It’s no secret that Social Networking is huge. It’s also obvious that it is continuously changing. Friendster gave way to MySpace, which is fighting to retain users that are quickly immigrating to Facebook, all the while; many of us have snuck off to Twitted and FriendFeed. If these are the only sites you know, you only know about 1/10000th of what makes up the social network universe. Don’t feel bad, few can wrap their head around the breadth and depth of SoNets, and no one is omniscient enough to have even heard of most of them.
 
SoNets are a fact of life and business. If you’re reading this, you’re on Talent Zoo, which means you’re looking for a job or an employee. Businesses can feel free to hire me to consult with them about SoNets and Social Media (SoMe), this one is for the job hunters.
 
So you’ve got your resume perfect, it gives a brilliant overview of your skills, talent, and experience. You’re already a step ahead of me! You’ve briefed your references so they talk about your strengths and not what you did at the last company outing. If you’re a creative, you’ve got your portfolio book, site, or iPod full of your best work. That should do it right? Not exactly. What happens when your future employer’s HR staff Googles you? They’ll get to know you really well or not. They may find nothing, not a big deal; unless you’re a creative, marketer, advertiser, programmer, you get it. If you’re in the business you’d better be online. ‘Why’ should be obvious, we’ll get to ‘where’ later. Let’s talk about ‘how’.
 
How you present yourself online, in SoNets or otherwise is as important as how you present yourself in person. Even more so since this may be your first impression to potential employers, and you know what they say about first impressions. This goes not just for job hunters involved in advertising or interactive, but for everyone. Most savvy employers won’t hold your MySpace pictures against you, some may. The Internet is public domain. Everyone can see anything you’ve posted online. So those party pictures, blogs about Star Trek and forum rants are just a click away for anyone who wants them. If you want be treated as a professional, take care to establish a professional persona online. Keep your comments, blogs, etc. professional. This isn’t to say you can’t be yourself online. On the contrary, be as personal and wacky as you want. Just do it with a non- related screen name that you only share with friends. Speaking of which, if you’re on Facebook, get two accounts. One for friends that’s private and one for professionals. Don’t let friends or non-business contacts friend you. You’d be surprised how inappropriate your college buddies or that girl you just met might be on your Wall!

For those thinking, ‘this is such a pain, why bother’, remember that first impression I mentioned? By presenting a skilled and experienced face on social networks, you can get a jump on the competition. By getting involved in professional forums you can position yourself as an eager learner, a helpful pro, even as an expert in your field.

The possibilities seem endless when moving to a new city, but so are the questions: where will you work, where will you live, and most of all – how do you start to create a new social network?  Moving can be a complex and lonely experience as people try to manage the logistics, orient themselves with the layout of their new city, negotiate employment landmines and adjust to a new social reality.

As an ‘outsider’ it can be difficult to know how to begin to make friends.  The office is an excellent starting point, but not everyone is fortunate enough to have a job offer immediately when they arrive in a new city.

Paramount Properties brings you some social networking suggestions to ease your transition to a new city.

Join a Gym

Good for the head, heart, body and soul, the gym also provides an easy environment in which to meet others.  The camaraderie that comes from collectively punishing yourselves in an aerobic or weight-lifting class is unbeatable.  Strike up a conversation with the person on the treadmill next you.  See where it takes you.

Prominent Canadian gyms include Goodlife, YMCA, Florida Fitness, Gym Max and Curves.

Running Clubs

Although some runners prefer to conserve their air and don’t make great conversationalists, members of running clubs are usually very social when the run is done.  Swap stories while basking your tired legs in an endorphin high.  Running is also a great way to cover a lot of ground and explore a new city.

Book Clubs

If you’re a fan of literature, a book club is the perfect place to meet others who also like to lose themselves in a good novel. Take time out from your busy life as you momentarily escape from the “real world,” and then discuss the book and its themes with other people in the club. It doesn’t matter if you agree or disagree with the others about the true motives of the protagonist – the main thing is that you’re striking up conversations with new and interesting people. Another perk about book clubs is that you can sometimes get the chance to hear an author speak about his or her book. This can be very insightful and will give you and your new colleagues more to talk about.

Join a Sports Club

Hockey, basketball, softball, soccer, tennis, golf and ultimate frisbee leagues offer excellent opportunities to meet people, get fit, have a great time and even get out of town if your team participates in inter-city tournaments.  Find a sport you’ve always wanted to play and get involved.

