LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional network with over 40 million members and growing rapidly. LinkedIn connects you to your trusted contacts and helps you exchange knowledge, ideas, and opportunities with a broader network of professionals.

Watch this short video for an overview of what LinkedIn is and how it can help you.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Learn at your own pace

The video links below provide easy understanding to the uses of LinkedIn.

General LinkedIn

How to Join LinkedIn

Creating and Managing your Profile

Navigating Your Homepage

LinkedIn Subscriptions

Adding/Changing an Email Address

Managing Your Recommendations

Removing a connection

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Blogs, or Web logs, are online journals that are updated frequently, sometimes even daily. An update, (also called an entry or a post) is usually quite short, perhaps just a few sentences, and readers can often respond to an entry online. People who write blogs are commonly called bloggers. Bloggers, tongue in cheek, call themselves and their blogs the blogosphere.

Blogs are a great way to keep everyone in a family abreast of the latest family news without running up the phone bill — you can simply read back over important updates to find out the latest news. In addition, many blogs are being used to host photographs, and their chronological structure can be a great way to keep track of a baby’s growth, a trip, or the process of planning a wedding.

Professional writers often look down on bloggers, because their informal online writing rarely benefits from a good editor. Blogs are known for their casual writing and unpredictable subject material, but the best blogs have proven that — regardless of punctuation and spelling — even “novice” writers can be entertaining enough to attract a broad audience.

Bloggers with an especially engaging subject, such as chronicling a trip around the world, have the advantage of inherently interesting material, but even mundane material can attract an audience if you have an engaging style and voice.

Here are three guiding principles to writing a successful blog:

• Develop a writing style and tone appropriate to your subject material.

• Post often, even if your posts are short.

• Allow your readers to comment on your posts.

Develop a writing style and voice

A great site design and technical gimmicks are no replacement for developing an interesting, readable writing style. Most of us don’t do much personal writing in our everyday lives or even keep a diary. Writing about yourself is never easy, and you may find yourself freezing up in front of the computer screen or becoming stilted and unnecessarily verbose.

Here are a few suggestions you can use to develop your own voice and style for your blog. First, remember that a blog is a conversation. Try to write the way you speak. Avoid jargon and clichés and don’t overuse the thesaurus. It may be helpful to speak your entry out loud before trying to type it or to read it aloud after you’ve written it. If you find yourself struggling as you read aloud or speaking unnaturally, think about what you might have said if you were talking to a friend rather than writing.

Second, write your blog with a specific friend or family member in mind. Thinking of someone you know well and who might want to read your blog will help you relax your writing style. That’s why it’s become popular for many people to start personal journal entries with Dear Diary. The goal is to get your writing to sound more like you and less like a lofty essay.

Always consider your audience. If you’re writing for only close friends and family, you don’t need to explain that Sarah is your 8-year-old daughter every time you mention her. But if your blog attracts a wider audience, you may want to create references or glossaries to help new readers follow along.

Finally, before you start blogging, spend some time visiting other blogs that are like the one you’re thinking of starting. Read one or two for a few weeks and pay attention to things like the length of posts, frequency, writing style, and subject material. You can get some great ideas for your own blog by noting what you find interesting and compelling in other people’s blogs.

Update, update, update

The blogs that attract the most readers are the ones with frequent updates. If you start a blog, be prepared to spend some time working on it every day or two. If you’re going to be a blogger, you have to blog! It takes discipline for most of us to write, even conversationally, every day. If you find yourself dreading posting to your blog, maybe a blog isn’t for you.

As you go about your day, keep the blog in the back of your mind. You may even want to carry a notebook where you can jot down reminders for topics you want to blog about later. Start paying attention to the parts of your life that are most interesting to you; those will likely be the areas your friends and family are most interested in as well. Don’t be afraid to write about everyday activities — parking tickets and car repairs — but don’t neglect to talk about what you’re thinking and feeling. All these areas will make it possible for you to update frequently.

Having a co-blogger can take some of the pressure off, especially if all authors contribute regularly. If you’re going to be working with several people on one blog, talk over how often you expect each other to post so that you can keep some focus and cohesion to your blog.

If you will be updating your blog on a weekly, biweekly, or monthly basis, try to be consistent about when you add new posts so that your readers know when to catch up. For example, you may choose to update your site every Sunday evening.

Invite comments

An important aspect of blogs is that they feature the writing of the blogger as well as the comments of readers. When you visit a blog, you often find a comment link under the text of each blog posting. Clicking that link enables you to read comments from other people and submit your own. Usually bloggers make their own comments in the posts on their site, but sometimes a blogger adds a response in the comment section because it’s a more direct way to address someone else’s comment.

Not all bloggers choose to implement the comment feature, but if you want to develop a dialogue with your audience, comments are the best way to do so. The comment feature is an easy way to involve your audience and get valuable feedback about what you’re doing with your blog.

