Social Networks
A social network is a group of people who have common interests and use the Internet to communicate with each other. Social networking is very popular with teenagers because it offers the opportunity to meet new people, keep in touch with friends, chat, share information, photos and videos.
Facebook is by far the most popular social network. It was founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg, a student at Harvard University. He got both the idea and the name for his site from the college yearbook given to American freshmen - first year university students - with the aim of making it easier for them to get to know each other. Zuckergerg created a digital version of the college yearbook; at first the website was limited to Harvard University students but soon it expanded to include other universities. In 2006 it was opened to the general public and in 2012 topped one billion active users worldwide.
Anyone being 13 or older can sign up and create a free personal profile, they can upload photos and videos, write public or private messages to other users, like, share and comment on other users’ posts, and play games online.
MySpace, another famous social networking website, was founded in 2003 with the purpose of making a connection between music bands and their fans. It was conceived as a place where musicians could give their fans information about their new CDs and concerts.
On Twitter users can post texts photos and links but texts must not exceed 140 characters.