The first social networking websites was launched in the year 1997 Sixdegrees.com. This company was the first of its kind; it allowed user to list their profiles, provide a list of friends and then contact them. However, the Company did not do very well as it eventually closed three years later.
After this there was the creation of Live Journal in the year 1999. It was created in order to facilitate one way exchanges of journals between friends.
(1) construct a public or semi-public profile within a bounded system,
(2) articulate a list of other users with whom they share a connection, and
(3) view and traverse their list of connections and those made by others within the system.
While SNSs have implemented a wide variety of technical features, their backbone consists of visible profiles that display an articulated list of Friends who are also users of the system. Profiles are unique pages where one can ‘‘type oneself into being’’.
SNS connections are supported by tools that help individuals to connect and to share experiences in larger social networks, which support loose social ties from which they could potentially draw resources.
SNSs allow for many activities that feel social but are not interactive, such as lurking on strangers’ profiles or passively viewing Instagram feeds. These activities may make users feel as if their immediate social needs have been met.
The capability of SNAs promises opportunities for communication and interaction, especially for distance education students who are separated from their teachers, learning resources and other students in terms of time and/or space.
Social network sites
