An interesting topic was discussed in the sixth session of Information Systems' class about Networking and how we define and build a network?
A network is a series of nodes or points interconnected by communication paths or lines. These series can be represented by people, things, or systems as well. A word network itself includes different types of networks such as social network, computer network, telecommunication network, television network…etc. It is very difficult to cover network’s types in one session or one topic, it is almost impossible. In this topic I choose to talk briefly about social networking and how we are interconnecting through different communications’ lines.
Social Networking is basically the practice of expanding social contacts by connections through individuals. For instance, the pictures above show how people are socially connected to each other. To make it easy to understand social networking from a network prospect, let us think of our previous job in the company we worked for. We had friends in the same office and we knew quite few people even if we weren’t friends with all of them, but it is likely that we didn’t know everyone.
Now we moved to a new office or may be to a new company and we start out in a new environment with no friends. After starting our work, we start meeting people, and as we meet them we begin associating with those that have similar interests. In this example the nodes are represented by individuals and the friendships are the lines that interconnect individuals and form the social network. It is the same basic idea in businesses, universities, schools, occasions…etc. This is the way how we form our social networking from a network prospect. People interconnect in different places using different communications’ lines. Online social networking such as Face book, Twitter, Linked in, My Space, YouTube…etc is another path of social networking where people can easily interact, interconnect and widely extend their network. In today’s era online social networks are getting extensive popularity among internet users. People are using online social networks for different purposes like sharing information, chatting with friends, family and planning to hang out. It is the new world of building social networks…