Social networking sites (SNS) have permeated our lives so much so that to not have an account is to cut off information flow from oneself. Social network sites are where you get news even quicker than official news sites, and hear about the latest gossip or rumors surrounding your peers.
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At the same time, social networking is where you can socialize and network with your friends in this increasingly connected world of ours. It’s no wonder everyone is on one or more of these networking sites. What you chose as your favorite SNS says a lot about your own preferences and needs, and even reveals your personality. It says who we are in ways we wouldn’t have thought of.
Check out the following top SNS and what they say about their loyal fans.
Recommended Reading: Powerful Branding Techniques Through Social Media
If you’re on it, you’re well-connected to the rest of your peers. You probably wanted to belong to where everyone is, where the action is, and you side with the majority. You use your social networks to socialize and make friends, be informed with the latest gossip or news, a small group of you may even stalk friends. And you’d be normal.
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There are reports that go to say that people who are not on Facebook are abnormal, even psychopathic. But my guess is that these people are non-conformists for various valid reasons. Facebook is the best tool you can use for socializing and distributing information. When compared to other popular SNS online, some of them seem to not have that socialization element.
If Facebook is your favorite SNS, it may then suggest that you’re someone who is craving for online social ties and thus may use it as a way to combat loneliness or substitute for a lack of an active social life. Either that or you’re just going with the flow.
Recommended Reading: 5 Facebook Privacy Settings You Should Know
So where do online users go to if they only want to be informed of the latest news but don’t wish to socialize that much? Twitter is the choice. Long-time Twitter users are found to use the site for cognitive stimulation by uncovering information without much socialization. I
It was also found that people who preferred Twitter scored higher in ‘need for cognition’ over Facebook users. The latter tend to score higher in sociability, neuroticism and extraversion.
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The results seem to suggest that if you favor Twitter, you’re intellectual but care less about fulfilling your social needs online.
After all, Twitter is pretty much all about short, to-the-point updates and the sharing of information, not unlike the status updates of Facebook, but it doesn’t offer Facebook’s multi-content approach involving games, photo storage and place check-ins. People who love using Twitter are those who like having a minimalist online persona and a text-like approach to their social networks.
MySpace
MySpace used to be the top social network site before Facebook came, saw and conquered. Today, MySpace users are an endangered species in the world of SNS (forget about Friendsters, they’re already extinct). Today, if your loyalty to MySpace is still unwavering, it means you are probably trying to advertise your indie band to the remaining users out there.
After all, MySpace was an awesome platform for small-time musicians to showcase their work by uploading their entire discographies onto their profiles and even sell them on the platform.
If you don’t have a band, then you must be some sort of music buff looking for great indie music.
MySpace is the social network site that allows you to discover new music via its suggestion features. Sure, the popularity is dwindling, which means there will be lesser music available. Yet, this is a plus for musicians who distribute their music through MySpace. With lesser competition, their music has a higher chance of getting noticed and heard. Great for music lovers.
Designed for people in professional occupations, LinkedIn is primarily used for professional networking. People may sign up for LinkedIn for career-related purposes. But if LinkedIn is your favorite social network site, chances are that you’re the no-nonsense type who only uses SNS for professional networking and nothing more.
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Moreover, you are more likely to be male. A study revealed that 63% of LinkedIn users are male, 47% are females, and that LinkedIn is the only social network site with more male users than female users. The differences in the ratio in LinkedIn could be that males are more career-oriented than social-oriented.
Having LinkedIn as your favorite SNS definitely also says something about your lack of reliance on social networks to fulfill your social needs, which might actually be a good thing.
Recommended Reading: 10 Tips To A More Professional LinkedIn Profile
Google+
Google+ is the latest popular networking site on the market. Part of those who favor Google+ are disgruntled Facebook users who grew tired of its flaws, especially its ever-changing privacy policy. No matter how much you restrict access to those whom you can trust, there’s always a way that things can get leaked out.
That is what’s driving Facebook users away, but what’s drawing people to Google+? Again, it might also have something to do with privacy as well. Google+ Circles affords selective sharing with different groups of friends that is very unlike Facebook’s interface.
Also, with Google+ just new into the game and thus less saturated with users, advertisers are not as into it as they are into Facebook. Data mining is less likely on Google+. If this is your favorite SNS, then it just goes to say that online privacy matters a lot to you.
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What Your Favorite Social Network Sites Say About You
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