If you do decide to allow comments on your blog, be sure to keep an eye on them. The comment feature makes it possible for anyone to add comments to your blog

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Name	Description/Focus	Registered users	Registration	Global Alexa[1] Page ranking
14kMedia	General, Popular in United States	&0000000000015805.00000015,805[4]	Open	&0000000000244183.000000244,183[5]
Advogato	Free and open source software developers	&0000000000013575.00000013,575[6]	Open	&0000000000118124.000000118,124[7]
Amie Street	Music		Open	&0000000000030628.00000030,628[8]
ANobii	Books	&-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1.000000	Open	&0000000000013111.00000013,111[9]
aSmallWorld	European jet set and social elite	&0000000000270000.000000270,000[10]	Invite-only	&0000000000011655.00000011,655[11]
Athlinks	Running, Swimming	&0000000000054270.00000054,270[12]	Open	&0000000000107826.000000107,826[13]
Avatars United	Online games.		Open	&0000000000302122.000000302,122[14]
Badoo	General, Popular in Europe	&0000000031000000.00000031,000,000[15]	Open to people 18 and older	&0000000000000157.000000157[16]
Bahu	General, Popular in France, Belgium and elsewhere in Europe	&0000000001000000.0000001,000,000[17]	Open to people aged 13-25	&0000000000019738.00000019,738[18]
Bebo	General.	&0000000040000000.00000040,000,000[19]	Open to people 13 and older	&0000000000000148.000000148[20]
Bigadda	Indian Social Networking Site.	&0000000003000000.0000003,000,000[21]	Open to people 16 and older.	&0000000000002900.0000002,900[22]
Biip	Norwegian Community.	&0000000000013476.000000	Requires Norwegian phone number.	&0000000000016645.00000016,645[23]
BlackPlanet	African-Americans	&0000000020000000.00000020,000,000[24]	Open	&0000000000001226.0000001,226[25]
Broadcaster.com	Video sharing and webcam chat	&0000000000322715.000000322,715[26]	Open
Buzznet	Music and pop-culture	&0000000010000000.00000010,000,000[27]	Open	&0000000000000498.000000498[28]
CafeMom	Mothers	&0000000001250000.0000001,250,000[29]	Open to moms and moms-to-be	&0000000000003090.0000003,090[30]
Cake Financial	Investing	&-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1.000000	Open
Care2	Green living and social activism	&0000000009961947.0000009,961,947[31]	Open
Classmates.com	School, college, work and the military	&0000000050000000.00000050,000,000[32]	Open	&0000000000000923.000000923[33]
Cloob	General. Popular in Iran.	&-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1.000000	Open
College Tonight	College students.	&-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1.000000	requires an e-mail address with an “.edu” ending
CouchSurfing	Worldwide network for making connections between travelers and the local communities they visit.	&0000000001118447.0000001,118,447[34]	Open
DeviantART	Art community	&0000000009040962.0000009,040,962[35]	Open	&0000000000000119.000000119[36]
Disaboom	People with disabilities. (Amputee, cerebral palsy, MS, and other disabilities.)	&-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1.000000	Open
dol2day	Politic community, Social network, Internet radio (German-speaking countries)	&0000000000040200.00000040,200[37]	Open
DontStayIn	Clubbing (primarily UK)	&-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1.000000	Open
Draugiem.lv	General (primarily LV, LT, HU)	&0000000002400000.0000002,400,000	Invitation only
Elftown	Community and wiki around Fantasy and sci-fi.	&0000000000185000.000000185,000[38]	Open, approval needed
Epernicus	For research scientists	&-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1.000000	Open
Eons.com	For baby boomers	&-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1.000000	Open to people 13 and older	&0000000000013675.00000013,675[39]
Experience Project	Life experiences	&-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1.000000	Open
Exploroo	Travel Social Networking.		Open	&Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character “,”Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character “,”Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character “,”Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character “,”Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character “,”Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character “,”Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character “,”Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character “,”Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character “,”Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character “,”Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character “,”Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character “,”Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character “,”Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character “,”Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character “,”Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character “,”.Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character “,”282,000[40]
Facebook	General.	&0000000200000000.000000200,000,000[41]	Open to people 13 and older	&0000000000000004.0000004[42]
Faceparty	General. Popular UK.	&0000000000200000.000000200,000[43]	Invitation only to people 18 and older.	&0000000000002481.0000002,481[44]
Faces.com	British teens	&-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1.000000	Open to people 13 and older
Fetlife	People who are into BDSM	&0000000000032500.00000032,500[45]	Open to people “of [legal] age to see adult content”	&0000000000054198.00000054,198[46]
Filmaffinity	Movies and TV Series	&0000000000250000.000000250,000[47]	Open	&0000000000004082.0000004,082[48]
Flixster	Movies	&0000000063000000.00000063,000,000[49]	Open to people 13 and older	&0000000000000309.000000309[50]
Flickr	Photo sharing, commenting, photography related networking, worldwide	&-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1.000000	Open	&0000000000000037.00000037[51]
Fotolog	Photoblogging. Popular in South America and Spain.	&0000000020000000.00000020,000,000[52]	Open	&0000000000000057.00000057[53]
Friends Reunited	UK based. School, college, work, sport and streets	&0000000019000000.00000019,000,000[54]	Open	&0000000000008052.0000008,052[55]
Friendster	General. Popular in Southeast Asia. No longer popular in the western world.	&0000000090000000.00000090,000,000[56]	Open to people 16 and older. No children allowed.	&0000000000000064.00000064[57]
Frühstückstreff	General	&0000000000014800.000000	Open
Fubar	dating, an “online bar” for 18 and older	&0000000001200000.0000001,200,000[58]	Open	&0000000000002609.0000002,609[59]
Gaia Online	Anime and games	&-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1.000000	Open to people 13 and older
GamerDNA	Computer and video games	&0000000000310000.000000310,000[60]	Open
Gather.com	Article, picture, and video sharing, as well as group discussions	&0000000000465000.000000465,000[61]	Open
Geni.com	Families, genealogy	&0000000015000000.00000015,000,000[62]	Open
