Online Social Networking for New Researched Opportunities

Online Social Networking Web sites are Internet sites that facilitate building of personal social networks online. Young people throughout the United States (U.S.) and around the world are flocking to these sites in droves. Venture capitalists are funding social networking companies at rates not seen since the great technology bust of the late 1990s. Anecdotal evidence suggests that social networking software is one of the next big trends in information technology. Leonard (2004) notes that, “like e-mail, like using a search engine, social networking is a part of the Internet way of life. And [sic] it’s barely getting started.” There are many potential opportunities for research into these virtual communities.