If your goal is to reach out and find new friends and to socialize online or promote your business, then you just have to find the right network to join and become a member of that network, usually a website. Most online social networks are generalized in scope and free to join, but some have requirements, such as FaceBook.com, which requires you to have a dot EDU email address ( This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it ) to register as a member. There are some online social networks which require member dues and fees, however, their member numbers usually don't compare to the free social networks.

 Do you know the stories of the two mentioned social networks above (MySpace and FaceBook)? MySpace started up in 2003, and on July 19th of 2005 was sold to Rupert Murdoch for $580 Million dollars. In March of 2006, FaceBook owners turned down a $750 Million dollar offer for the FaceBook social networking web site in hopes of a $2 Billion dollar offer. Wow! They turned down $750 Million US dollars! You have to ask your self "why?". The answer to that, my dear Watson, is in the amount of money these sites generate in advertising. With the sheer numbers of people and pageviews involved, and the amount of advertising revenue, the potential is limitless.

There is a little history behind social networking that very few people seem aware of, and that is MySpace did NOT invent online social networking. Neither did FaceBook, or any other site. Social networking is what the Internet is all about. The ability for people all over the world to communicate with each other in groups. This started way back in newsgroups and evolved into forums, which seemed too difficult for the average person to make proper use of. So along the way forums were made easier to use, which in turn drew more users. Then someone took the idea of a free web site and incorporated it into the user's profile, thus giving other programmers the ideas which led to the development of MySpace by  Tom Anderson. Kudos to him for a revolutionary breakthrough on the Interne!. MySpace is the first site to beat the number one ranking site Google for the honour of being the number one Internet website. MySpace has over 100 Million registered users as off this writing.  And thanks to that, social networking has become all the rage on the Internet. 

So what then are the benefits of online social networking? To the average Internet user it can mean many things, such as: making new friends through existing friends; finding others who have the same interests and hobbies; and too much more to go into. For the business person is the ability to get in touch with individuals that may be interested in what that business has to offer them. Social networking is a great tool to put you in touch with the masses.

"How do I build my own social networking website? " You ask. If you're resourceful, computer and Internet savvy, know a little about HTML and some PHP or ASP programming, you could build one yourself. You could also find open source software which has already been written for the general purpose of social networking. However they may lack in certain aspects which you may require  for your concept of a social networking website.Then the question of marketing comes into play.  Which market should you target? Could your social networking web site be the next MySpace? Only your marketing efforts and time will tell.  Of course you could select a niche topic for your social networking website as was done with MultiPlaya.com or Wellness Thought Leaders .

Social networking is not just limited to the general public. You can create your own personal, or family oriented  online social network and keep it private. Share photos and videos with family and friends, private messaging, announcements, forums and other features. It's up to you with how you want to use the latest Internet fad.

 The one thing to keep in mind when building your online social networking website is that as with all things, it will take some time before it begins to grow. Unless you have unlimited financial resources for advertising, you're going to have to rely on yourself, and hopefully some friends, to spread the word about your online social network to their friends and colleagues, and so on. As your user base increases so will your page views, which will generate your advertising revenue.At this point you can begin to hunt for advertisers that will pay you to advertise their wares on your social network.
 

 If you are seriously considering a social networking web site for  personal or commercial reasons, contact MMM Internet today for a consultation. We have an extensive array of solutions available to you at affordable rates, starting from as little as $67 annually!