Theatre Clubs

Assuming another identity and putting yourself on stage in front of the whole world may seem risky, but the benefits you reap will be even greater.  Theatre is a promising way to meet outgoing people.  Also, once you have mastered performing to a crowd, social introductions or job interviews will be a breeze!

However, if stepping into the spotlight is the last thing you would ever do, you can still enjoy the theatre experience as a member of the audience. Theatre/social clubs often have access to discounted tickets, and members will usually meet up after the show for food, drinks and a hearty discussion about what you just saw.

Volunteer for Charity

Help others and help yourself at the same time.  United Way and Red Cross are two large and deserving causes.  Local food banks are another place where you can see up front how your contribution makes a difference to the lives of struggling families.

Connect with Cultural and Religious Organizations

Most Canadian cities have strong Chinese, Greek, Jewish, Muslim, Italian, German, Hindu and ex-pat communities that host special festivals and events.  Familiarity breeds comfortability, so seek out those common ties and make yourself known.

Coffee Shops and Pubs

You never know who you’ll meet during Happy Hour or at your local Starbucks, Bridgehead or Second Cup … give it a try and see what happens!

Good friendships take time, but the more you get involved in your community, the more at home you’ll feel and the more stories you’ll have to share.  By the time you’ve made your way through this list, you’ll be a professional ice breaker.  Good luck!

www.unlimitedincomecreater.com

youtube: Search – RobertSB22  category – videos

Using online social networks for marketing is different from traditional marketing tactics. It’s not just a matter of getting your message out to as many people as possible. This is akin to spamming. The main distinction between traditional online marketing and marketing on online social networks is that effective online network marketing involves relationships. It is not just a matter of pushing your message; it’s a matter of having a conversation or relationship with your audience.

Having said that, you may wonder who is your audience. Is it anybody and everybody who will listen? Not exactly. Although you should strive to increase the size of your network, you must keep in mind that you must target influencers within your market. Those people who blog or write, content producers, frequently are more likely to generate buzz about your organization than those who are content consumers. The content producers are the leaders of online networks. You want the leaders on your side.

In short, don’t turn down somebody who friends you on an online network like Facebook or MySpace, the two largest network communities. Go ahead and add people who want to be your friends, if they take up too much time and don’t provide any value for you, you can unfriend them later. Keep in mind that amongst those friends you add, there may be an influencer or two who will recommend your product or service to others. If you have a system that targets influencers, then you will have used an online network to its fullest potential.

Having said all that, it is vital that your interactions with your online friends are genuine. As soon as you come across as fake or not genuine, whatever goodwill you may have generated will flip into an equal amount of ill-will. Keep it personal and keep it real.

You can find me at  www.unlimitedincomecreater.com , youtube: Search – RobertSB22  category – videos

Social software designers are learning that designing for group behavior and interaction is more complex than designing for individual users. Especially in social network design, the unpredictability in user response and group activities can pose design difficulties. In order for a social network design to be successful, there are several basic principles that should be followed.

1. Engage the user quickly—seconds matter. First impressions matter when users have millions of websites they can click to. You will need to make the core features of your network absolutely clear before distracting the user with too many peripheral features. Make sure there is a very short learning curve for users to be able to add content or change settings so that they can see the results quickly.

Continuing to engage users requires dynamic applications. In order to provide an ongoing quality experience across multiple sessions, the application must generate new content on a steady basis. One way that social network design can accomplish this is by exposing friend or contact activity. This is how MySpace and FaceBook have leveraged their technologies. As users become aware of how other users are interacting and using the network, this creates ongoing change and interactivity.

2. Enable self expression. The user’s profile page should be customizable to the extreme and offer a large variety of options for self expression. The profile will ultimately reflect the individual’s identity, expressing their likes, dislikes, tastes—opening themselves up to every other user. The more self expression available on the profile page, the more interactions are possible with other users as they connect and networks grow.

Conversations or discussions among users are another necessary way for self expression. As discussions continue, the interaction has a tendency to spawn new topics and new content. The growth of a network can be exponentially related to the interaction and interplay of its users as they have increasing numbers of conversations throughout the network.

