A Simple Social Network Definition
When man first appeared on earth, one of the first things he did was to network. The earliest men networked and bonded into tribes to their mutual benefit and the security it offered them. As the human race grew and became more sophisticated, so did the way in which these networks developed and the social network definition came to include guilds, brotherhoods, trade unions and so on. This evolution continued until it developed into the form of social networking that we know today.
The definition of social networking and the way it is done took on a new shape with the advent of the internet. Today we think of social networking as the act of expanding the number of people we know in order to develop our social circles and business activities. The internet rids us of the need to establish physical contact with a person to network with him or her – a relationship can be established and maintained online with no regard to physical proximity. Today a person sitting at home with his computer can meet and establish a longer term link with almost anyone, anywhere.
The ease with which millions of people all over the world can be accessed has brought the theory of Six Degrees of Separation into prominence. The theory says that with an almost unlimited number of people who can be contacted, just contacting one person who can put you in touch with another should be able to lead you to anyone, anywhere within six stages. If this is accepted, the definition of social networks changes from limited circles of like minded people to theoretically being able to contact anyone in the world. While this maybe theoretically possible, for most people the definition and application of social networking is more limited.
The common use of social networks is to help people make contacts with others whose friendship is beneficial to them but whom they would not be able to meet, except online. Besides establishing contacts online, a person who joins a social network usually invites his friends to join. They in turn invite their friends to join and the chain, as it carries on, creates a growing group of interlinked people whose relationship, on a one to one level or on a larger plane, will grow to their mutual benefit. The modern definition of a social network is now, in its most common form, is that of a network of people who are able to transcend physical limitations and boundaries and establish relationships with people whom they could not otherwise meet.