// rspublication.com/ijam/oct 11pdf/1.pdf) October, 2011

Network effect In economics and business, a network effect (also called network externality or demand-side economies of scale) is the effect that one user of a good or service has on the value of that product to other people.

When network effect is present, the value of a product or service is dependent on the number of others using it.

Overview The classic example is the telephone. The more people own telephones, the more valuable the telephone is to each owner. This creates a positive externality because a user may purchase a telephone without intending to create value for other users, but does so in any case. Online social networks work in the same way, with sites like Twitter, Facebook, and Google+ being more useful the more users join.

The expression "network effect" is applied most commonly to positive network externalities as in the case of the telephone. Negative network externalities can also occur, where more users make a product less valuable, but are more commonly referred to as "congestion" (as in traffic congestion or network congestion).

Over time, positive network effects can create a bandwagon effect as the network becomes more valuable and more people join, in a positive feedback loop.

Origins

Diagram showing the network effect in a few simple phone networks. The lines represent potential calls between phones.

Network effects were a central theme in the arguments of Theodore Vail, the first post patent president of Bell Telephone, in gaining a monopoly on US telephone services. In 1908, when he presented the concept in Bell's annual report, there were over 4000 local and regional telephone exchanges, most of which were eventually merged into the Bell System. The economics of network effects were presented in a paper by Bell employee N. Lytkins in 1917.

The economic theory of the network effect was advanced significantly between 1985 and 1995 by researchers Michael L. Katz, Carl Shapiro, Joseph Farrell and Garth Saloner.[1] Network effects were popularized by Robert Metcalfe, stated as the Metcalfe's law. Metcalfe was one of the co-inventors of Ethernet and a co-founder of the company 3Com. In selling the product, Metcalfe argued that customers needed Ethernet cards to grow above a certain critical mass if they were to reap the benefits of their network.[2] According to Metcalfe, the rationale behind the sale of networking cards was that (1) the cost of the network was directly proportional to the number of cards installed, but (2) the value of the network was proportional to the square of the number of users. This was expressed algebraically as having a cost of N, and a value of N². While the actual

Network effect numbers behind this definition were never firm, the concept allowed customers to share access to expensive resources like disk drives and printers, send e-mail, and access the Internet.

Rod Beckstrom presented a mathematical model for describing networks that are in a state of positive network effect at BlackHat and Defcon in 2009 and also presented the "inverse network effect" with an economic model for defining it as well.[3]

Benefits Network effects become significant after a certain subscription percentage has been achieved, called critical mass. At the critical mass point, the value obtained from the good or service is greater than or equal to the price paid for the good or service. As the value of the good is determined by the user base, this implies that after a certain number of people have subscribed to the service or purchased the good, additional people will subscribe to the service or purchase the good due to the value exceeding the price.

A key business concern must then be how to attract users prior to reaching critical mass. One way is to rely on extrinsic motivation, such as a payment, a fee waiver, or a request for friends to sign up. A more natural strategy is to build a system that has enough value without network effects, at least to early adopters. Then, as the number of users increases, the system becomes even more valuable and is able to attract a wider user base.

Beyond critical mass, the increasing number of subscribers generally cannot continue indefinitely. After a certain point, most networks become either congested or saturated, stopping future uptake. Congestion occurs due to overuse. The applicable analogy is that of a telephone network. While the number of users is below the congestion point, each additional user adds additional value to every other customer. However, at some point the addition of an extra user exceeds the capacity of the existing system. After this point, each additional user decreases the value obtained by every other user. In practical terms, each additional user increases the total system load, leading to busy signals, the inability to get a dial tone, and poor customer support. The next critical point is where the value obtained again equals the price paid. The network will cease to grow at this point, and the system must be enlarged. The congestion point may be larger than the market size. New Peer-to-peer technological models may always defy congestion. Peer-to-peer systems, or "P2P," are networks designed to distribute load among their user pool. This theoretically allows true P2P networks to scale indefinitely. The P2P based telephony service Skype benefits greatly from this effect (though market saturation will still occur).

Network effects are commonly mistaken for economies of scale, which result from business size rather than interoperability. To help clarify the distinction, people speak of demand side vs. supply side economies of scale.

Classical economies of scale are on the production side, while network effects arise on the demand side. Network effects are also mistaken for economies of scope.

