Social Network Fever Spreads to the Professions

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Group F

How has the growth of social networking enabled the creation of more specific niche sites?

Clearly, the gap between the biggest social networks and the rest is huge “but”

People are branching out from the popular sites. Individuals are exploring.

THE KEY to business success is building a raft of loyal customers, social-

networking web sites are increasingly useful tools for getting them there.

Within social media, a growing number of users are latching on to "niche" sites

that cater to any number of specific interests, such as Chowhound.com (eating),

LibraryThing.com (books) and Yelp.com (trends in specific cities).

Niche sites typically give visitors the opportunity to size up various products

and services, which can influence other users' buying decisions.

How has the growth of social networking enabled the creation of more specific niche sites?

Example: A small business that has, for example, a well-received product on

social networks can ascend in the ranks while larger companies, which may have

big marketing budgets but subpar products, can easily sink.

Business owners post information about their products or services to group

message boards while others send out relevant information via targeted email

blasts

Others even create their own forums around specific ideas or causes. No matter

which avenue you choose, here's a general roadmap for getting connected via

social networks:

Social Networking Platforms are now used to figure out what potential customers

want and hope to achieve . Because of that Niche Sites fulfill specific needs of

individuals

Examples of networking sites that have financial or business focus

LinkedIn – Is a business oriented social networking site. It was launched in

May 2003 and it’s mainly used for professional networking.

o It currently has over 65 million users and it’s in over 200 countries

o LinkedIn site is currently available in English, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese,

French and German

Ecademy - is a Social Networking site for Business People.

o It was founded in 1998 and it has over 300,000 users every month. 

o People connect both online and also offline at networking events and 1-2-1

meetings.

Examples of networking sites that have financial or business focus

Lawlink – Is a social networking site for the legal community.

o It was founded in 2007 and it currently has over 7,500 attorneys nationwide

o It consists of four interconnected networks which are:

o The attorney network, the expert witness network, the law student network and the

law professional network

Inmobile.org -  is a learning, sharing and networking center for wireless industry

leaders

o Their community activities include events online, through conference calls and in-

person

o Inmobile.org was founded in 2005 and it’s a private and invitation only forum

Examples of networking sites that have financial or business focus Adgabber - is a social network for individuals in advertising, marketing and media

o Duedee-Is a interactive community where you can connect with other investors to share

ideas, collaborate and practice.

o Tradeking - Is a social networking site that offers online brokerage services for active

stocks and options traders. It was launched in December 2005

Daily strength.org – Is a social networking site where users provide each other with

emotional support by discussing their struggles and successes with each other.

o It was founded in August 2006 and it has over 500 support groups

o The site is free for members and members are also encouraged to remain anonymous

What are some Common Features and Activities on these Social Networking Sites?

The Basics

o In general, Social Networking sites allow users to create a profile and add a photo. This can be

broken further down into external social networking sites and internal social networking sites.

o Most have a section for comments, eg. The Facebook wall.

Additional Features common to Social Networking Sites:

o Create groups with common interests and affiliations.

o Upload or stream video (Youtube).

o Youtube understood the purpose that people upload videos in the first place—to broadcast

them and to get other people’s reactions. YouTube offered a venue for social networking

through their various features such as: “Comments” and “rate” feature where other users can

express their opinions on certain videos by either rating them or typing their opinions. Other

sites have followed suite and the ability to stream video is now a common feature of these sites.

What are some Common Features and Activities on these Social Networking Sites?

Another shared quality is the ability to search for new friends with common interests

or the option to search for existing friends by simply entering their name or e-mail

address.

Blog settings

o viewable by friends only, MySpace members only, or allowing the blog to be available to

the public. These blog settings also offer the option to subscribe to a blog which delivers a

notification when it has been updated.

o The “Follow” option:

o Linkdin Shares a feature with facebook and several other sites. "Company Follow" enables

users to keep tabs on job openings, promotions, and other activities specific to companies.

o Users simply need to click the “follow” button on company pages, or any LinkedIn

member’s profile.

What features of social networks best explains their

popularity?

Ability to reveal group attitudes and opinions, values, and practices

Check other members activities

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