SOCIAL MEDIA
What you need to know about social networking?
Social network
You have heard of the word social network before, right? If not, a social network is a site that connects people together and helps them to share ideas. Besides, people get to interact and also meet new friends.
A social network is also referred to as a profile site or a virtual community. All the activities you take in a social network is what is referred to as social media.
To understand the nitty-gritty about social media, you want to compare it with the traditional media. The traditional media has formed part of our culture for decades. This includes radio, TV, advertisements, print and billboards.
To form a traditional media, you don’t need more than ten people. On the contrary, forming social media requires thousands if not millions of people.
So, what is social networking?
Simply put, it is the use of web-based social networks and programs to create connections with acquaintances, relatives and friends. There are many reasons that could lead to social networking. Some do it for business purposes while others do it for social purposes. Still, others do it for both.
Social networking gives you the freedom to express your personality while also meeting people with people of similar interests. To get the gist of what social media is all about, here is are characteristics you want to know.
You got friends and followers
The pillar of any social network is the component of pooling followers and friends together. If a member of any social network, you will appreciate the fact that you can share any idea you want to.
It’s interesting that people can build genuine friendships through social media. With true friendships built, people are free to post or comment on your wall without feeling they have wronged you. You, on the other hand, can comment on their wall as well.
Whether it’s Facebook or LinkedIn, social media sites have a name for their trusted members. Facebook refers to its members as friends while LinkedIn refers to her members as connections. Amazing indeed, right? If you were to come with such like ideas two decades ago, you would be called crazy.
Groups and hashtags
Most social networks began without an option to form groups. However, as they continued to develop their programs to improve their users’ experience, they also incorporated groups. Some social networks with groups include Facebook and WhatsApp.
Groups in social media help people who have the same background, experience or share a common interest to interact. For instance, a typical group name on Facebook could be “Fitness Freaks” or “Best Freelance Writers”
Another interesting feature of social networking is the use of tags. With tags, social networks have enabled users to categorize their conversations according to a given topic. Tags on social networks are denoted with the (#) symbol commonly referred to as a hashtag.
Using specific keywords, users can coin hashtags around a given topic. Alternatively, social networks offer suggestions or create a tag once you type the pound symbol (#). Most tags generated usually become links that users can navigate to follow through the post thread and recent conversations.
You got the likes, retweet option and can comment as well
For instance, social networks such as Facebook and Twitter have the likes option. In some, such as YouTube and Facebook, you got the thumbs up option. Some sites such as Twitter give you the heart button.
As a matter of fact, engagement is made easier when given the option to like. Not everyone would want to say something. Others prefer to simply like and move on. For businesses on social networks such as Instagram, you got the option of choosing free Instagram likes for 1 post.
WhatsApp also developed the option of commenting on a given line of thought. Denoted as a left arrow sign, users can be able to show which comment they are replying to.
People may want to centre their conversation on a given topic. To meet this need, most social sites have provided an option to comment on every type of post. All the comments under a single post are what is referred to as a thread.
The home feed option
With social networks, it’s all about staying connected. For this reason, most social networks have now a home feed. A home feed allows users to see new posts and comments as they keep coming. Users have a live feed that helps them to stay connected in real time.
Which is the best social network to join?
Just to give you a heads up, we have more than 60 social networking sites you would want to choose from. If you are new to social media or too old to fit in, I’m sure you are already spoilt for choice. To help you out, here a list of top social networks you want to look into.
- Google+
- MySpace
- YouTube
Of all these social networks, Facebook is the largest. It has got over 2 billion users and this number is bound to rise as kids continue getting email addresses. For starters, you want to compare the features of different social networks. This is important to enable you to know what suits you best.
Once you get a social network that suits your test and preference, you can register for one. Simply move to their website and create a new account or click the Sign Up button. The procedure is the same as the one for any account creation process online.
The information you will need includes your basic personal details such as name, your age or age range and email address. You may also need additional requirements depending on the social network you visit.
Final thoughts
We now live in a digital world. The use of social networks to connect and do business can’t be understated. Currently, more than 2 billion users can be found in all social sites combined. If looking for the next business frontier or connection, you need to look no further than social networks.
