When and Why Do Existing Social Networks Need Online Social Networking?
When we think of social networking, we think of Websites like Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, and of tools like Twitter, De.li.ci.ous, and Stumble Upon. We have been conditioned to think about social networking as a way to connect with family, friends, co-workers, and with others who share similar personal and professional interests. We do this by “friending” each other and by exposing our thoughts, our favorite links and our interests to the world at large so that like-minded folks will find and “follow” us. Social networking tools have enabled us to make existing personal and professional networks explicit, but they have also served to make it easier for us to rekindle relationships we’d lost and to meet new people with whom we have something in common and/or people we may want to learn more about and possibly get to know. SOCIAL NETWORKS AREN’T NEW. Social and professional networks have existed for as long as human beings have been on this planet. People form groups. They become member