Goodreads	Library cataloging, book lovers	&-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1.000000	Open	&0000000000005305.0000005,305[63]
Gossipreport.com	Anonymous gossip	&-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1.000000	Open to people 16 and older
Grono.net	Poland	&-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1.000000	Open
Habbo	General for teens. Over 31 communities worldwide. Chat Room and user profiles.	&0000000117000000.000000117,000,000[64][65][66]	Open to people 13 and older	&0000000000004050.0000004,050[67]
hi5	General. Popular in India,Portugal, Mongolia, Thailand, Romania, Jamaica, Central Africa and Latin America. Not popular in the USA.	&0000000080000000.00000080,000,000[68]	Open to people 13 and older. No children allowed.	&0000000000000027.00000027[69]
Hospitality Club	Hospitality	&0000000000328629.000000328,629[70]	Open
Hyves	General, Most popular in the Netherlands.	&0000000008000000.0000008,000,000[71]	Open	&0000000000000216.000000216[72]
imeem	Music, Video, Photos, Blogs	&0000000024000000.00000024,000,000[73]	Open	&0000000000000140.000000140[74]
Indaba Music	Online music collaboration, remix contests. Users in 175 countries.	&0000000000125000.000000125,000[75]	Open	&0000000000062781.00000062,781[76]
IRC-Galleria	Finland	&0000000000505000.000000505,000[77]	Open to Finnish speaking people 12 and older
italki.com	Language learning social network. 100+ languages.	&0000000000450000.000000450,000	Open. Global.	&0000000000015500.00000015,500[78]
InterNations	International community	&-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1.000000	Invite-only	&0000000000030147.00000030,147[79]
itsmy	Mobile community worldwide, blogging, friends, personal TV-shows	&0000000002500000.0000002,500,000[80]
iWiW	Hungary	&0000000004000000.0000004,000,000[81]	Invite-only
Jaiku	General. Owned by Google.	&-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1.000000	Now available to all.
Jammer Direct	Creative resource website	&-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1.000000	Open to the General Public
kaioo	General, nonprofit	&0000000000030000.00000030,000[82]
Kaixin001	General. In Simplified Chinese; caters for mainland China users	&-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1.000000	Open to the General Public
Kiwibox	General. For the users, by the users, a social network that is more than a community.	&0000000002400000.0000002,400,000[83]	Open to people 13 and older.	&0000000000022693.00000022,693[84]
Last.fm	Music	&0000000030000000.00000030,000,000[85]	Open to people 13 and older	&0000000000000262.000000262[86]
LibraryThing	Book lovers	&0000000000400000.000000400,000[87]	Open to people 13 and older
lifeknot	Shared interests, hobbies	&-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1.000000	Open to people 18 and older.
LinkedIn	General but mainly business	&0000000042000000.00000042,000,000[88]	Open to people 18 and older.	&0000000000000192.000000192[89]
LiveJournal	Blogging	&0000000017564977.00000017,564,977[90]	Open (OpenID)	&0000000000000056.00000056[91]
Livemocha	Languages. Used to learn and help others learn languages.	&0000000001000000.0000001,000,000[92]	Open	&0000000000005505.0000005,505[93]
LunarStorm	Sweden	&0000000001200000.000000[94]	Open
MEETin	General	&-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1.000000	Open
Meetup.com	General. Used to plan offline meetings for people interested in various activities.	&-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1.000000	Open to people 18 and older.
Meettheboss	Business and Finance community, worldwide.		Open
Mixi	Japan	&0000000020936509.00000020,936,509[95]	Invite-only	&0000000000000064.00000064[96]
mobikade	mobile community, UK only	&-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1.000000	Open to people 18 and older
MocoSpace	mobile community, worldwide	&0000000003000000.0000003,000,000[97]	Open to people 14 and older
MOG	Music	&-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1.000000	Open to people 14 and older
Multiply	“Real world” relationships. Popular in Asia. Not popular in the western world.	&0000000010000000.00000010,000,000[98]	Open to people 13 and older. No children allowed.	&0000000000000150.000000150[99]
Muxlim	Muslim portal site	&0000000000050000.00000050,000[100]	Open to people 13 and older	&0000000000094338.00000094,338[101]
MyAnimeList	Anime themed social community	&0000000000160000.000000160,000[102]	Open to people 13 and older	&0000000000004500.0000004,500[103]
MyChurch	Christian Churches	&0000000000144295.000000144,295[104]	Open	&0000000000033621.00000033,621[105]
MyHeritage	family-oriented social network service	&0000000030000000.00000030,000,000 [106]	Open	&0000000000004735.0000004,735[107]
MyLife.com	Locating friends and family, keeping in touch (formerly Reunion.com)	&0000000051000000.00000051,000,000[108]	Open	&0000000000002311.0000002,311[109]
MyLOL	General. Popular in the United States, Europe and Australia.	&0000000000032000.00000032,000[110]	Open to ages 13 and up.	&0000000000253145.000000253,145[111]
MySpace	General.	&Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character “,”Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character “,”Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character “,”Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character “,”Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character “,”Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character “,”Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character “,”Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character “,”Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character “,”Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character “,”Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character “,”Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character “,”Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character “,”Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character “,”Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character “,”Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character “,”.Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character “,”261,422,883[112]	Open to ages 13 and up.	&0000000000000011.00000011[86]
myYearbook	General	&0000000005100000.0000005,100,000[113]	Open to age 13 and up & Grades 9 and up	&0000000000000894.000000894[114]
Nasza-klasa.pl	School, college and friends. Popular in Poland.	&0000000012000000.00000012,000,000[115]	Open
Netlog	General. Popular in Europe and Québec province. Formerly known as Facebox and Redbox.	&0000000042000000.00000042,000,000[116][117]	Open to people 13 and older	&0000000000000102.000000102[118]
Nettby	Norwegian Community.	&-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1.000000	Open
Nexopia	Canada	&0000000001400000.0000001,400,000[119]	Open to people 14 and older	&0000000000004362.0000004,362[120]
Ning	Users create their own social websites and social networks	&-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1.000000	Open to people 13 and older	&0000000000000566.000000566
