Online and In Tune
The pros and cons of social networking sites
by Allison Tyra
It may be a small world, and, if so, social networking sites are only making it smaller. Using these sites can have benefits and disadvantages, both personally and professionally.
Most successful free networking sites have a niche of some sort: MySpace is a "fun" site that appeals to a younger audience, focusing largely on music, movies and other forms of entertainment.
Originally designed solely for Harvard students, now only one-third of Facebook users are composed of college students; 35 and older is the fastest-growing user demographic, according to Facebook.
The most basic, Twitter, could perhaps be most aptly described as a personal ticker tape, with constant updates -- "twitters" of 140 characters or less -- of everything that's going on at any given moment, whether the tweeter is the teen down the street or Miley Cyrus.
MomsLikeMe.com is, as the title suggests, geared toward mothers. While businesses and other organizations have begun utilizing these as well, LinkedIn is strictly a professional site, compared to others that are geared more toward interpersonal relationships.
This professional focus is a definite advantage for businesspeople, says Denise Meyer, vice-president of the Network of Women in Business and administrator of the organization's LinkedIn group.
"It is a primarily corporate site," she says.
There are even local social networking sites like IndyMojo.com, which allows Indianapolis residents to connect for business, romance or simply friendship.
"IndyMojo is unique because we use the Internet to get people off the Internet," says owner
Shawn Smith. "People who are on our Web site actually get out and go to events."
One goal is for users to feel comfortable. Smith says it's safer than meeting people in a club or a bar because his events have groups of people looking out for each other, rather than one-on-one interactions -- like having 20 "wingmen" instead of flying solo.
Hundreds, if not thousands, of businesses and organizations are now utilizing these sites. Ashley
Jackson, cultural concierge at the Artsgarden, maintains the venue's page on Facebook, the only networking site it utilizes. Jackson describes Facebook as an easy way to reach and inform a greater number of people instantly.
"It's just a one-stop shop," she says.
Also, as a page of which members can become fans, any message is received by a targeted audience -- those who have already expressed an interest in the Artsgarden and its events.
Currently, this includes about 800 people, a number Jackson says she's happy with. She updates the site a few times a week to keep the page fresh.
"We do like to promote other events around town that we find interesting," Jackson says. "Become a fan, we'll send you some cool stuff."
Chris Herndon, director of marketing and communications for the Indianapolis Indians, is responsible for the team's pages: the Facebook page and profile, mascot Rowdy's profile, the
Twitter page and the MySpace profile, although Herndon says he doesn't spend very much time on the latter.
"We're not very active with it," he says. "It's primarily our perception of that media."
Herndon says the focus on Facebook and Twitter is simply prioritizing employee time; he says
he believes those sites are more effective for the Indians' purposes.
"We found with our audience, Facebook and Twitter are the way to go," he says.
Twitter acts as a rapid communication tool, while Facebook allows for broader facets, including photos, event pages, discussion boards and more. Herndon says many fans were posting updates and photos on Twitter while at games, so they turned it into a scavenger hunt through Twitter posts.
"Fans would try to find where we were with the prize package," he says. "(Facebook)'s a way for fans to share their photos and their experiences at the ballpark."
Facebook has more than 250 million users, about half of whom log on at least once a day; the average user has 120 friends. LinkedIn has 43 million users. The fastest growing -- at the moment -- is Twitter, showing 1,382 percent growth from February 2008 to February 2009; its largest demographic is 35- to 49-year-olds, which make up about 40 percent of its users. Although there are varying reports, MySpace has roughly 125 million users.
Of course, there is much overlap between various sites; Herndon says he uses Twitter and Facebook to post links to other features and sites.
"We try to use Facebook and Twitter to drive traffic back to our site," he says of the official Indians Web site. Traffic on that site has risen with the social networking, Herndon says, which in turn has increased ticket and merchandise sales.
"We're trying to build an affinity for our product," he says, which is easier for a sport or an art because fans have an emotional attachment to the "product" -- in this case, baseball -- than it would be for, say, a dry cleaner or factory.
The Internet can be a great way to connect with or stay in contact with people who live far away; 70 percent of Facebook users are outside the United States. Facebook can be translated into dozens of different languages; LinkedIn offers English, Spanish, French and German for its members in 200 different countries and territories. And with programs like Skype that offer audio/visual communication through the Internet, you can speak with people anywhere in the world in real time for free.
There's also the question of how much time you use up. Worldwide, more than 5 billion minutes are spent on Facebook each day. In fact, Herndon says, time is the only cost to businesses that use these sites, time employees spend updating pages, creating event pages and responding to visitor posts. Of course, unofficial fan pages on sites like Facebook can create confusion when an organization creates page to officially represent it, says Meyer of the Network of Women in Business.
No matter what you might be looking for on the Internet, sites like these can help you connect with interesting people with the same passions, business or goals.
Facebook Press
LinkedIn FAQ
Twitter Information
MySpace Information
Social Network Statistics