Last Updated: Wednesday, 10 January 2012
Social media continues to mature and become more prominent in society. Social media comes in various forms such as online forums, blogs, podcasts, and social networks. The social network giants, like Facebook and Twitter, have transformed the way we communicate, connect, and keep informed.
Four enormously influential and prominent social networks should not be ignored: Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and LinkedIn. Below we have highlighted basic information and include links to more in depth articles about these social networks.
Learn more about Social Media:
- What is Sharing and What is Following in Social Media?
- Five Reasons your Business Should use Social Media
- How to Comment on Disqus (The comment system is used on our website, LeapingPost.com. Learn it, so you can participate in the conversations and help us all learn from each other.)
Facebook is the largest social network, connecting friends, family, colleagues, and businesses around the word. It allows people to post updates, message each other, share photos and video, and much more. It has catalyzed the growth of the entire social media industry.
Harvard dropout Mark Zuckerberg founded Facebook in 2004 in the United States. Facebook filed an initial public offering in 2012 with a valuation of US$ 100 billion. Facebook passed an incredible milestone of over one billion users on 14 September 2012.
Facebook has over 13 million accounts based in Malaysia; that number is just shy of 46% of Malaysia’s population. In terms of Malaysia’s online population, Facebook has about 82% penetration. For the United States, Facebook has about about 53% penetration of the American population. In terms of America’s online population, Facebook has about 71% penetration.
Learn about Facebook:
Twitter is considered the largest micro blogging service, in which users can publish short updates. A unique twist to this social network is that individual posts are limited to 140 characters, which are known as tweets. These tweets represent the heart of Twitter, and this service has changed the way people share and stay informed with news, politicians, celebrities, friends, and family.
Jack Dorsey and Biz Stone founded Twitter in in 2006 in the United States. Twitter now has over 500 millions users.
YouTube
YouTube is the social media platform with video at its core. People upload, comment, and watch from an outstandingly vast library of videos, ranging homemade to professionally produced.
YouTube was founded in the United States in 2005 by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim . Just over a year later, in 2006, YouTube was purchased from Google for over US$ 1.65 billion.
Learn more about YouTube:
LinkedIn is know as the professional social network. People use this for their careers and work related networks. It is designed for you to highlight your professional experiences and connect with others. It can be a powerful tool for connecting with colleagues, clients, suppliers, and other relevant professionals in your industry.
LinkedIn was founded in the United States in 2002 and launched in 2003. LinkedIn has approximately 175 million users around the world and over 1 million users in Malaysia.
Facebook has about 1.1 million accounts based in Malaysia; that number is nearly 4% of Malaysia’s population. In terms of Malaysia’s online population, LinkedIn has about 7% penetration. For the United States, LinkedIn has about about 24% penetration of the American population. In terms of America’s online population, LinkedIn has about 33% penetration.
Learn more about LinkedIn:
Google+
Google+ is the social networking platform launched by Google on June 28, 2011. It’s the social network that probably represents the biggest competitor to Facebook. Google+ offers a new, clean interface, and some unique features to easily connect and categorize your network. Google+ also offers some powerful features, such as Google Hangout which is becoming a widely popular group video chat function.
Google+ was launched by Google on June 28, 2011. In December 2012, Google announced that there were over 500 million accounts on Google+ and 235 million are active accounts.
Learn more about Google+:
Check out some other relevant social media networks for Malaysia
Photo credit: khalid Albaih / Foter / CC BY
Research Source: www.SocialBakers.com
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