Odnoklassniki	General. Popular in Russia and former Soviet republics	&0000000037000000.00000037,000,000	Open	&0000000000000042.00000042[121]
OkCupid	Social networking and dating	&-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1.000000	Open to people 18 and older
One.lv / One.lt / One.ee	General (Popular in Baltics, mostly Russian speaking)	&0000000001000000.0000001,000,000	Open
OneClimate	Not for Profit Social networking and Climate Change	&-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1.000000	Open to People of all ages and locations
OneWorldTV	Not for Profit Video sharing and social networking aimed at people interested in social issues, development, environment, etc.	&-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1.000000	Open
Open Diary	First online blogging community, founded in 1998.	&0000000005000000.0000005,000,000[122]	Open to people 13 and older	&0000000000025713.00000025,713[123]
Orkut	Owned by Google. Popular in India and Brazil.	&0000000067000000.00000067,000,000[124]	Open to people 18 and older, (Google login)	&0000000000000112.000000112[125]
OUTeverywhere	Gay/LGBTQ Community	&-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1.000000	Open
Passportstamp	Travel	&-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1.000000	Open
Pingsta	Collaborative platform for the world’s Internetwork Experts	&-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1.000000	Invite-only, only Internet Experts
Plaxo	Aggregator	&0000000015000000.00000015,000,000[126]	Open
Playahead	Swedish, Danish,Norwegian teenagers	&-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1.000000	Open
Playboy U	Online college community	&-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1.000000	Open to college students with .edu e-mail address
Plurk	Micro-blogging, RSS, updates	&-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1.000000	Open	&0000000000027061.00000027,061[127]
Present.ly	Enterprise social networking and micro-blogging	&-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1.000000	Open
quarterlife	A social network for artists, filmmakers, musicians, and creative people	&-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1.000000	Open to people 14 and older
Ravelry	Knitting and crochet	&0000000000331000.000000331,000[128]	Invite-only while in beta
ResearchGATE	Social network for scientific researchers	&0000000000030000.00000030,000	Open
Reverbnation	Social network for musician and bands	&0000000000025000.00000025,000	Open to people 16 and older
Ryze	Business	&0000000000500000.000000500,000[129]	Open	&0000000000020162.00000020,162[130]
scispace.net	Collaborative network site for scientists	&-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1.000000	By invitation, but can request an invitation
Shelfari	Books	&-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1.000000	Open
Skyrock	Social Network in French-speaking world	&0000000022000000.00000022,000,000[131]	Open	&0000000000000041.00000041[132]
SocialGO	A social network builder that allows users to build their own online communities	&-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1.000000	Open to people 18 and older.	&0000000000008457.0000008,457[133]
SocialVibe	Social Network for Charity	&0000000000435000.000000435,000	Open
Sonico.com	General. Popular in Latin America and Spanish and Portuguese speaking regions.	&0000000017000000.00000017,000,000[134][135]	Open to people 13 and older.	&0000000000000297.000000297[136]
Soundpedia	Music		Open	&0000000000154672.000000154,672[137]
Stickam	Live video streaming and chat.	&0000000002000000.0000002,000,000[138]	Open
StudiVZ	University students, mostly in the German-speaking countries. School students and those out of education sign up via its partner sites SchulerVZ and Meinvz.	&0000000008000000.0000008,000,000[139]	Open
Tagged.com	General	&0000000070000000.00000070,000,000[140]	Open	&0000000000000094.00000094[141]
Talkbiznow	Business networking		Open	&0000000000395824.000000395,824[142]
Taltopia	Online artistic community	&-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1.000000	Open
TravBuddy.com	Travel	&-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1.000000	Open
Travellerspoint	Travel	&-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1.000000	Open
tribe.net	General	&-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1.000000	Open	&0000000000003517.0000003,517[143]
Trombi.com	French subsidiary of Classmates.com	&0000000004400000.0000004,400,000[144]
Tuenti.com	Spanish-based university and High School social network. Very Popular in Spain	&0000000004500000.0000004,500,000	Invite-only	&0000000000000587.000000587[145]
Tumblr	General. Micro-blogging, RSS	&-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1.000000	Open	&0000000000000587.000000587[146]
Twitter	General. Micro-blogging, RSS, updates	&0000000025000000.00000025,000,000[147]	Open	&0000000000000599.000000599[148]
V Kontakte	Russian social network.	&0000000036144000.00000036,144,000[149]	Open	&0000000000000029.00000029[150]
Vampirefreaks	Gothic and industrial subculture	&0000000001931049.0000001,931,049[151]	Open to users 13 and over
Viadeo	European Social Networking and Campus Networking in Seven Languages	&0000000006000000.0000006,000,000[152]	Open
Vox	Blogging	&-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1.000000	Open	&0000000000001549.0000001,549[153]
Wasabi	General	&-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1.000000	Open
WAYN	Travel and lifestyle	&0000000010000000.00000010,000,000[154]	Open to people 18 and older	&0000000000000823.000000823[155]
WebBiographies	Genealogy and biography	&-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1.000000	Open
Windows Live Spaces	Blogging (formerly MSN Spaces)	&0000000120000000.000000120,000,000[156]	Open	&0000000000000005.0000005[157]
Wis.dm	Questions and answers about anything and everything	&0000000000050000.00000050,000[158]	Open
WiserEarth	Online community space for the social justice and environmental movement[159]	&0000000000025800.00000025,800[160]	Open to people 18 and older	&0000000000114942.000000114,942[161]
Xanga	Blogs and “metro” areas	&0000000027000000.00000027,000,000[162]	Open	&0000000000000230.000000230[163]
Xiaonei	Significant site in China	&0000000015000000.00000015,000,000[164]	Open
XING	Business (primarily Europe (Germany) and China)	&0000000007000000.0000007,000,000[165]	Open	&0000000000001814.0000001,814[166]
Xt3	Catholic social networking, created after World Youth Day 2008		Open
Yammer	Social networking for office colleagues	&-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1.000000	Must have company email
Yelp, Inc.	Local Business Review and Talk	&-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1.000000	Open
Youmeo	UK Social Network (focus on data portability)	&-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1.000000	Open
Zoo.gr	Greek Web Meeting point	&0000000000890000.000000890,000[167]	Open	&0000000000005634.0000005,634[168]

