The first SNS appeared more than a decade ago. Early SNS tended to focus on ties with former school friends, such as Classmates.com (1995) and dating. Since then, many different start-ups have tried to repeat the success of the major SNS. Recent SNS focus more on the networking aspect.
They provide users a space whereby they can present themselves and network with their friends. In
2005, it was reported that MySpace was getting more page views than Google and Facebook.
Though SNS can appear to be similar, many of them are, in fact, quite different in terms of their purpose and the types of users they attract. While MySpace connects users through the 'MySpace' profile to friends, especially musicians, YouTube links people through videos. Other SNS are oriented towards professional contacts (LinkedIn; Xing), photo sharing (Flickr; Badoo), exclusive communities
(aSmallWorld), activism (Care2) and health (Within3), to mention but a few.
When Friendster was launched, users utilised the site to get in touch with old friends. It was innovative and for many young people, it was a networking site mainly for flirting and dating. Although
MySpace was also launched with the idea of connecting people, it rapidly evolved into more of a music platform. Its early success lay mainly with teenagers, who used the site to share photos, communicate with friends and design their own profiles. MySpace, however, made the strategic decision to follow the needs and demands of users and developed the site accordingly. This enabled
MySpace to maintain its already heavy user-base, and also attract new users. The provision of an application which allowed users to upload four MP3s was a major milestone for MySpace. At the time, it was the only platform that enabled users to share their music with friends and with the public on a networking site without listeners having to download it onto their computers. This attracted numerous musicians to the site, as it allowed them to share their new music with friends and fans. MySpace also leveraged its position in the market by allowing Fakesters (fake accounts), just when all the fake accounts on Friendster were being deleted (sometimes referred to as the Fakester Genocide).7 It also supported freedom of expression, posting anything unless it was directly destructive, at a time when
Friendster was censoring user-generated content.8
The popularity of SNS photo sharing prompted the launch of various photo sharing sites. One of the pioneers in 2004 was Flickr, which became known for its dynamic platform for sharing photos, comments, tags and photo repositories for blogs. In addition, the self-organisation and collaborative element of the site allowed users to also create assembled galleries and communities of interest. The latter in particular created a niche market of people connecting between themselves through pictures. 7 'Fakesters' is a term used to describe fake profiles. These refer to a type of account pertaining to bands, movies, celebrities etc. Initially, Friendster opted to discourage the creation of fake accounts (e.g. accounts for pets) and at one point deleted more than 200,000 accounts, many of which were pet accounts. However, when Friendster realised the significance and value of these accounts, and the popularity of such accounts on other SNS, it created the official SNS Fakesters (Roush,W.
(2006). Fakesters, Technology Review. Retrieved from http://www.technologyreview.com/InfoTech/17713/ 8 Haddon, K. (2006). A changing business model for a virtual phenomenon. Myers Publishing LLC. Retrieved from
http://www.mediavillage.com/jmr/2006/09/25/MySpace_A_Changing_Business_Model_for_a_Vitrual_Phenomenon.pdf