Just recently, my daughter and I were conversing about school, friends, etc., and she started telling me about a discussion she had with a friend.  Apparently this friend of hers is the same age as my daughter, and she and her family had found out there was a sexual preditor living just a few houses down from them.  My daughter told me about how it was “gross”, and used words like “sicko” and “perv”!

My mind immediately started racing.  Where in town does this girl live?  Is it near us?  We need to check? (My hand was hovering over the preverbial panic button)

So I tried to ask my daughter in a very cautious manner (so I wouldn’t alarm her) where her friend lived.  Her answer:

Toronto, Canada!

Aparently her friend was on one her social networks, and they clicked because they had the same likes, dislikes, etc and they were near the same age!  Of Course, Social Networking!

Now Social Networking has been around basically since the inception of the web, so it’s not really new at all - but it has expanded with the advent of Web 2.0.  Now there are sites where you share a lot more about yourself, and you can choose who can be your friend and vice versa!

Now for the cool videos!  The folks at The CommonCraft show created these videos that absolutely knock it out of the park!

Social Networking

www.youtube.com/watch?v=6a_KF7TYKVc

Some Social Networking sites include:

• MySpace
• FaceBook
• Linked In (Great for Business Networking)

Social Media

www.youtube.com/watch?v=MpIOClX1jPE

Social Bookmarking

www.youtube.com/watch?v=x66lV7GOcNU

Here are some Social Media and Bookmarking sites:

• StumbleUpon
• Delicious
• Furl
• Digg
• Reddit

Here’s what cool about social bookmarking, most blogs and web 2.0 sites have the little links (like the one’s formed in a row below this post under the words “Share and Enjoy“) so all you have to do is click on the appropriate link (like the Delicious icon) and it takes you directly to the site with the link and you just have to “tag” it and you’re all set.  You can go back to it later, or you can share that with your friends!

There is a lot to take in.  My suggestion is to start very small and work your way into it.

If you have questions, concerns, or comments - please feel free to leave them below!

Mike