Social media Platforms you might be Missing on
The biggest cookie in the internet jar is “social media” and everyone wants a bite of it. Every day new social networking sites are launched in the hope of making it as big as Facebook did. Each offers unique features, some focus on specifics while others are a playground for one and all.
Each site has created a niche for itself and is favored by its members for one reason or the other, but end of the day they are all working relentlessly to turn the world into a global village. So here is a rundown of the numerous social networking sites which may not be as popular as Facebook or Twitter, but they are certainly catching on. It’s time you get to know these virtual hangouts and what they have to offer, for all its worth-you might end up staying and calling them home.
If you are the career minded, workaholic- your social network of choice will definitely be LinkedIn. LinkedIn is the social melting pot of professionals. If the claims of the site owners are to be believed, LinkedIn extends its memberships to more than 35 million people, including executives from almost every Fortune 500 company.
Once a member’s profile is created, invites are sent to all second-degree connection and this goes on as each primary connection added to the contact list adds a few more sub connections of its own to the list. Thus the bigger the circle of connections gets the better the chances of members finding jobs or being spotted by potential employers through primary user’s connections or their sub connections. Profiles focus on members’ professional experience and skills. LinkedIn is a favorite of numerous headhunter agencies. Linkedin also has its own social media app, if you want to use it on your phone.
2. Pinterest
Pinterest is a virtual bulletin board onto which people “pin” photos of what they like, want, desire, know about and what not, with external links. According to research 95% of its contributors and audience are women. The site boasts of having more than 85.5 million users, and is a great marketing, social media, SEO, business, and crafts resource.
A typical Pinterest experience starts with a “pin” which is usually an image or a video of something a member likes or knows about. These pins can be repined and usually have backlinks to other sources. Pins are put up on “boards” which can be secret or public. Members choose the pins they are interested in and pinning them on their specific boards. Pins members wish to use come with “pin it bookmarklet” which makes it possible for them to be pinned or followed.
Following someone or their pins, means their pins show up in a member’s Pinterest home feed. People can choose to follow all of someone’s boards or just the ones they like best. Homefeed is what shows up on the members main page and it includes all the pins and boards they may have created or following on Pinterest.
3. LiveJournal
A social networking site for bloggers or anyone who wants to keep a virtual journal or diary of their lives. Owned by a Russian Group, SUP Media, LiveJournal is frequently used by political personalities for political commentary.
LiveJournal user or journal entry as they are known, has its own web page, where other users can leave comments. The most unique LiveJournal feature is its “friends list,” which makes it a social networking site as well as a blog service. Each user has a friends page, which shows the journal entries of people on friends list. The “User Info” page displays things like contact information, a biography, images and lists of friends, interests, communities and even schools which the user has attended.
At the moment LiveJournal offers accounts on five levels: basic – this level is free and makes up almost 95% of the network; plus – this is a sponsored level and contains a lot of advertising; “early adopters” – this level represents those who registered with the site prior to 14 September 2000; paid and permanent- these accounts are usually never available to the average user. The reason why paid accounts are different from others is because members of this level get to enjoy services like text messaging, “To-do list” feature, Express lane, Voice Post and extra storage space.
4. Google+
Google+ is Google’s answer to Facebook and has so far accumulated over 65 million users and adding more by the minute. It is quite similar to what Facebook has to offer, with the exception that you can group connections into “circles” on your dashboard. Members can host video chats, and follow trending topics. The one unique thing about Google+ is that, members prefer to post photos and topics rather than statuses on their pages.
Just like on Facebook the main activity begins with a user writing on the wall, in Google+ it all starts in the stream. The stream is where people see each others status updates and postings. Members have the liberty to share status updates in a circle or with individual users. Once members make their status update public, anyone in their circle or in whose circle they are can view it. Members can also tag each other by either typing @ or + at the beginning of the person’s name.
5.DeviantArt
Here lies a great online community of artists and art lovers with more than 25.5 million users worldwide. DeviantArt is a great resource and is often used for posting fan art.
Here is how DeciantArt works out, users chose a unique name for their profile. After the name has been registered the site issues them a custom URL where username is replaced by the members chosen moniker. Once this is done the members can easily control their personal art galleries called deviations. Each member has the freedom to further customize their profile such as upload their deviantID and personal details called the Devious Info section.
Members can also write in their Journal, which is a blog discussing their art or anything they feel like talking about. Visitors get to see artworks created by the member on their page and if they like it they can click +deviantWATCH, which is the deviantART equivalent of bookmarking a Web site.
The above mentioned websites provide an excellent platform for connecting with your family and friends. With the amount of spyware in circulation it would be wise to double check privacy settings to optimize your social networking experience.
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