Social media in the form of online social networks and online social bookmarking are incredibly popular these days. It can be a little tricky, however, when it comes to knowing which to choose. This is why many Internet users find social network reviews valuable. When reading these reviews, though, you may find that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Many folks defend their choice of online social networking sites vehemently. That might be because they were ignorant of the options, so they invested all their time without further discovery. Some of those who are adamant about their choice don’t even know the difference between Internet business networking sites, social bookmarking sites and social networking communities that are primarily there for fun. Even some avid social media users don’t know that there are also social networking platforms, like Yuwie, that use small amounts of money per click to pay for people to use and promote their sites.

People often don’t know the difference between online social networks because the features and uses overlap. As an example, Facebook can be used for either business networking or to just have fun. Thousands of user-created free Ning networking communities have sprung up all over the Internet, such as New Energy Network. These online social networking sites are important because they’re created by users and focus on distinct interests. And speaking of interests, book readers now have plenty of places to hang out online. Social networks that feature book reviews, like LibraryThing, cater to bookworms everywhere. A less interactive format that is just as important as online social networking sites is online social bookmarking, which has become a standard for people who work and play on the Web. Social bookmarking sites like Reddit allow people to save their favorite bookmarks so they can access them online any time. This platform type is also great for people who conduct searches, because tags that allow for easy searching can be assigned to each bookmark. Tagging also makes social bookmarking sites of great interest to online marketers, because backlinks result from the use of bookmarks. The individual links aren’t that valuable but in aggregate, they matter. Also, like with Mixx, if a blog post is entered on one of these sites, it can often rank high in Google if the person who submitted it understands how to research keywords and has entered the listing correctly.

The social media landscape is made even more indistinct by sites like Digg, which feature both online social networking and bookmarking. They are used for bookmarking but also are equally powerful for marketing and socializing. There are a lot of friends and business contacts to be found on these types of Web properties and blog posts featured on these social networking sites have the potential to rank well in Google and other search engines. Tremendous benefits such as these are the reason people who make their livings online love online social media sites.