7 Social Networks You Should Be Logging on to ...

While we silently mourn the slow death of MySpace, most of us have jumped ship to Facebook. This social network is used for personal and professional connections, news sourcing, game playing, photo sharing and a tool in building business and brand recognition. With its multiple uses, there will be abuse (ahem, Farmville) and certain spewed nonsense, but ultimately, I find it a great way to keep up with out-of-state friends, locate new local information and keep track of events and birthdays.

Twitter is the current social media darling. With thousands of users joining everyday, that’s certainly a lot of chatter to manage. But if you need instant answers – and have a varied group of people with whom you are connected – you can glean useful information at such a brisk pace. When connecting with followers – whether globally or locally – it’s like having a real-time chat in your web browser (or on your mobile device), but with a carefully selected list of friends, businesses, bloggers and celebrities.

Call it the “Facebook for business,” LinkedIn is an online place to connect with co-workers, past employers and potential new opportunities. Upload your resume, work history and connect with like-minded industry professionals. With the use of groups, community members can converse about topics and issues specific to their field. If you are looking for work or a new job, it is an incredible tool to connect with the human resources staff – or the person in charge of hiring contractors – prior to applying to a position or sending over a portfolio.

This location-based network is a innovative platform used by smart-phone users who “check in” at bars, restaurants and shops – and that usually feeds those updates to a user’s Twitter or Facebook account. These continuous updates perpetuate badges for completing certain tasks resulting in “mayorships” after multiple visits. Companies are using FourSquare to recognize regular customers with Mayor specials, including free drinks or appetizers, discounts on meals or merchandise and a little friendly competition. And as a business owner, recognizing repeat visitors has quite an impact on guests.

YouTube is much like that cable music channel at the height of its popularity. But the visual distribution platform revolutionized entertainment, capturing an audience greater than just cat lovers. Utilized properly, video has the opportunity to make user-generated content viral – useful for both individual, if you want 15 minutes of fame and marketing or if you want a return of 15 million views on a (cheap) investment. This Web portal has a universal draw for information, music and news – and the potential for a whole lot of time-wasting.

Yelp! is an amazingly helpful and convenient mobile platform, especially if you are a new resident or visitor to a city. With honest and no-nonsense, user-submitted reviews of restaurants, bars, museums and more, establishments are held accountable for their universal treatment of customers. You may never know who is on the other side of that bar, table or fitness class, so beware the wrath of a reviewer’s keyboard.

The site-described customized social network, Ning is the perfect place to create your own unique community. Designed to connect you and your specific interests with like-minded friends (or strangers), this platform is exactly what you make of it. Common uses include linking organizations to individuals for volunteering, matching potential donors with activities and local groups and pairing influencers with activists. You can keep it as private and intimate – or as large and openly connected – as you wish.

As ubiquitous as blogging is, I intentionally left sites like Wordpress, Blogger and TypePad off this list. You know, since everyone and my mother seems to have one. Networking and staying in touch has always been an important goal, and social media certainly makes it easier. And dare I say, a little fun. Which social networking platforms do you use?

Top Photo Credit: Cavan Images