The network effect has a lot of similarities with the description of phenomenon in reinforcing positive feedback loops described in system dynamics. System dynamics could be used as a modelling method to describe phenomena such as word of mouth and Bass model of marketing.

Technology lifecycle If some existing technology or company whose benefits are largely based on network effects starts to lose market share against a challenger such as a disruptive technology or open standards based competition, the benefits of network effects will reduce for the incumbent, and increase for the challenger. In this model, a tipping point is eventually reached at which the network effects of the challenger dominate those of the former incumbent, and the incumbent is forced into an accelerating decline, whilst the challenger takes over the incumbent's former position.

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Network effect

Lock-in Not surprisingly network economics became a hot topic after the diffusion of the Internet across academia. Most people know only of Metcalfe's law as part of network effects. Network effects are notorious for causing lock-in with the most-cited examples being Microsoft products and the QWERTY keyboard.[4] Network effects are a source of, but distinct from, lock-in. Lock-in can result from network effects, and network effects generate increasing returns that are associated with lock-in. However, the presence of a network effect does not guarantee that lock-in will result. For example, if the network standards are open, enabling competitive implementation by different vendors, there is no vendor lock-in. One example of this would be email, which has a considerable network effect but there is interoperability between different email providers.

Lock-in can also result because users perceive that their switching costs do not cover the value of switching to the new service. For example, relationships developed in one service do not transfer to the new service. In other words, you are not willing to use a possibly better service because you have vested data in the service you are locked into.

Types of network effects There are many ways to classify networks effects. One popular segmentation views network effects as being of four kinds[5] • Two-sided network effects: An increase in usage by one set of users increases the value to and participation of a complementary and distinct set of users, and vice versa. An example is developers choosing to code for an operating system with many users, with users choosing to adopt an operating system with many developers. This is a special case of a two-sided market.[6] • Direct network effects: An increase in usage leads to a direct increase in value for other users. For example, telephone systems, fax machines, and social networks all imply direct contact among users. In two-sided networks, a direct network effect is called a same-side network effect. An example is online gamers who benefit from participation of other gamers as distinct from how they benefit from game developers.

• Indirect network effects: Increases in usage of one product or network spawn increases in the value of a complementary product or network, which can in turn increase the value of the original. Examples of complementary goods include software (such as an Office suite for operating systems) and DVDs (for DVD players). This is why Windows and Linux might compete not just for users, but for software developers.[7] This is more accurately called a cross-side network effect in order to distinguish network benefits that cross distinct markets.[8] • Local network effects: The structure of an underlying social network affects who benefits from whom. For example, a good displays local network effects when rather than being influenced by an increase in the size of a product's user base in general, each consumer is influenced directly by the decisions of only a typically small subset of other consumers, for instance those he or she is "connected" to via an underlying social or business network.[9] Instant messaging is an example of a product that displays local network effects.

Additionally, there are two sources of economic value that are relevant when analyzing products that display network effects: • Inherent value: I derive value from my use of the product • Network value: I derive value from other people's use of the product

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Network effect

Negative network effects There are negative network effects beyond lock-in. • Congestion occurs when the efficiency of a network decreases as more people use it, and this reduces the value to people already using it. Traffic congestion that overloads the freeway and network congestion over limited bandwidth both display negative network externalities.

Open versus closed standards In communication and information technologies, open standards and interfaces are often developed through the participation of multiple companies and are usually perceived to provide mutual benefit. But, in cases in which the relevant communication protocols or interfaces are closed standards the network effect can give the company controlling those standards monopoly power. The Microsoft corporation is widely seen by computer professionals as maintaining its monopoly through these means. One observed method Microsoft uses to put the network effect to its advantage is called Embrace, extend and extinguish.

Mirabilis is an Israeli start-up which pioneered instant messaging (IM) and was bought by America Online. By giving away their ICQ product for free and preventing interoperability between their client software and other products, they were able to temporarily dominate the market for instant messaging. Because of the network effect, new IM users gained much more value by choosing to use the Mirabilis system (and join its large network of users) than they would using a competing system. As was typical for that era, the company never made any attempt to generate profits from their dominant position before selling the company.

