What to Look for in Social Networking
The recent phenomenon of online social networking—made extremely popular by MySpace.com, has evolved to include more than the teenage stereotype looking to expand his/her network of online friends. People of all ages and backgrounds have discovered that they can enrich their lives through the contacts they make on a social networking website. Below are the criteria TopTenREVIEWS used to evaluate Social Networking websites. - Networking Features – These features help members connect with other members such as a featured member section, photo galleries and a search function that allows searches by criteria such as gender, age, location and relationship status.
Clicking on a member’s photo or name should link directly to their profile page; then you can post comments and invite them into your network of friends. Most sites allow members to make their profiles public, private or semi–private. A profile page should be a reflection of a member’s personality. You can post background information like your name, age, gender, physical description, likes and dislikes. Many sites also allow members to upload multiple photos, videos and music. The best social networking websites also allow members to customize their profile skins. - Extra Features – Most social networking websites provide extra features—music, videos, blogs, forums and groups, to enhance the networking experience and keep members coming back for more.
The music section may consist of Internet radio or a large database of music and music videos. An exceptional music section allows members to browse or search for music by artist, album, track or genre. Clicking on an artist’s name or photo will give you access to the artist’s profile page. From there you can read the artist’s bio, related news, listen to complete songs (not samples) and watch their music videos. Videos are generally member’s home videos of various subjects or member–generated compliations of their favorite movies and TV shows—some are quite impressive. Some videos also include commercials, clips from TV shows and movie trailers. Blogs and Forums provide extra avenues for members to express themselves; they can access other member’s opinions and post their own comments. - Groups – Members who want to connect with people who share their interests can join groups. Many sites have regional groups so members can join groups close to where they live. Members usually have a wide variety of groups to choose from like Romance & Relationships, Entertainment & Arts, Hobbies & Crafts, Health & Wellness, Games, Sports & Recreation and Jobs/Career. Group creators can make groups public or private and many sites will allow you to create your own group.
- Monitored Content – Social networking websites that allow people under 18 to join should make every effort to monitor the content posted on their website. Content such as cursing, threats, sexually charged language and especially sexually explicit photos and videos can turn up in photo galleries, on members’ profile pages, in blogs, forums and groups.
Some websites closely monitor certain word tags assigned to videos, photos and groups. In a test search, we typed in several sexually related words in the video and group sections on all the websites we reviewed. We did not find any sexually offensive content on the sites that monitor their tags. Vigilant websites will also provide a direct link on all their pages so members can easily report offensive content. Some sites also have a link on profile pages and group forums. Although offensive content can appear anywhere on a social networking website, we found the most explicit content (photos) in group forums. - Ease of Use – Joining a social networking website is usually easy—it consists of providing your name, gender, zip code and an email address. You will have to activate your account by clicking on a link in a confirmation email; then you can begin creating your profile.
The majority of sites are easy to navigate with a permanent menu toolbar at the top of each page as well as extra links on profile pages. Some social networks use one or more separate websites; in these cases, a permanent link should appear on all pages to make switching back and forth easy.
- Help/Support – Social networking members may have many technical questions as they upload photos, music and videos to customize their profile pages or they may have trouble signing into their account. There should be a large FAQs section to answer all questions related to using the website and an email address for questions not answered by FAQs. Some sites also provide user forums to help resolve problems.
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