Article Sphere Logo

Polling, Opinion and Q&A Sites are Redefining Social Networking

By Expert Author: Graffin Hill | View Article Summary
Word Count: 554 words | Views: 55 view(s)
Graffin Hill

In today’s fast paced world, it is imperative to remain closely connected to one’s inner social circle in order to maintain a balanced work life. Virtual social networking has always strengthened existing relationships and contacts, and continues to provide a foundation for borderless communities based on common areas of interest. To discover and share the most reliable information available, billions of users vote, poll or answer questions in online community forums. Professional and social interactions have increased multifold due to these common needs of users.

While online forums and groups provide a broader outlook for groups of people who are already networked, these sites rarely facilitate connections and relationships between people who do not share the same interests. Some social networking portals make it much easier to develop contacts and nurture friendships beyond the borders of our real world networks. But more so, the range and diversity of conversations on some discussion boards highlight the need to broaden the capabilities of social networking portals to reach beyond one’s immediate friends and family. These discussion boards give users the opportunity to express personal opinions on a wide variety of topics and in turn nurture groups where the members can share their passionate opinions and interests with the likeminded. In particular, there are social applications on networking sites such as Facebook or MySpace that connect people through such conversations.

It is not surprising to note that Minekey, a popular discussion community, now boasts over 1.8 million users who have collectively cast over forty million votes and posted over seven million comments. Another popular discussion community, Yahoo Answers, has resolved approximately 23 million questions. Topics on both services range from fashion, babies, politics and religion to simple high school math or science. The need for accurate and complete information within conversations or to answer questions has attracted users who are on the lookout for such discussions. A site such as Minekey adds value with opinion polling and commenting, which generates responses from dedicated users who apply it as a medium for promoting and sometimes selling their own content. Though they feature opinions which are varied, these channels bring together many people who share similar ideas and interests.

The continued and growing participation of millions of users of these services demonstrates the trend that every online user is looking for a channel or medium to showcase their views. Nevertheless, every revolution has its own pitfalls. Spam, virus threats and hacking still circumvent the best security systems. Personal information continues to get shared without consent with marketing agencies, which often demoralizes regular users of these services. Users are also threatened by false information which violates their privacy, and which is designed to gain illicit access to their personal networks. These activities serve as disclaimers to enthusiastic users who only want to use these sites for knowledge pooling.

These discussion networks and communities are virtual cafeterias that nurture budding friendships and serve as vital sources of opinions and answers. They have brought together people, based on relationships of mutual sharing. This trend not only motivates users to share valuable information with one another; it also establishes the internet as a reliable source of information. Personalizing how we use discussion boards has definitely triggered a revolution in the social networking and enhances the usability and availability of information for all users.
About the Author/Author Bio

Facebook
Minekey,
Yahoo Answers

Article Source: http://www.articlesphere.com/Article/Polling--Opinion-and-Q-A-Sites-are-Redefining-Social-Networking/163834

Article Submitted: 2008-10-15 | This Article has been viewed 55 times.

Comments on this Article


More "Virtual Community" Related Articles

 
 

Listed below are more articles related to the above article from the "Virtual Community" article category.

People interested in the above article "Polling, Opinion and Q&A Sites are Redefining Social Networking" are also interested in the related articles listed below:

 
Koinup is a virtual social networking website that helps people around the world to share information on their lifestyles by sharing their photos, images and other screenshots over the internet. Here we can get the reviews of other people lifestyles as well. Koinup is derived form a Greek word, which means media. More and more people are connecting themselves with the help of avatar in the web and sharing their reviews.
Have you ever thought about joining an online social networking community? If you love meeting new people, there is a good chance that you have given it some thought. Despite wanting to join, there are many individuals who make the decision not to. Are you one of those individuals? If so, is it because you feel overwhelmed? There are literally an unlimited number social networking websites out there to choose from and many are full of members.
It is estimated that each day, a fairly large number of individuals make the decision to join a social networking website. Social networking websites are websites that allow internet users to easily connect with other internet users, often from all around the world. While social networking websites are a great way to make online friends or start an online relationship, there are many internet users who are misinformed when it comes to social networking websites. That misinformation is largely centered on who can see their personal information.
Each day, in the United States, millions of Americans communicate with each other online. In addition to communicating with other Americans, many are communicating with those on the other side of the world. This communication is due, largely in part, to online social networking websites. If you are interested in joining the growing number of internet users who use social networking websites, you will have to find a network to join.
Are you interested in meeting new people online? If so, there is a good chance that you have heard of social networking websites before. Social networking websites are, in a way, like a community. They allow internet users to connect with and communicate with each other. Despite the fact that social networking website have rapidly increased in popularity and their popularity is only expected to keep on rising, there are many internet users who are unsure as to whether or not social networking websites are for them.
Do you love using the internet to meet and talk to new people? If so, there is a good chance that you have heard of social networking websites before. If you have not, you will want to familiarize yourself with them because they are rapidly becoming the most popular way to communicate with others online.
Are you interested in meeting new people online? How about people that share the same interests as you? If so, one of the best ways to find those individuals to use online social networking websites. Social networking websites are often compared to neighborhoods or communities, but ones that are online. If are interested in making use of these popular websites, if you haven't been already, you will need to find a social networking website to become a member of. One of the websites that you may be interested in joining is Orkut.
 
Article Directory Home All Categories Internet And E-Business Virtual Community
 

Can't find what you're looking for? Try Google Search!
 
 
Copyright © 2005 - by Larry Lim, Singapore - Article Search Engine Directory at ArticleSphere.com™
All Rights Reserved Worldwide. All Trademarks and Servicemarks are the property of the respective owners.
French Spanish Bulgarian Chinese (Simplified) Chinese (Traditional) Croation Czech Danish Dutch Finnish German Greek Italian Japanese Korean Norwegian Polish Portuguese Romanian Russian Serbian Slovak Swedish Arabic Hebrew Hungarian Thai Turkish English US