Social networking has taken the world by storm. What started as a social experiment on the internet has now transformed into a full fledged movement. In fact it is the new age mantra which everyone seems to be chanting. GreenCode Technologies, Inc. is developing its first social networking site  (www.MySharewall.com ) which will be available on January, 2010.

Essentially a social networking site is a platform for people to come together. Here they meet in a virtual world, chat, share experiences, buy, sell, communicate, discuss , date , marry  and do literally everything which one would as a human being. The phenomenon by itself is a movement of sorts. It has the changed the way we interact with others.  Social networking has become all pervading to the exclusion of all other modes of communication.

What constitutes social networking? Everything and anything to do with people meeting on the internet. Pure play social sites like Orkut kicked off the phenomenon of networking online. Later it was purchased by Google and came into limelight. What is interesting to note here is that these social sites are not really based on a realistic profit model. Still sites like facebook and MySpace are being assessed at unbelievably high valuations.

Social networking is seen at play on sites like amazon.com and Ebay where online auctions and trading of goods is facilitated through the internet. The reason these sites are classified as social networking site is because of the interactivity and free exchange of information which is possible here. Buyers and sellers can review products, award points and generally provide feedback on each others performance. These   are ecommerce sites but with much more interactivity and participation than a conventional website.

There are book marking social networking sites like Digg and Delicious in which people can not only bookmark their favorite sites but also share them with others over the internet. Social networking sites like Stickam and Youtube offer video streaming and sharing. LinkedIn is an informal job portal sharing personal profiles of its members. Flickr and PhotoBucket are for uploading, sharing photographs. The list of social networking sites is endless. There are approximately one thousand five hundred active sites and the list is growing.

Why are social networking sites so popular? According to psychologists and sociologists the privacy accorded to individuals is a huge draw for these sites. In fact an individual can have several profiles on different social sites without revealing their true identity. These profiles are called avatars.  The inhibitions caused due to personal reasons can be confidently shed on social networking sites. One can exchange their feelings, thoughts and ideas freely. There are people who have misused this privacy to commit pranks and frauds. Lately there is a movement to force social sites to disclose the actual identity of registered users which is being vehemently opposed. Google has refused to share their registered user list due to fear of disclosing their private and personal information.

Social networking is being touted as the next big thing for businesses as well. Large enterprises like IBM are experimenting with their own flavor of social networking. It includes various constituents of their business like vendors, suppliers, distributors, developers, users, customers and the entire enterprise ecosystem.

Social networking is here to stay. Its reach is being extended to businesses and other activities. It has revolutionized the way we think and do things. As technology evolves, the power of the internet is bound to increase and with it social networking is likely to take off in a big way.

By Jose L. Anton, CEO

GreenCode Technologies, Inc.

(954) 840-8068