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

The Social Web is currently used to describe how people socialize or interact with each other throughout the World Wide Web. Such people are brought together through a variety of shared interests. There are different ways in which people want to socialize on the Web today. The first kind of socializing is typified by “people focus” websites such as Bebo, Facebook, and Myspace. Such sites promote the person as focus of social interaction. To do this a profile is constructed by each user. In many ways the profile is similar to a passport.

The second kind of socializing is typified by a sort of “hobby focus” websites. For example, if one is interested in photography and wants to share this with like-minded people, then there are photography websites such as Flickr, Kodak Gallery and Photobucket.

There are also two ways in which people socialize with each other in the Social Web. The most general and most common type is always at a distance and only on the World Wide Web. In such socializing there is never face to face personal contact. Much of the socializing on Flickr is sharing of photos and making comments on the photos of others. However, where Flickr members come from a common local geographical area, then they are inclined to get together physically for a common photoshoot. This exemplifies the second type of socializing through the World Wide Web: that which leads to real physical contact. Typical examples of the latter arose historically from social networking both within and outside schools and colleges. Facebook’s origins are in the facebook of college students from Harvard University.

The Social Web may also be used to refer to two different, yet related concepts. The first is as a description of web 2.0 technologies that are focused on social interaction and community before anything else. The second is a proposal for a future network similar to the World Wide Web.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Give Us Your Questions

While we are in the early stages of developing this website, we want to call on our future audience to tell us what it is about the web that you might not understand or need help doing.  Simply leave a comment below with your question and we will research it in detail and post the answer in the simplest form we can find.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Frequently Asked Questions

Submitted Nov 04, 2008 in Getting Started

Getting to know Twitter

Do I need anything special to use it?

All you need to use Twitter is an internet connection or a mobile phone. Join us here! Once you’re in, type your first update into the web box.  To get an idea of what other people are saying or doing on Twitter, check out Twitter search to see what Twitter’s all about.  You can search by keyword or just check out the trending topics to what’s hot on Twitter right now.

How do I find my friends?

When you create an account, you can search for people by name or user name, import friends from other networks, or invite friends via email.  If you don’t want to do that, follow some of the people we’ve suggested. Once you’ve found your friends, follow them to start getting their updates.

What does it mean to follow someone on Twitter?

Following someone simply means receiving their Twitter updates.   When you follow someone, every time they post a new message, it will appear in your Twitter home page.  New messages are added to your home page as people post them, so you always get the updates in real time.  When you log in, you can see what the latest updates are.  Twitter offers other ways to follow people too: you can get updates from certain people on your phone!

How do I know who I’m following?

After you click the follow button on someone’s profile, you’re following them.  The follow button will change to a box that says “Following” with a drop down option to remove a person if you want to. If you’ve registered your phone with Twitter, you can set up text preferences for a person as well.  See a list of people you’re following by clicking on the following link on your profile or your home page’s sidebar.

How do I know who is following me?

Twitter sends you an email when someone new follows you.  Set up your email preferences to notify you when you have a new follower.  The followers link on your profile page or home page’s sidebar will also tell you how many followers you have.

What are follow limits?

