Graham has been talking a lot about Social networks lately, and I can see why - it’s a massive part of the Internet’s appeal and a natural extension to how we enjoy interacting in the real world (well, that and the fact that Graham generally has a lot to say anyway). However, what is a Social Network?.

A social network is a collection of individuals who are, in some way, connected to one another. This connection usually takes the form of a current or past friendship, but can also take the form of a shared interest, shared vision, sexual preferences or anything else you care to imagine. The key component to a social network are these connections:

• Any individual can be connected to any number of other individuals,
• New connections can be found easily through existing connections,
• Your connections’ connections (?) can be easily seen.

The concept of Social Networks has been around for a long time, but the Internet has provided us with many powerful tools to connect networks and people far more easily than was ever possible before. The power of a social network is in allowing people to connect very, very easily, and then allowing those people to benefit from their network very, very easily (perhaps by introducing them to new friends, finding potential business opportunities or by finding new people to share and discuss your interests with).

These guys have done a great job of explaining social networks very clearly, it’s worth a quick look.

There are a huge number of social networks which have become very popular for connecting people. Some networks exist to connect people through friendship, other networks connect people through a niche, shared interest. some of the most popular networks are:

• Facebook
• Linkedin
• MySpace
• Bebo
• Twitter

(We’ll be taking a look at these sites in more detail soon. Promise.)

Now, you know where people are hanging out, who they are talking with and what they enjoy talking about. What would you like to talk to them about?

Tags: social networking., Social networks, web 2.0