Researching social networking sites...

I have decided to create a social space to inform a Jet skiing group when and where the next social Jet Ski ride will take place. Apart from finding out this information the group can also reply back to confirm whether they are going to attend the ride, give feedback on previous rides and also make suggestions for future rides. The social space can also be used to attract people from outside the group who are also interested in participating in Jet Ski social riding.

When I first began to research social networking sites that would be appropriate for my social space I soon became very confused because there are so many sites to choose from and I was taking so much time assessing them. My task became easier when I came across this website that listed the top fifteen social networking sites.

From this group os social networking sites I decided to investigate Skype, facebook and LinkedIn.

Skype is a communication service that allows people to connect with each other by voice using a microphone, video by using a webcam (laptops/desktops now have built in cameras), and also via instant messaging over the internet. To become a user of Skype you need to register and create a profile in order to add a group of contacts. Skype to Skype calls are free of charge. Skype was launched in 2003 and has over 600 million users.

Facebook is also a social networking site where users must register before using to create a personal profile and add other users as friends. Once an account has been created the user is able to exchange messages with friends and share photos etc... Facebook is one of the most popular social networking sites and had over one billion active users as of September 2012.

LinkedIn also requires one to register and create a profile before they can become a user of the site. LinkedIn is similar to facebook, however, the purpose of this social networking site is to connect a particular group of people who share a particular interest (either socially or professionally). People who are not interested in the group that you have made created would not contact you for other reasons. LinkedIn was launched in 2003 and had 200 million acquired users in January 2013.

After comparing the three social networking sites I decided to use LinkedIn to create my social space because:

• People can access the social space at a time that suits them without interrupting others.
• The site is easy to navigate around.
• The site has a search by group or name tool that enables people who are not group members to find a group of interest and request to join.
• This particular site is more relevant for promoting one particular group with the same interest which makes it easier for people to read and add comments as they do not have to scroll through lots of posts that are not related.
• LinkedIn is also available on an iPad App - to find out more click on this iPad App link.