Twitter recently added follow and update limits for stability and abuse control.  You can read more about this here.

Who reads my updates? 

It’s up to you.  Your followers read your updates, and anyone else who comes across them in a search.  All public updates are posted to the public timeline (accessible from your home page in the Everyone tab.) Your Twitter profile is public by default; if you’re hesitant to have strangers read your updates, protect your profile to approve followers and keep your updates out of search.

Can I block people from following me?

Yes, you can. If you block someone, they wont be able to follow you or send you any messages.  If your account is public, they’ll still be able to view it, but they wont show up on your followers list, and you wont be on their following list.  If it’s a spammer you’re blocking, thanks!  Twitter Support keeps an eye on block reports to see who’s getting in trouble on Twitter.

How can I send updates to Twitter?

Twitter offers many ways to post updates: from the web in the update box, from your phone,  from your mobile web browser using m.twitter.com, or from any third party application made by the talented folks who’ve utilized our API.

Why is there a star at the end of updates?

The star is a way for you to mark an update as favorite.  People can view your favorites, and you theirs, by clicking on the Favorites link in the profile page.

Can I put my Twitter updates on my blog?

Yep! Put a Twitter badge on your blog, website, MySpace… anything that accepts Javascript or HTML.  You can even customize your Twitter badge to match!

What are @Replies?

An @reply is a public message sent from one person to another, distinguished from normal updates by the @username prefix. If a message begins with @username, we collect it as a reply. Reply publicly to any update on Twitter by using the @username format.  Following is not necessary to reply to someone, and all of your replies are visible in the @username tab in your home page sidebar.  (Tweets with @username elsewhere in the tweet are also collected in your sidebar tab; tweets starting with @username are replies, and tweets with @username elsewhere are considered mentions.)

What are Direct Messages?

Direct messages are private messages sent from one Twitter person to another.  You can only send a direct message to a person who follows you.  When you receive a direct message, we save it in your direct message inbox, accessible from the Direct Message tab in the sidebar in your home page.  Set your email preferences to notify you by mail if you have a new message.

Can I edit a tweet once I post it?

Nope. Once it’s out there, you can’t edit it.  You can delete an update by clicking the trash icon on the right end of the update, but you can’t make changes.

What is the difference between an @reply and a direct message?

An @reply is a public message sent regardless of follow-ship that anyone can view.  A direct message can only be sent by someone you follow, and is a private message that only the author and recipient can view.

What does RT, or retweet, mean?

RT is short for retweet, and indicates a re-posting of someone else’s tweet.  This isn’t an official Twitter command or feature, but people add RT somewhere in a tweet to indicate that part of their tweet includes something they’re re-posting from another person’s tweet, sometimes with a comment of their own.Check out this great article on re-tweeting, written by a fellow Twitter user, @ruhanirabin.

How do I post a picture to Twitter?

Twitter doesn’t offer an official picture posting feature of its own, however, most people use a third party application called TwitPic. Just enter your Twitter user name and password to get an email address you can send pictures to.  Or, upload your photos directly to Twitpic from other apps or from the web, and post them to Twitter that way. Like Twitter, Twitpic has a public timeline of everyone’s photos, and you also get your own profile page for pictures you’ve posted. (Check out Britt’s pics as an example.)

Note: Twitter doesn’t officially support Twitpic, but you can follow Twipic on Twitter to find out the latest updates!

Why wont my feed reader take my @reply RSS feed?

The @replies RSS feed requires authentication; most web-based feed readers don’t support authentication.  If yours doesn’t, you wont be able to see your @replies via rss feed.  Try the feed in a desktop feed reader, which usually supports authentication.

Is there a Twitter API?

Yes, complete with documentation and an active developer group to help you with common API questions.  You can find it at the bottom of your logged-in homepage, here.

I’m an app developer, how do I get white listed?

Send a request to white list your application from the API Wiki, here.

Does Twitter allow html in web updates?

No.  We escape all html for security purposes.  However, if you paste in a link that is less than 30 characters, we’ll post it in its entirety.  If it’s longer than 30 characters, we’ll convert it to a shorter URL.

How do I report spam?

Report spam by following Twitter’s spam account, and sending us a direct message.  We’ll look into it right away!

Why are accounts suspended?

Accounts are suspended for Terms of Service violations or spam investigation.  Read more about this here.

Where can I find out more information about Twitter’s Terms of Service?

Twitter’s Terms of Service is posted on the site, and the Twitter Rules are posted in the Support home page.  Check out Twitter’s Terms of Service and Rules policies here.

How do I submit a complaint about copyright, impersonation, trademark, or other Terms of Service issues?

Review our Terms of Service section to find out what constitutes a violation, and how to go about fixing a related problem.

What is Get Satisfaction?

Get Satisfaction is a great site that people use to help each other figure out problems on Twitter.  They call it “people powered customer service” because people are there, helping each other out.  If you’re looking for help using Twitter from other Twitter users, this is a great resource. If you’re looking for official Twitter Support, you’ll find it by clicking on the Help link from twitter.com.

Is there a place where I can find out if there are problems with Twitter?

Yes.  Check (and subscribe to!) Support’s Known Issues page, read the Twitter Status Blog, or follow @twitter.  To unsubscribe, click on the link from the email, or visit the forum again and unsubscribe there.

Still wondering about something?  Check out our help resources for more information!

