In the last 12 years we have watched the internet grow from a site of B2B and B2C to one that offers internet users a new way to communicate. In the past we have used tools like email and instant messenger to communicate with a single person or group of people. The newer sites allow us to communicate in a way that we can target the audience and provide content we choose to share. MySpace was one of the sites that really improved the way we communicate, but lost the internet war to Facebook. Facebook has really improved upon the social community site and was able to penetrate a very large segment of the market. Today with over 300 million active users Facebook has really defined social networking. Another strong site is Twitter. Twitter was started in 2006 with the idea that texting should be made available to large groups of people. One person can register their account and then allow followers to register with their account to yours. That way when you tweet, all the folks in your group can follow along. Also your twitter data is searchable so that it can be made available to other to see. Many famous people created twitter accounts that allow followers to keep track of what they are talking about. Some call it the SMS of the internet. Another powerful site is LinkedIn. This site is quite helpful for networking on the profession level. As a prospective employee one can write out their work history for their network to follow. As you improve your career others can follow to see how you are doing. LinkedIn also provides a strong recommendation engine to recommend ones work. Prospective employers that are looking for talent they can review what is in LinkedIn to fill their ranks. Social networking sites like this blog are popping up all over the place. This has greatly expanded the reach of many people to different parts of the globe. Take Egypt for example: The people where able to rally against a government by using such social networking sites like Google, Facebook or Twitter. One could say the Internet has changed the way people communicate in groups.