3. Community Building. By following the first two principles of engaging quickly and enabling self expression, the network creates an environment that fosters development of huge connecting interactions. These connections can quickly grow too numerous to be able to track so smaller communities within the whole are created. As in a real public setting, users will tend to gather together in groups of similar interests or tastes. As these communities grow, contributors become emotionally vested in the network.

By forming these smaller communities within the larger network, users are given a much fuller and richer experience. As they become more and more vested in the community, they are less likely to leave and more likely to invite others to join them in the experience. Communities are what keep users coming back, helping them form permanent, virtual ties.

The use of social media websites for marketing is growing fast. However, this is new ground for many marketers and, as it matures, certain legal issues will emerge. In this article, I look at a few potential legal pitfalls and how to avoid them.

Because social network marketing involves the publishing or broadcast of online content, many existing, traditional media law apply to content on social media websites.

Copyright is the big one, with “fair use” on the forefront. Copyright law protects any type of content whether it is text, audio, video — whether or not an actual copyright statement exists on the content. To keep yourself safe, always quote sources. Even if you don’t use a statement word-for-worth, it’s better to attribute statements to known sources.

Services such as CopyScape offer website owners and web content providers the ability to check their writing against other content on the web. But, it won’t check older, or archived, content that doesn’t exist on the web. Just because content has been checked with CopyScape doesn’t mean it wasn’t plagiarized.

These same standards apply to trademarks, logos, literature and art. Your motto should be “When in doubt, source it out.” Be aware also of “deep linking” to content, whether pictures, logos, or other material.

If you link to content which looks like it might be misconstrued as belonging to you, you could be in violation of copyright laws. Not to mention stealing bandwidth.

Another potentially problematic area is disclosure and confidentiality. You need to be careful about what you write about your own business and competitors. Revealing information about the business transactions of your clients or competitors could land you in very hot water. When you perform a transaction with a client, it’s assumed that you will hold client information confidential. Leaking confidential information can be very damaging to a client or competitor—not to mention your own reputation.

Any media law expert will tell you that one of the biggest dangers when publishing or broadcasting are defamation and libel. If you are writing anything about an individual, especially if it is controversial, you must check that all facts are correct before publication. In fact, even if you are repeating something libelous that you saw written elsewhere you can have legal problems. The best advice? Don’t do it. Stay away from anything that hints of trouble.

If you use social media websites like FaceBook and MySpace, be aware of privacy issues. While it is perfectly ethical to use social networking websites to spread your message to people who are genuinely interested, many people game the system. Like email spam, social networking spam is becoming a huge problem. Don’t be surprised about future legislation on this issue.

Social network marketing is still in its infancy so many legal issues have yet to be flushed out. The bottom line is that if you’re communicating on social media sites, and you’re not attempting to circumvent ideas or privacy, you shouldn’t run into any legal trouble.

It is well documented that unemployment and times of financial distress precede an increase of abuse and suicides.  According to University of Buffalo sociologist, Sampson Blair, the potential is 2-3 times higher than for those who are not going through the stress of being jobless.  A sense of isolation and helplessness leave people feeling as though they have nowhere and no one to turn to.  Thankfully, that is changing.  There is now a free social network that is designed specifically for the unemployed and financially troubled.

IAmVeryBroke.com is a new, interactive website developed specifically as a place for people to find relief from economic stress.  Using online social networking, IAmVeryBroke is a source of free financial help, as well as a platform for communication with others going through similar situations.

In an effort to anticipate all of the best ways for people to benefit from the site, IAmVeryBroke is offering several features to its users:

Chat Private messaging Story sharing Blog posting Feelicons 5 star advisor rating Vent line

The IAmVeryBroke vent line is one of the most important features, giving those who need to release their frustrations a safe place to do so.  Registered users can call and leave a voice message which will be displayed on the website.

Stress relief is the purpose of the vent line, which lets people get things off their chest instead of letting anger and frustration eat away at them.  Those who are struggling financially are under immense strain that can build into a destructive anger or depression.  Often times, this escalating pressure can result in broken friendships, spousal abuse, and alienation from family or worse.

To let people know who the site’s best advisors are, there is a 5 Star rating process to use as a guide.  When users receive help or advice from someone, they can give that person a one to five star rating vote.  The top 15% of the compiled ratings is constantly updated and displayed on the site.  Registered IAmVeryBroke users are able to tell at a glance which advisors are the most helpful or knowledgeable.

