iNet Web Blog

Social Networks focus on building online communities of people who share interests and/or activities, or who are interested in exploring the interests and activities of others and can be a powerful professional ally to businesses allowing them to interact with the community at large. Social networks make it possible for people to network with their peers from anywhere and at anytime and translates into real benefits for you and your company. Time zones become irrelevant.

Many websites are tapping into the power of the social networking model. Most social networks are free so they become an ideal medium to promote your wares. Social networks are an excellent arena for advertising in the form of banners and text ads. Many social networks rely on advertising revenue to keep their social networks free to us. If you have faith in your services or product, how can it hurt to try?

Discover trends and popular items. There is no better place to find out the needs of the people than from the people themselves. Entertainers have built entire persona’s from blogging within social networks. Social networks can also provide you with the right people to hire and how to better market your product or by giving & receiving recommendations on the right manufacturers of products and professional services.

Entrepreneurs and small businesses looking to expand their contact base can do this with social networks without travelling or spending long periods away from home. These networks act as an excellent conduit into more productive customer relationships.

MySpace, Facebook and LinkedIn are three of the most widely used social networks, and Twitter a phenomenally successful broadcasting system. LinkedIn is more of a business social network.

By becoming part of a social network you are allowing yourself and your company to become more accessible to the community that purchase your products or services. Businesses can interact with each other or within groups that share common business interests and goals. Enhance your identity professionally by finding, connecting and networking with others, and learning from similar experiences.

If you aren’t registered and interacting in one of these networks, you will be out-done by hyper-networked, better-connected colleagues and competitors. Social networking is also great for finding contacts in companies you might not otherwise have access to.

Social & Media Networks

• MySpace: Social networking
• Flickr: Photo networking
• Del.icio.us: Social bookmarking
• YouTube: Video network
• Vimeo: Video network
• Digg: Submit and browse articles
• Technorati: Network of blogs
• StumbleUpon: Stories and articles
• Reddit: Stories and articles
• Squidoo: Share knowledge
• Furl: Social bookmarking
• On The Barrier: Music Social Network

Professional Networks

• LinkedIn: Business networking
• Ecademy: Business networking
• Xing: Business networking
• Facebook: Social & Business networking
• Care2: Enviro Business networking
• Gather: Business networking
• Networking For Professionals: Business networking