Examples Financial exchanges Stock exchanges and derivatives exchanges feature a network effect. Market liquidity is a major determinant of transaction cost in the sale or purchase of a security, as a bid-ask spread exists between the price at which a purchase can be done versus the price at which the sale of the same security can be done. As the number of buyers and sellers on an exchange increases, liquidity increases, and transaction costs decrease. This then attracts a larger number of buyers and sellers to the exchange. See, for example, the work of Steve Wunsch (1999).[10] The network advantage of financial exchanges is apparent in the difficulty that startup exchanges have in dislodging a dominant exchange. For example, the Chicago Board of Trade has retained overwhelming dominance of trading in US Treasury Bond futures despite the startup of Eurex US trading of identical futures contracts. Similarly, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange has maintained a dominance in trading of Eurobond interest rate futures despite a challenge from Euronext.Liffe.

Software There are very strong network effects operating in the market for widely used computer software.

Take, for example, Microsoft Office. For many people choosing an office suite, prime considerations include how valuable having learned that office suite will prove to potential employers, and how well the software interoperates with other users. That is, since learning to use an office suite takes many hours, they want to invest that time learning the office suite that will make them most attractive to potential employers (or consulting clients, etc.), and they also want to be able to share documents. (Additionally, an example of an indirect network effect in this case is the notable similarity in user-interfaces and operability menus of most new software - since that similarity directly translates into less time spent learning new environments, therefore potentially greater acceptance and adoption of those products.)

Similarly, finding already-trained employees is a big concern for employers when deciding which office suite to purchase or standardize on. The lack of cross-platform user-interface standards results in a situation in which one

41

Network effect firm is in control of almost 100% of the market.

Microsoft Windows is a further example of network effect. The most-vaunted advantage of Windows, and that most publicised by Microsoft, is that Windows is compatible with the widest range of computer hardware and software.

Although this claim is justified, it is in reality the result of network effect: hardware and software manufacturers ensure that their products are compatible with Windows in order to have access to the large market of Windows users. Thus, Windows is popular because it is well supported, but is well supported because it is popular.

However, network effects need not lead to market dominance by one firm, when there are standards which allow multiple firms to interoperate, thus allowing the network externalities to benefit the entire market. This is true for the case of x86-based personal computer hardware, in which there are extremely strong market pressures to interoperate with pre-existing standards, but in which no one firm dominates in the market. Also, it is true for the development of enterprise software applications where the Internet (HTTP), databases (SQL), and to a moderate degree, service-oriented message buses (SOA) have become common interfaces. Further up the development chain there are network effects as well in language back-end base platforms (JVM, CLR, LLVM), programming models (FP, OOP) and languages themselves.[11]

Telecommunications The same holds true for the market for long-distance telephone service within the United States. In fact, the existence of these types of networks discourages dominance of the market by one company, as it creates pressures which work against one company attempting to establish a proprietary protocol or to even distinguish itself by means of product differentiation.

Web sites Many web sites also feature a network effect. One example is web marketplaces and exchanges, in that the value of the marketplace to a new user is proportional to the number of other users in the market. For example, eBay would not be a particularly useful site if auctions were not competitive. However, as the number of users grows on eBay, auctions grow more competitive, pushing up the prices of bids on items. This makes it more worthwhile to sell on eBay and brings more sellers onto eBay, which drives prices down again as this increases supply, while bringing more people onto eBay because there are more things being sold that people want. Essentially, as the number of users of eBay grows, prices fall and supply increases, and more and more people find the site to be useful.

The collaborative encyclopedia Wikipedia also benefits from a network effect. The theory goes that as the number of editors grows, the quality of information on the website improves, encouraging more users to turn to it as a source of information; some of the new users in turn become editors, continuing the process.

Social networking websites are also good examples. The more people register onto a social networking website, the more useful the website is to its registrants.

By contrast, the value of a news site is primarily proportional to the quality of the articles, not to the number of other people using the site. Similarly, the first generation of search sites experienced little network effect, as the value of the site was based on the value of the search results. This allowed Google to win users away from Yahoo! without much trouble, once users believed that Google's search results were superior. Some commentators mistook the value of the Yahoo! brand (which does increase as more people know of it) for a network effect protecting its advertising business.

Alexa Internet uses a technology that tracks users' surfing patterns; thus Alexa's Related Sites results improve as more users use the technology. Alexa's network relies heavily on a small number of browser software relationships, which makes the network more vulnerable to competition.

Google has also attempted to create a network effect in its advertising business with its Google AdSense service.

