Social Networking Platforms 101 – My Top 3

With so many different Social Networking sites online nowadays many people get overwhelmed.  Well, Ana is here to the rescue.  One of the things I ABSOLUTELY LOVE is reading (yes, I’m a bit of a book nerd, don’t hate) and so what I’ve been doing lately is reading up on all the different Social Networking sites out there that actually are useful.  Whether for business or personal use, these Top 3 sites are ones that I recommend every person look a lil bit more into before just tossing it to the side as a “fad”.

Note: Many of the you reading this right now probably have a working knowledge of the sites I’m about to mention.  I’m just doing a quick overview for the newbies BUT if you want more information about any of these, just shoot me a message.  I’m more than happy to share my thoughts and even give more info on books to read to learn more.

Social Networks:
1. Facebook

• Probably one of the more “popular” and “mainstream” of the social networks.
• Females are the majority user.
• Age range of most users btwn 45-54 followed by the 25-34 crowd.
• Average income = $25K-$50K.
• One of the most appealing things is that its free to join and you can probably find most of your friends/family on here.
• One of the annoying aspects is the integration with every single app known to mankind right now (I really don’t want to play farmville or mafia wars or whatever new game is going on).
• NOT a good place to find investors.  More of a share your pictures/status updates/plan a party type of medium.

2. LinkedIn

• A MUST JOIN NETWORK for any working professional or college student.
• Considered a “professional network” rather than “social network”.
• Male dominated.
• Age range of users btwn 35-44 followed by 45-54.
• Average income around $50K-$100K.
• It is free to have a membership but if you really want to get the most out of the site, upgrade to Business Plus ($49.99/mo).  You’ll be able to connect w/a lot more people.
• Great network to learn from established professionals and to grow your network.
• One of the better sites to find investors in a project.

3. Twitter

• Fastest growing social networking site at the moment.
• Male/Female ratio is about the same.
• Age range of users are 35-44 followed by 25-34.
• Average income $25K-$50K but slowly rising into the higher brackets.
• Great way to send out quick bursts of info to a massive amount of people (followers) that can be spread like wildfire with re-tweets.
• Business professionals are taking to Twitter, using it to find investments/investors and share ideas.
• I’m a fan of twitter because of its simplicity.