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

If you’re not using Twitter yet, you may feel as if you’ve missed out. Twitter has not only tipped the tuna, but by some estimations, it has already jumped the shark. Don’t be put off by its excessive popularity with SXSW geeks or by the whining of Twitter haters who missed the fun. Twitter is an interesting and practical real-time messaging system for groups and friends. It’s just not completely obvious how to get into the “club.” So, here’s a newbie’s guide to this new platform. We don’t cover every feature of Twitter, but this should help get you started.

What is Twitter?

Twitter is an online service that enables you to broadcast short messages to your friends or “followers.” It also lets you specify which Twitter users you want to follow so you can read their messages in one place.

A popular Twitterer

(Credit: CNET Networks)

Twitter is designed to work on a mobile phone as well as on a computer. All Twitter messages are limited to 140 characters, so each message can be sent as a single SMS alert. You can’t say much in 140 characters. That’s part of Twitter’s charm.

Twitter is useful for close-knit groups (although there also are some fairly large mobs on Twitter). If you follow your friends, and they follow each other, you can quickly communicate group-related items, such as “I’m going to the pub on Fourth Street, come on along.” Twitter is conceptually similar to Dodgeball but is simpler to use.

If you enter items into Twitter, they can be private, so only friends you’ve authorized can see them. Items can also be made public, which means anyone who knows your Twitter ID can read and subscribe to them.

Twitter is free.

Continue reading to learn how to get started, hook up your mobile, send your first “Tweet,” follow friends, and direct Twitter. We also show you some advanced features and Twitterers worth following.

How to get started

Look for this.

(Credit: CNET Networks)

Go to Twitter.com and click “Join for free.” For best results, use your real name when signing up; otherwise your friends won’t be able to find you easily. It’s also helpful to upload a picture. If you select the “Protect my updates” box, people won’t be able to read your Twitters unless you authorize them. You’ll have more fun if you leave this box unchecked. Just be sure not to Twitter, “Leaving house open and unlocked for the weekend: 1520 Main Street.”

Now that you have a Twitter account, tell your friends your username or send them the link to your Twitter page. Each users has his own page, in the form twitter.com/username. (Example: my Twitter page is twitter.com/jgucci.)

Hook up your mobile phone and IM account

The Twitter network works for you even if you’re not at your computer or browsing the Web. Once you are registered, you can connect your mobile phone and instant messenger account. Go to Settings > Phone and IM. Connecting your phone and IM programs to your Twitter account is a straightforward process. Note that messages you view on a phone or an IM program also are readable on your personal Twitter Web page.

You can make Twitter send you a message every time a user who you are following has posted a Twitter message. This can be fun, but it will drive you crazy if you are following a lot of people. If you don’t want to be barraged by a stream of random messages but still want friends to be able to reach you, select “Direct Message.” Then when other users send a message to you and you alone, you’ll be alerted on your phone or IM account. Otherwise, you won’t get an alert.

Sending Twitter messages, or “Tweets”

Sending a Tweet from a mobile

(Credit: CNET Networks)

You can send a Twitter message, or “Tweet,” from any of your registered devices.

From the Web page, enter a message in the entry window at the top of the page.

From a mobile phone, send an SMS message to 40404. Your phone’s caller ID is attached to your Twitter account, so the system will know it’s from you.

From IM, message TwitterIM if you’re on AOL, or twitter@twitter.com if you’re on Jabber/GTalk.

In all these cases, all your “followers” will see your message on their own Twitter pages and possibly on their mobile devices as well.

Following and joining friends

If you’ve gotten this far, you’re able to send messages into the Twitter system, and your friends can find your account and follow your updates. Here’s how you can see their messages.

I am not yet following Brian. If I click “add,” I will be.

(Credit: CNET Networks)

On the Web: to add a friend, first be sure you are logged into your account. Then go to his or her Twitter page and press the “Add” link in the “Actions” box. To find a user page, use the search box on your own Twitter page.

Once you click “Add,” you’ll start to see his or her Tweets on your page if his or her account is set for public access. If the account is private, the system will send a “friend” request that must be approved before you start to see updates.

You also can see who your friends are following by hovering your mouse pointer over the pictures in the sidebar on your friends’ pages. Those pictures are of their friends–the users they are following. If you click on one of those pictures, you’ll go to that user’s page, where you can add him or her, too.

You can see all the Tweets from any person’s friends by clicking the “With Friends” tab above his or her message window. Or you can turn that off and see only his or her Tweets by clicking the obliquely named “Previous” tab.

On the phone or IM: send the command follow username to register your phone or IM account to receive public Tweets from a user. You also can invite people based on a phone number: SMS add phonenumber to 40404, and you’ll start following the user at that number; if the person at that number isn’t a Twitter user, he or she will get an invitation to join.

Managing your friends is much easier by using a full Web browser, but you can do everything on a mobile phone if you wish. See this page of the Twitter Help file for full commands, including details on the all-important Leave (to stop following) and Drop (to remove from your friend list) commands.

Want to be a Twitter nag? Send nudge username and they’ll get a request to send a current Tweet.

In case you were wondering what the numbers mean…

A bunch of numbers are on your Twitter page. The most important figures are these:

• The number of “followers” you have. These are the people who are paying attention to (following) your Tweets.
• The number of “friends” you have. This is the number of people you are following.