Google AdSense places ads on many small sites, such as blogs, using Google technology to determine which ads are

42

Network effect

43

relevant to which blogs. Thus, the service appears to aim to serve as an exchange (or ad network) for matching many advertisers with many small sites (such as blogs). In general, the more blogs Google AdSense can reach, the more advertisers it will attract, making it the most attractive option for more blogs, and so on, making the network more valuable for all participants.

Network effects were used as justification for some of the dot-com business models in the late 1990s. These firms operated under the belief that when a new market comes into being which contains strong network effects, firms should care more about growing their market share than about becoming profitable. This was believed because market share will determine which firm can set technical and marketing standards and thus determine the basis of future competition.

Rail gauge There are strong network effects in the initial choice of rail gauge, and in gauge conversion decisions. Even when placing isolated rails not connected to any other lines, track layers usually choose a standard rail gauge so they can use off-the-shelf rolling stock. Although a few manufacturers make rolling stock that can adjust to different rail gauges, most manufacturers make rolling stock that only works with one of the standard rail gauges.

The dominant rail gauge in each country shown

References [1] Knut Blind (2004). The economics of standards: theory, evidence, policy. Edward Elgar Publishing. ISBNÂ 978-1843767930.

[2] "It's All In Your Head" (http:/ / www. forbes. com/ forbes/ 2007/ 0507/ 052. html). Forbes. 2007-05-07. . Retrieved 2010-12-10.

[3] Buley, Taylor (2009-07-31). "How To Value Your Networks" (http:/ / www. forbes. com/ 2009/ 07/ 31/ facebook-bill-gates-technology-security-defcon. html). Forbes. . Retrieved 2010-12-10.

[4] Robert M. Grant (2009). Contemporary Strategy Analysis. John Wiley & Sons. ISBNÂ 0470747102.

[5] Network Effects (http:/ / oz. stern. nyu. edu/ io/ network. html) [6] Geoffrey Parker and Marshall Van Alstyne (2005). "Two Sided Networks: A Theory of Information Product Design" (http:/ / people. ischool. berkeley. edu/ ~hal/ Courses/ StratTech09/ Lectures/ TwoSided/ ParkerVanAlstyneMgmtSci2005. pdf). Management Science 51 (10). .

Retrieved 2011-06-21.

[7] Nicholas Economides and Evangelos Katsamakas (2008-05). "Two-sided competition of proprietary vs. open source technology platforms and the implications for the software industry" (http:/ / web. si. umich. edu/ tprc/ papers/ 2005/ 487/ Two-sided. pdf). . Retrieved 2010-12-10.

[8] Thomas Eisenmann and Geoffrey Parker and Marshall Van Alstyne (2006-10). "Strategies for Two Sided Markets" (http:/ / hbr. org/ 2006/ 10/ strategies-for-two-sided-markets/ ar/ 1). Harvard Business Review. . Retrieved 2011-06-21.

[9] Sundararajan, Arun (2007). "Local network effects and complex network structure" (http:/ / www. bepress. com/ bejte/ vol7/ iss1/ art46). The B.E. Journal of Theoretical Economics 7 (1). doi:10.2202/1935-1704.1319. .

[10] Wunsch, Steve (1999). " Mayday, Mayday (http:/ / www. stevewunsch. com/ maydaymayday. htm)" [11] The Economics of Programming Languages (http:/ / www. welton. it/ articles/ programming_language_economics?repost), David N. Welton : 2005-07-18

Network effect

External links • Coordination and Lock-In: Competition with Switching Costs and Network Effects (http://www.nuff.ox.ac.uk/ users/klemperer/Farrell_KlempererWP.pdf), Joseph Farrell and Paul Klemperer.

• Network Externalities (Effects) (http://www.utdallas.edu/~liebowit/palgrave/network.html), S. J. Liebowitz, Stephen E. Margolis.

• An Overview of Network Effects (http://oz.stern.nyu.edu/io/network.html), Arun Sundararajan.

• The Economics of Networks (http://www.stern.nyu.edu/networks/), Nicholas Economides.

