Socializing all over the Web

This is something we've been saying in online-safety talks, and it's good to see other people making the point: Social networking is all over the Web, certainly not limited to the site your child's peer group hangs out in. "The trend tabbed 'social networking' is vastly broader than MySpace, and its components are quickly being incorporated into hundreds if not thousands of Web sites, ranging from autos to music and even shopping," reports PopMatters.com. "The sites are defined by content - photos, product reviews and the occasional rant - that users contribute, helping to build a sense of community and participation." In this article, refreshingly, you read about 55-year-old social networker (more a business networker, actually) Ralph Dahm, who prefers LinkedIn.com (see last week's item about how more than half of MySpace users are 35+). Where I differ with the writer, though, is where he suggests that for kids social networking's for amassing long friends lists ("so they can appear popular"). I think there are almost as many reasons kids use these sites as there are kids.