Public figures and Twitter celebrities will have more followers than friends. People who want to watch more than participate will have more friends than followers. People who just use Twitter to communicate just within their own social group will have roughly the same number of friends and followers.

Person-to-person Twittering

You can send a Twitter message directly to another Twitter user with the Direct command. Enter d username message, and users will get your ping if they have direct messages enabled on their phone or IM account.

If you enter a Tweet with @username at the beginning of it, your message is understood as being intended for that particular person, although others will be able to see it. (However, @ tweets won’t show up on your home page unless you are the intended recipient.) Be sure the person who you want to see your message is following you, or they won’t get it.

Turning off Twitter

Twitter messages may drive you insane. If you want to turn them off, here’s how: send the command Off, Sleep, or Stop to Twitter. To turn it back on, send On, Wake, or Start.

If you’re sick of Twitter on the PC, just avoid the Web site!

In a Web browser, in your settings page, you also can define a period of time during which Twitter will not bother you by phone or IM. This is useful if you ever want to sleep.

Advanced features

Twitteroo, another way to Twitter

(Credit: CNET Networks)

You can apply your own design to your Twitter home page: it’s fairly straightforward. Our advice is to avoid using the “tile” option for your background image unless you are aiming for the assaultive MySpace design aesthetic.

Twitter also can be used via third-party programs that run on your desktop or in your widget/gadget engine. See our story, Six ways to improve Twitter.

Twitterers worth following

In addition to your friends, you might want to follow some of these famous (or useful) Twitterers. Many people are still experimenting with Twitter, so we can’t vouch for the long-term quality or frequency of updates from these users:

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

1. Here’s An Easy Way To Do Video Emails

   Videos are a great marketing tool – they get your prospects’ attention, they let you show (not just tell) about your products, and they get passed around (helping you to get more subscribers virally).

   However, as many people have found out, creating “video emails” by embedding the video directly in an HTML email (like you would on a web page) doesn’t fly. It’s simply not reliable because most email programs disable or strip out the video.

   But that doesn’t mean you can’t take advantage of video’s appeal in your emails!

   You just have to get a bit creative…

   Easily Send “Video Emails” Using Image Links

   In a recent addition to our Knowledge Base, we’ve shown step-by-step how to drive your email subscribers to watch videos that you’ve posted to your site or video hosting sites like YouTube.

   * How Can I Add Video To My Messages?
   

2. 

   admin
   July 1st, 2009 at 10:46 | #3

   Reply | Quote | Advanced edit

   How Can I Send Video Email Messages?

   If you’re interested in sending video email using a hosting service
   that has provided you with some HTML to embed, you can certainly
   include that in your HTML messages.

   However, please note that video technologies are generally blocked by ISPs and email clients and so your video may not be playable within an email message.

   As a result, it is not advisable to embed a video directly within an
   email message. Fortunately, there are two alternatives to consider, and
   either would provide better results:

   Sending Video Email Using a Text Link

   You can place a text link into your messages, linking to a page containing the actual video.

   The
   link would be added just like any other text link, with hyperlinked
   keywords for HTML messages, and a full URL address for Plain-Text.

   For example, you might describe the video in text, and then include a link using text like “Click to Play the Video”.

   Sending Video Email Using an Image Linking to a Page

   Another alternative allows you to include something in your email that
   looks like a playable video, but what leads the subscriber to a page
   containing the actual playable video.

   It will require a few more steps than including a text link but should not be difficult:

   1. Load the Video Page and Take a Screenshot

   In your web browser, open the page containing the video you’d like to include in your email.

   

   Scroll to a point on the page where you can clearly see your video. Then, take a screenshot of the page.

   How to Take a Screenshot

   A screenshot is just a freeze-frame of whatever is on your screen at the point where you hit specified keys on your keyboard.

   Using Windows? Hit the “Print Screen” button.

   Using a Mac? Hold the “Command” and “Shift” buttons and hit “3″

   2. Crop the Screenshot in an Image Editing Program

   After taking your screenshot, open a new file in your preferred image editing program.

   

   We use GIMP (GNU Images Manipulation Program), a free program. You may have your own preferred application, like Photoshop or iPhoto on a Mac system.

   Paste in the screenshot, and using the using the marquee (select) tool, place a box around the video portion of the screenshot:

   
   Hit the “Crop” button or use the crop feature where it is found in your
   image editor. You image should now consist of just a capture of the
   video itself:
   

   Save the file somewhere on your hard drive you’ll be able to find easily in just a few minutes.

   3. Upload the Image to Your Website and Add to Email

   As
   you would any image you’d like to include in your email messages,
   upload the image file somewhere on your website or image hosting
   service and get it’s URL address.

   Open your email message in AWeber, and scroll to the “HTML Message” portion of the page.

   Using the image tool, add the image to the message.

   4. Turn the Image into a Link

   The last thing you need to do is transform the image so that when it is
   clicked on, subscribers are sent to the page containing the video.

   Use the link tool
   to accomplish this. In the “Title” box enter some text like “Click to
   Play the Video” so that subscribers with images turned off by default
   still see an option to play the video.

   Still Have Questions?

   If after reading this article you still have questions, contact us for a personal response from our Customer Solutions team.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

10 simple ways to avoid spyware, viruses and other

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!