• Network Economics in Farsi/Persian (http://www.philonomics.com/index.php?option=com_content& view=article&id=20:2009-03-16-13-39-54&catid=2:fundamentalist&Itemid=3), Behrooz Hassani M • Beckstrom's Law & The Economics Of Networks - ICANN (http://www.slideshare.net/RodBeckstrom/ beckstroms-law-the-economics-of-networks-icann)

Metcalfe's law Metcalfe's law states that the value of a telecommunications network is proportional to the square of the number of connected users of the system (n2). First formulated in this form by George Gilder in 1993,[1] and attributed to Robert Metcalfe in regard to Ethernet, Metcalfe's law was originally presented, circa 1980, not in terms of users, but rather of "compatible communicating devices" (for example, fax machines, telephones, etc.)[2] Only more recently with the launch of the internet did this law carry over to users and networks as its original intent was to describe Ethernet purchases and connections.[3] The law is also very much related to economics and business management, especially with competitive companies looking to merge with one another.

Network effects Metcalfe's law characterizes many of the network effects of communication technologies and networks such as the Internet, social networking, and the World Wide Web. Former Chairman of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission, Reed Hundt, said that this law gives the most understanding to the workings of the internet.[4] Metcalfe's Law is related to the fact that the number of unique connections in a network of a number of nodes (n) can be expressed mathematically as the triangular number n(n − 1)/2, which is proportional to n2 asymptotically.

The law has often been illustrated using the example of fax machines: a Two telephones can make only one connection, five can make 10 connections, single fax machine is useless, but the value of every fax machine increases and twelve can make 66 connections. with the total number of fax machines in the network, because the total number of people with whom each user may send and receive documents increases.[5] Likewise, in social networks, the greater number of users with the service, the more valuable the service becomes to the community.

44

Metcalfe's law

Limitations In addition to the difficulty of quantifying the "value" of a network, the mathematical justification for Metcalfe's law measures only the potential number of contacts, i.e., the technological side of a network. However the social utility of a network depends upon the number of nodes in contact. If there are language barriers or other reasons why large parts of a network are not in contact with other parts, the effect may be smaller.

Business practicalities With Metcalfe's Law the way it is described, all companies would theoretically combine with another partner. This would create more users involved in the company both on a consumer and supplier basis. This is not the case however. Much of the time, only companies of equal equity are willing to interconnect with one another. In the case of a larger network or business, and a smaller network or business, the larger feels the smaller one is benefiting on a much larger scale. The larger business gains little in comparison to the small company as the large has already developed a reputation whereas the small company is feeding off their previous success.[6]

Modified models Within the context of social networks, many, including Metcalfe himself, have proposed modified models using logarithmic and linear proportionality rather than squared proportionality.[7] Reed and Odlyzko have sought out possible relationships to Metcalfe's Law in terms of describing the relationship of a network and one can read about how those are related.[8]

References [1] Carl Shapiro and Hal R. Varian (1999). Information Rules (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=aE_J4Iv_PVEC& printsec=frontcover& dq=inauthor:shapiro+ inauthor:varian#PPA184,M1). Harvard Business Press. ISBN 087584863X. .

[2] Simeon Simeonov (July 26, 2006). "Metcalfe’s Law: more misunderstood than wrong?" (http:/ / simeons. wordpress. com/ 2006/ 07/ 26/ metcalfes-law-more-misunderstood-than-wrong/ ). HighContrast: Innovation & venture capital in the post-broadband era. .

[3] James Hendler and Jennifer Golbeck (2008). "Metcalfe's Law, Web 2.0, and the Semantic Web" (http:/ / www. cs. umd. edu/ ~golbeck/ downloads/ Web20-SW-JWS-webVersion. pdf). .

[4] Bob Briscoe (July 2006). "Metcalfe's Law is wrong" (http:/ / spectrum. ieee. org/ computing/ networks/ metcalfes-law-is-wrong). . Retrieved 2010-07-25.

[5] R. Tongia. "The Dark Side of Metcalfe’s Law: Multiple and Growing Costs of Network Exclusion" (http:/ / www. cstep. in/ docs/ Network Exclusion 9-22-09. pdf). . Retrieved 2010-07-25.

[6] Steven Shankland (15 March 2005). "Researchers: Metcalfe's Law overshoots the mark" (http:/ / www. zdnet. com/ news/ researchers-metcalfes-law-overshoots-the-mark/ 141783). . Retrieved 2010-07-25.

[7] "Guest Blogger Bob Metcalfe: Metcalfe’s Law Recurses Down the Long Tail of Social Networks" (http:/ / vcmike. wordpress. com/ 2006/ 08/ 18/ metcalfe-social-networks/ ). 18 August 2006. . Retrieved 2010-06-20.