The biggest point that is impressed upon IAmVeryBroke users is that they are not alone.   Readily available, open and inviting methods of communication encourage friendships and sharing to help people get through the tough times as easily as possible.

If anyone you know can be helped by IAmVeryBroke’s free social network resource for the unemployed and financially troubled, please reach out to them.  Pass along this information and the site link, so they can find the relief they need and be able to say, “IAmVeryBroke no longer!”

For More Information:-  http://www.iamverybroke.com

Keywords:-  Free Social Network, Online Social Networking

With the advent of the internet, the whole world has shrunk to the size of your laptop. People can connect to other people with similar interests across thousands of miles. While critics of the internet find many disadvantages in the whole situation, there are a lot of advantages in being able to find friends and clients across the world for both individuals and businesses. And the web sites facilitating these fruitful connections are the vast majority of highly popular social networking sites on the internet. Some of the main advantages of social networking for both individuals and for businesses are discussed below:

Social Networking for Individuals: In a world where people are getting busier with their lives day by day, social networking sites are doing a great job of bringing friends, families and even strangers closer. Just imagine the joy of finding your long lost child- hood best friend on a social networking site like orkut.com or classmates.com. Most of us have gone through this experience and we all know that it is something that cannot be described easily in words.

Apart from connecting with old friends, you get to meet a whole lot of new people on these social networking web sites, and contrary to popular belief, not all of them are fakes. There are a wide number of good people like you who are out in the wide wide cyber world who are just as lonely as you are and are looking for like minded friends or companions. And a number of them have also succeeded at it. In fact it is so common that we all know people who met on line and are happily married today.

Social Networking for Businesses: While almost everyone is aware of the advantages of social networking for individuals, not many businesses are aware of the huge potential that this has in store for them. Joining a social networking site is one of the best and easiest ways of advertising about your business. What is more is that it is absolutely free. And on top of this, most such web sites will give you ample space to talk about your products and services.

It is a great method of increasing your client base and you are not even restricted by geographical boundaries. So while you can make a community of local businesses in order to garner your local target customer, you can also join communities of other similar businesses in order to be conspicuous to the overseas buyer who is sitting in another country or continent. It is an absolute win-win situation for you, so if havent joined a site till now, it is time that you did it right away!

Humans are social animals and have various things to share with each other. But due to deep involvement in work they do not get sufficient time for the same. This is the reason why since a long time people were looking for a kind of facility with the help of which they can interact with their beloved ones according to their own time and preferences.

With the advent of advanced technology it is not that much difficult now. Internet is an incorporated part of sophisticated technology. It offers the facility of online social networking with the help of which one can share his or her feeling with anyone, anytime, anywhere.

There are a large number of people who value their money much more then anything else. This is really a very good thing. Most of them wish they should get such kind of outstanding facility for free! For the first time it may look impossible but it is definitely not for the internet. There is availability of many sites on the internet which prefer to offer free online Social network to their users. This service also includes the facility of downloading, broadcasting and video sharing on mobile sharing on mobile phones.

Obviously, most of the users understand the real worth of services that are offered for free. None of the site will offered best possible services to their users. If you are among those users then you are right to some extent. Free online Social network may not offer you services which can highly match up with your anticipations. But it is not common with all the sites available on the internet.

There are few of the sites which have entered in the market with a user oriented objective. They believe in offering best possible services to their users regarding free online chatting and video sharing. Like all the other free online Social network sites their objective is also to avail good traffic and revenue but only after offering full service and satisfaction to their users. One such social networking site is Dimdix.

If you are becoming the member of this site then it is fully assured that you will avail a unique experience of online social networking. Most of the online users prefer this site for networking mainly because of the services and facilities offered by it.

Some of the unique services and features offered by this site include video sharing on mobile phones, online forums, live maps, etc.

When it is about free online Social network offered by Dimdix then video sharing has its own importance. With the help of this site you can broadcast videos of various memorable events from your mobile phones.

You can easily avail the services offered by this site through your computer and most of the mobile phones. The features offered by this site do not depend on any kind of GPS system to detect out ones current location.

Due to these outstanding features only this site does not require any kind of publicity to declare its presence in the market. Because of its strong support and dedication only it is presently maintaining a strong goodwill in the market.

Dimdix is a social networking site which you can really depend upon and stay ready to avail long lasting services and fruitful results. 

