What is Social Networking?  I’m sure most of you have heard of it before.  J.A. Barnes first coined this term back in 1954.  Social network represents relationships and flows between people, groups, organizations, animals, computers or other knowledge processing entities.  Nowadays social networking is commonly known as online social websites.  These social networking websites encompass a population called the online community.  Online communities vary in sizes depending on the popularity of each social networking website.  Normally these online communities have a common goal and similar interests groups such as hobbies, beliefs, careers, social life, music, games, education, and so on.  There are so many online communities out there even you can start your own. (ning.com)  In order for these online communities to grow, they typically have open registration and free memberships.

            So which social network is right for you?  That’s entirely up to you.  It’s the world wide web and you are free to surf all of the numerous communities available.  In fact I highly recommend venturing into a few and see for yourself.  The most popular one would be Myspace.com.  Have you heard of it?  If not please turn on your computer now.  The masses these days has a myspace account in fact I would be surprised if you didn’t.  Myspace.com has been used for creating a personal space online about you.  It’s even being used to promote artists and musicians.  You name it, they’re all there.  You might even find a long lost friend or relative in there.  Other social websites would include Facebook for the more mature version of Myspace.  Then there is LinkedIn which is generally for business and professionals.  For those photographers in you, there is Flickr and movie buffs have Flixster.  NurseGroups.com or Nurselinkup.com are excellent social tools for the healthcare professionals.  The list goes on.  Keep in mind that depending on where you are in the world, some online websites are more popular then the rest.  Let’s take Friendster for example which is popular in Southeast Asia and then there’s Badoo for Europe. 

            As wonder online places that they are, there are a few things you must know about safety when using online communities.  More and more cases have risen these past few years with online predators.  These cases are not limited to only sexual means but also apply to identity theft and other online misconducts.  Television news shows such as Dateline NBC has started a series called “To Catch A Predator.”  This show in particular was mainly used to target and lure online predators then question their intentions.  Online predators affect not only children but also adults.  Knowing this is half the battle.  Companies such as Myspace.com have tried to curb the use of its website by sex offenders.  In May of 2007, Myspace.com announced it has identified, removed and blocked several thousand user profiles convicted sex offenders.  That is one of the few steps that have social networks have done to safe guard their online community.  These social networks are supposed to be fun and enjoyable, but safety is always first.  Here are a few things that you may do to help protect yourself or your child from online predators:

1. Don’t place too much personal info about yourself.  You might say that these online communities are for writing about yourself so how do you not write too much about yourself?  Simply put do not put personal info such as your full name, phone numbers, age, address, work place, name of school you attend, or any places that are common hang outs. 
2. Make your profiles private.  There are typically account settings that allow you to do this. This again will safe guard personal info that you do have such pictures, comments, and etc.
3. Never accept friends request that you do not know.  There will always be people out there that perhaps just want to check out your page or profile. 
4. Look out for phishing.  Don’t fall for any polls or surveys requiring you to enter any personal info about yourself.  This is one of the common ways for predators to phish info from you.  Most importantly don’t click on links from your emails that may take you to familiar websites but will ask for personal info.  Always go to that website directly by typing the web address in your web browser. 
5. Avoid the drama.  You will certainly make friends and keep in touch with old ones too.  Keep in mind though that any form of harassment is never good.  Report them, add them to your ignore list, or delete them completely.  Nothing worse then having online drama that ends up with people getting physically hurt in real life offline.

Those are only a few suggestions on how to be safe and still have fun while participating with online social networks.  They are for your enjoyment so have fun  but always be smart, be safe, and stay cool Arizona.