[8] Rahul Tongia (September 2007). "TURNING METCALFE ON HIS HEAD: THE MULTIPLE COSTS OF NETWORK EXCLUSION" (http:/ / web. si. umich. edu/ tprc/ papers/ 2007/ 772/ TPRC-07-Exclusion-Tongia& Wilson. pdf). . Retrieved 2010-07-25.

External links • Metcalfe's Law: More Misunderstood Than Wrong? (http://simeons.wordpress.com/2006/07/26/ metcalfes-law-more-misunderstood-than-wrong/). A co-worker of Bob Metcalfe puts the IEEE Spectrum critique in perspective. Republished here (http://web2.sys-con.com/read/259624.htm).

• Metcalfe's Law is Wrong (http://spectrum.ieee.org/computing/networks/metcalfes-law-is-wrong). Bob Briscoe, Andrew Odlyzko, and Benjamin Tilly, July 2006 IEEE Spectrum. Points out that Metcalfe's Law is wrong, that the value is closer to n log (n) • Metcalfe’s Law Recurses Down the Long Tail of Social Networking by Bob Metcalfe (http://vcmike.wordpress. com/2006/08/18/metcalfe-social-networks/)

45

Metcalfe's law • ZDNet: Metcalfe's Law overshoots the mark (http://www.zdnet.com/news/ researchers-metcalfes-law-overshoots-the-mark/141783) • Andrew Odlyzko and Benjamin Tilly paper (http://www.dtc.umn.edu/~odlyzko/doc/metcalfe.pdf) • Metcalfe's Law in Reverse (http://www.useit.com/alertbox/990725.html), applying Metcalfe's law to form an argument in favour of large, unified networks.

• George Church. The Personal Genome Project. Molecular Systems Biology. 13 December 2005 (http://www. nature.com/msb/journal/v1/n1/full/msb4100040.html) • The Semantic Web and Metcalfe's Law (http://blogs.sun.com/bblfish/entry/rdf_and_metcalf_s_law) • A Group Is Its Own Worst Enemy (http://www.shirky.com/writings/group_enemy.html). Clay Shirky's keynote speech on Social Software at the O'Reilly Emerging Technology conference, Santa Clara, April 24, 2003.

The fourth of his "Four Things to Design For" is: "And, finally, you have to find a way to spare the group from scale. Scale alone kills conversations, because conversations require dense two-way conversations. In conversational contexts, Metcalfe's law is a drag."

• How Many Facebook Friends Does Someone Need (http://curiouscapitalist.blogs.time.com/2007/07/09/ how_many_facebook_friends_does/).

• The Dark Side of Metcalfe's Law (http://www.cstep.in/docs/Network Exclusion 9-22-09.pdf).

• Globalization Transformation (http://www.tfi.com/pubs/w/pdf/TennessBus-8-06-Smith-Skelley.pdf).

46

Article Sources and Contributors

Article Sources and Contributors Web 2.0 Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=479564900 Contributors: -Majestic-, 09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8, 21655, 31stCenturyMatt, 4chanite, 78.26, 80g, 8bitJake, A Train, A rajendran, A-giau, A3csc300, AJR, AJackl, AKeen, Aalbu, Aapo Laitinen, AaronSw, Abbatangelo, Abdullah Afzaal, Abo46n2, Abrech, Acastanares, Acroterion, Adariostrange, Addshore, AdjustShift, Adoniscik, Adw2000, Aegirthor, Agradman, Ahaislip, Ahoerstemeier, Aidarhaynes5, Aitias, Akb4, Akima AE, Al Farnsworth, Alansohn, Aldaron, Ale jrb, Alex.gosselin, AlexanderShelton, Alexrosen, Alias Flood, Allan.schiebold, Allstarecho, Alphax, Ambarr23, Amberine, Ambernewhall, Amjaad1, Amog, Amwlkaw, AnAj, Anarkitekt, Anchoress, Andonic, Andrethegiant, Andrew.t.stephen, Andy Dingley, Angie.mawhinney, Angr, Angrysusan, Ankimai, Anomalocaris, Anonwarriore, Anonymous Dissident, Antandrus, Aotearoa aroha, Apistogramma, ApolloBoy, Appraiser, Arcadie, Aresef, Arjun01, ArkinAardvark, Artw, 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