Thailand would not have been known as land of smiles and the land of traditional song if not for its womenfolk, whose graciousness and ability to remain placid and cool-hearted amidst vicissitudes make them stand out.

These days, perhaps as welcome respite two years after Thailand has been hit by political and economic turmoil following the toppling of Prime Minster Thaksin Shinawatra, majority of Thais are combing online social network and Music Search Engine sites not only to express their views on national issues but also to widen their social spheres.

In most cases, the disarming traits that characterize Thai women also happen to be the ones attracting new online friends for them. Balancing tradition with assimilation of modern technology trends, Thai women (and men, too) may be seen having a heyday picking up new friends and ideas through online communities.

While the online social network is all the rage, though, the unwary is bound to discover that it can imperil just as much as it can enhance lives. How so? It is not so much the unrestrained use. The main problem stems from divulging personal data (which may be protected by website hosts like online shopping sites, but open for public viewing in social media networking sites if users do not limit access) that lets those with ill intentions gain access to them. Disclosing one’s real age with photo, gender, phone number, email address, name of school/company and even one’s residence are a no-no, unless there is total guarantee these will be held confidential.

Despite all their risks, online social network continue to attract hordes of users. The sharp uptrend in Thai women subscribers displaying much enthusiasm for new electronic media as a means to expand their social network may partly be attributed to their innate love for fun, or sanuk. Moreover, the Thais are also known to derive pleasure from group activities. The more friends and group activities, the merrier. For a great number of Thai women who still adhere to age-old notions that women must be submissive to Thai men, there is certainly a liberating sense of freedom attained in being able to express themselves through a forum or discussion board offered by social networking communities.

Times are a-changing and as an increasing Thai women now hold sway over household finances and even business ventures, the online social network emerges as a major preoccupation. The vast benefits include linking up quickly with existing friends, family and business associates, their friends, or friends of their friends who may offer aid for both trivial or emergency matters by way of useful advice, or they may help further business interests.

Topping the list of benefits of the online social network and music search engine is the cathartic way it can appease the day-to-day or even long-term worries, concerns, and angst of women, in Thailand and elsewhere in the world. Indeed, users of online social networks may be said to have spurred a phenomenon, gauging from the way many blogs, music talk, music search, chat rooms and discussion boards have sprung up and gained wide acceptance and participation Update your knowledge and discover the joys and thrill of connecting with your friends or other people from whom you can learn something from. A worthy site to browse and sign up to is http://www.kartakhu.com

Social network sites in some cases can be considered the ‘duct tape’ of the global communications community. What had once hit the internet scene as an online ‘location’ for the ‘younger’ generation to communicate socially is now big business.

Combining with the technology of the internet and connecting global online communities, these sites are now recognized for their ability to attract large audiences. The ability to communicate thoughts, ideas, news, or other forms of information within and amongst these various online communities around the world 24/7 couldn’t be ignored.

The popularity of these type sites stem from their ‘casual’ structure which in turn attracted the masses that today are captivated by the many social networks online.
Of course it didn’t take long for marketers ranging from 5th Avenue down to small ‘mom and pop’ entrepreneurs to realize and harness the potential and power of these sites. 

Social network marketing has uncorked a completely new mindset and direction for both the mainstream and small-time marketers. The emphasis on relationship marketing is a strong indication of the unilateral shift in this ‘internet age’ marketing mindset.

The acceptance and embrace of social networks have now spawned sites that cater to an older generation as well as those that focus on working professionals. Whether discussing health issues, current events or business strategies these type sites have revealed an AWESOME POTENTIAL.

Social network marketing today is quickly becoming the online marketing approach of choice due to its ability to develop more personal and long term relations with customers. This relationship marketing really harkens back to ‘the day’ when a handshake could ’seal’ a deal. The value of trust has now been rediscovered on the internet. The irony here is the internet was once considered the MOST impersonal way of communicating since interpersonal contact was minimized due to the technologies involved.

Online marketing seemingly has turned the corner with the increasing use of these type sites as a favorable platform on which to implement many business strategies. 

Growing steadily in use, popularity, and sites, social networks are casting a larger shadow on the internet horizon. Both the business and communication potential these sites possess has now been identified.

Whatever your reasons or purpose may be social network sites seem to be the easiest and most effective means to spread the word. From an online marketing perspective, the growth rate and potential customer base these sites offer is undeniable, too tempting to pass up, and by no means should not be ignored!