Is Social Networking a Fad or a Requisite?

This may come as a shock to many of you, but I am 26 years old and have never, ever used MySpace, FaceBook, or any social network site.

My primary concern is privacy. And time.

Almost all my friends are on it, and I sometimes ponder if I am "missing out" (as some claim) but always resist the urge to join.

So anyway, I am wondering what you guys think about this whole social networking concept. Is it a fad for now, or a requisite -- by that I mean something that must be learned and embraced, presumably if this social 'concept' is the future of the Internet, in order to excel and succeed without falling behind in technology?

 

Social networks is a way to get traffic to your website,build relationships and turn your friends to customers, but there is many techniques used to get traffic such as :
article marketing
forums
Seo
you can use social network or not but if you will decide to use it remember this sentence
The money is in relationship not in your list
anyway you can search about crowd conversion on google , they provide a free reports about how to use social media in your business.hope i benefit you

 

Social media is not a fad so I would recommend to jump on board my friend

 

I think get traffic from social media websites is easier than google.com.

 

If you aren't using it for business then really it's up to you and your time and interest. I like to use Facebook to keep up with my friends - it actually takes less effort than picking up the phone, writing emails and/or letters. It removes the guilt of not keeping in touch with friends, and I enjoy knowing whats going on with them. Social interaction is good for us as humans. But, if you are a businessman, social networks are indispensable. These aren't fads, my friend.

 

If you wanna run in this time with same speed as everybody does to become connect and concern about the requirement of this generation then you have to be familiar with this social network site.Ya it has some problem but you can overcome this problem easily.

 

Social Networking is going to stay as long as electricity is available. So jump on in and get started!

 

I mean Facebook isn't a breech of privacy, just don't display information you don't want seen.

 

All of these social networks popping up are not fads, they are here to stay. They offer great opportunities for both personal and business relationships. Once you start getting involved with different communities you will be able to connect with people and groups that share the same personal and business interests as yourself. Social networking is a great way to learn new things, simply stay up on current events or post your thoughts about issues that interest you or that you feel passionate about. These communities are an essential resource in which to advance business ideas, drive traffic to your websites and in building a reputable online presence. In this day and age, there are even a lot of people using Social Networking to find their next Mr. or Mrs. Right! I definitely would recommend getting involved with some of the communities on the social networks and see if it doesn’t better your life, whether it is for personal or for business purposes. These networks are here to stay and they will continue to play a major role in our future connections and communications.

 

LOL i just found this funny.

 

I love these social networking. As a website owner,they are not only a fad, they give us a way to let many people know me. I can intorduce my product to many people. They are do a great help for me.

 

I will say it depends on the visitor. What is the visitors objective? Rather then saying that he/she is a advertiser or social net worker. But if you consider majority of the people there are social net worker. This is what is my personal opinion. Correct me if I wrong with facts and figures.

 

Social networking is not a fad. I remember hearing about Twitter over 2 years ago and immediately dismissed it as a fad. How wrong I was, and how much I have changed since then! When you get heavyweights like Oprah and CNN promoting their Twitter accounts openly, you know this is not some "fringe" network only for people in the know anymore. Pretty much every Fortune 500 company out there has a Twitter account, and many pay Twitter experts to work full-time to Tweet/post on their accounts, and to promote their brand and products/services. HOWEVER, you have to learn how to use social networks properly, and the issue I see is that so many people go about it all wrong, and then dismiss it as just another "fad" that will go away over time.

 

I think it really depends on your niche. some niches lend themselves better to networking in that you can actually generate customers from proper socialization, while other the value is probably much less real. I will say that to have a complete brand image these things are a must and will increasingly become more important in SE's eyes. IMO.

 

Are you asking what we think of these sites in general? Or are you asking our opinions on their traffic driving, Internet Marketing money making abilities?

For the record I use FB to help keep in touch with friends and family. I'm also about to dip my toe into it's money making abilities. I have used Twitter to drive traffic (lots of it) for over a year now. It's a IM'er dream! Never been into Myspace!

 

[video=youtube;sIFYPQjYhv8]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIFYPQjYhv8 [/video]

you should have a wee watch of this....interesting stuff & kinda dramatic!

 

Social Networking will never be a fad but people being unproductive on them will always happen. I think the most important part is to make the distinction between the two and use it as a business and you will get more done that way.

 

omg how guilty are we all of this at times?! You've just reminded me of something about being productive - thanks!

 

Social Networking = Traffic .... now a question arises .... is getting Traffic a Fad?

 

Great thread and highly informative. A lot of people think using Social Bookmark sites is very old hat but funnily enough we have seen clients PR go through the roof with the correct usage of these networks. One client took 20 sites from Page Rank 0 (yes zero) to PR4 in under one month so it can be done and all he used was a network Social Bookmark sites.