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A social network service focuses on the building and verifying of online Social Network s for communities of people who share interests and activities, or who are interested in exploring the interests and activities of others, and which necessitates the use of Software . Most social network services are primarily web based and provide a collection of various ways for users to interact, such as Chat , Messaging , Email , Video , Voice Chat , File Sharing , Blogging , Discussion Groups , and so on. The main types of social networking services are those which contain directories of some categories (such as former classmates), means to connect with friends (usually with self-description pages), and recommender systems linked to trust. Popular methods now combine many of these, with MySpace and Facebook being the mostly widely used in 2007 . There have been some attempts to standardize them (see the FOAF standard) but this has led to some Privacy concerns. HISTORY OF SOCIAL NETWORK SERVICES The notion that individual computers linked electronically could form the basis of computer mediated social interaction and networking was suggested early on - for example ''The Network Nation'' by S. Roxanne Hiltz and Murray Turoff (Addison-Wesley, 1978, 1993) effectively sketched out how computer-mediated communication -- such as the Internet -- should be developed for this purpose. There were many early efforts to support social networks via computer-mediated communication, including developed a schema about how the proto-Internet might support this.David Andrews, ''The IRG Solution'', Souvenir Press, 1984. Early social networking websites included website. In 2007 , Facebook began allowing externally-developed add-on applications, and some applications enabled the graphing of a user's own social network -- thus linking social networks and social networking. Social networking began to flourish as a component of business internet strategy at around March 2005 when website. ITV buys Friends Reunited : BBC.co.uk website. It is estimated that combined there are now over 200 social networking sites using these existing and emerging social networking models. BUSINESS APPLICATIONS Social networks connect people at low cost; this can be beneficial for Entrepreneur s and Small Business es looking to expand their contact base. 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. In many ways Business Networking on social networks has eclipsed the amount of networking that takes place on dedicated business networking websites. MEDICAL 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. ''Social Networking: Now Professionally Ready'' , ''PrimaryPsychiatry.com'' website. 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. ''Social Networks Impact the Drugs Physicians Prescribe According to Stanford Business School Research'' , ''Pharmalive.com'' website. TYPICAL STRUCTURE OF A SOCIAL NETWORKING SERVICE Basics In general, social networking services, such as MySpace , Facebook and Bebo , allow users to create a profile for themselves. Users can upload a picture of themselves and can often be "friends" with other users. In most social networking services, both users must confirm that they are friends before they are linked. For example, if Alice lists Bob as a friend, then Bob would have to approve Alice's friend request before they are listed as friends. Some social networking sites have a "favorites" feature that does not need approval from the other user. Social networks usually have privacy controls that allows the user to choose who can view their profile or contact them, etc. Additional features Some social networks have additional features, such as the ability to create groups that share common interests or affiliations, upload videos, and hold discussions in forums. Geosocial Networking co-opts internet mapping services to organize user participation around geographic features and their attributes. Business model Currently, almost no social networks 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. The Value of Social Networking Tools Second Life Insider Instead, companies like and Visible Path . LinkedIn's Business Accounts LinkedIn BUSINESS NETWORKING SITES Business networking sites have absorbed the traditional face-to-face referral networking practices of realtors and title companies, attorneys and chiropractors, and businesses networkers from a variety of fields, and taken it online. Businesses from all across the globe can come together and share ideas, clients, and referrals in a mutually beneficial manner. Such sites allow users to network with one another online, without ever having to meet someone face-to-face. Some of these services are entirely free. Device-based social networking In addition to internet-based social networking, cell phone manufacturers are getting into the social networking business with phones that allow users to create lists of friends and associates, track their movements even across countries, and create customized maps and alerts that signal the user when a desired person is within a predetermined range. With such GPS-enabled phones, users are able to send out invitations or messages to groups of people based on customized attributes, including location. GPS related use : ''GPSFAQ.com'' website. User behavior Users often try to "collect friends", or try to be linked to as many friends as possible. Therefore, it is not uncommon for users to receive friend requests from people that they do not know. Some users will create additional profiles that assume the identity of someone else, such as celebrities, politicians, or even their pets. Some will create profiles for fictional characters, such as those from video games or films (similar to Role-playing ), and some will even create profiles for inanimate objects, such as the Sun or the dwarf planet Pluto . PRIVACY ISSUES On large social networking services, there have been growing concerns about users giving out too much personal information and the threat of sexual predators. Users of these services need to be aware of Data Theft or Viruses . However, large services, such as MySpace, 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. Furthermore, there is an issue over the control of data - information having been altered or removed by the user may in fact be retained and/or passed to 3rd parties. Investigations See Also: Use of social network websites in investigations Social network services are increasingly being used in legal and criminal investigations. Information posted on sites such as MySpace and Facebook, has been used by police and university officials to prosecute users of said sites. In some situations, content posted on MySpace has been used in court to determine an appropriate sentence based on a defendant's attitude. 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. SEE ALSO REFERENCES |
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