To most, the internet is a crucial means of communication.  In fact, it’s actually served as a lifeline to some, whether it’s in the field of business or as a way of reaching out to loved ones across the miles, even across continents.  The Internet opened my eyes to many possibilities. Not only is it about meeting your potential “soul mate.” But the opportunity to meet people you may work with, network and of course the useful wealth of information.

In the early 90’s chat rooms emerged.   With the chat rooms came software applications such as Internet Relay Chat (IRC), a form of real-time Internet text messaging (chat).  IRC client software is available for virtually every computer operating system. 

It was mainly designed for group communication in discussion forums, called channels but also allows one-to-one communication via private message [3] as well as chat and data transfers via Direct Client-to-Client.    IRC replaced the BBS, (Bulletin Board System), a computer system running software that allows users to connect and log in to the system using a terminal program.

Once logged in, a user can perform functions such as uploading and downloading software and data, reading news and bulletins, and exchanging messages with other users, either through electronic mail or in public message boards.
Many BBSes also offer on-line games, in which users can compete with each other, and BBSes with multiple phone lines often provide chat rooms, allowing users to interact with each other.

As of May 2009, the top 100 IRC networks served more than half a million users at a time, with hundreds of thousands of channels (the vast majority of which stand mostly vacant), operating on a total of roughly 1,500 servers worldwide.  From IRC came PIRCH, ICQ, Yahoo Messenger, MSN and then there came the social sites.  --   What is a social site?

A social network service focuses on building and reflecting social network or social relationships among people, e.g., who share interests and/or activities. A social network service essentially consists of a representation of each user (often a profile), his/her social links, and a variety of additional services.

Most social network services are web-based and provide various ways for users to interact, such as e-mail and instant messaging services.  From these types of sites “communities” are built. Sort of online cliques, get it?

The main types of social networking services are those which contain category divisions (such as former school-year or classmates), means to connect with friends (usually with self-description pages) and a recommendation system linked to trust.

Popular methods now combine many of these.  Pioneering this realm was Friendster (who didn’t or still has a Friendster account, say “Aye!”) and now there’s Facebook and Twitter that’s widely used worldwide; MySpace and Linkedn being the most widely used in North America.

These type of sites emerged between 2002 and 2004, some of which emerged as the most popular.  I’ve come to realize that some social networking sites are created for the benefit of others.  Social networking sites like Multiply, MySpace and Facebook have seen tremendous growth over the past two years, attracting a young and engaged audience.

Frequent users of these social networking sites not only engage in more activities and have a more positive attitude about these sites, but they have also branched out and diversified their profiles. 
This they do by incorporating advertising and promotions of their products or companies. To some marketers or entrepreneurs they see these social networking sites as “out of the box” ways of reaching their audiences where they do away with traditional Web marketing tactics, encourage friendships or relationships and a means of expressing fresh ideas and content. (To be continued)

I love hearing from yah! techiemommy@gmail.com