Social Media in Plain English by Common Craft






Screencast of Yahoo! for Teachers

Popular Social Networking sites

• Ning

Ning is a platform for creating your own social network.With Ning, your social network can focus on anything and be open to anyone.
You start by naming your network and choosing a combination of features (photos, videos, forums, events, etc.) from an ever-growing list of options. You can then customize how your network looks and launch! People who join your network will automatically have a customizable profile page and will be able to send messages to andfriend each other.

• Facebook

Facebook is a social utility that connects people with friends and others who work, study and live around the world. People use Facebook to keep up with friends, meet new people, upload an unlimited number of photos, share links and videos, andmore.

• Myspace

Create a community on MySpace and you can share photos, journals and interests with your growing network of mutual friends!
See who knows who, or how you are connected. Find out if you really are six people away from Kevin Bacon.

• Diigo

Since you are what you annotate - bookmarks, tags, annotations are a great expression of one's interests and expertise - Diigo provides new ways to connect and keep in touch with friends, and to learn both from your friends and about your friends with little extra effort.

Diigo also provides new ways to connect with others who share similar interests. You can find "people like me" - those who are closest to you in interests, or search people by tags or sites to find others who share certain specific interests with you. Once you find people you are interested in connecting with,you can connect with them in multiple ways: invite them to add you as a friend, send them messages, invite them to a group, or simply add them to your watchlist.

• The Village

The Village enables people and organizations to create and socialize their own websites to foster a more engaged brand community. It enhances and builds brand community by enabling members to connect with each other via photo and video sharing, blogs, chat, forums, email, instant messaging and more.

• Yahoo Groups

It's where people with a shared interest meet, get to know each other, and stay informed.

Your group gives you instant access to:
Shared message archives
Photos and photo albums
Group event calendars
Member polls and shared links

• LinkedIn
  

LinkedIn is an online network of more than 25 million experienced professionals from around the world, representing 150 industries.
When you join, you create a profile that summarizes your professional accomplishments. Your profile helps you find and be found by former colleagues, clients, and partners. You can add more connections by inviting trusted contacts to join LinkedIn and connect to you.

Your network consists of your connections, your connections’ connections, and the people they know, linking you to thousands of qualified professionals.

• Apple Learning Interchange (ALI)

ALI is a free social networking and content sharing service for educators hosted by Apple Education.

Enjoy Great Content

Educator created lessons and activities
Rich with movies, images and podcasts
Special collections from content providers

Meet Others

(In this unique social network for educators)
Locate colleagues from around the globe.
Find peers across a variety of content areas.

Collaborate Online
Use new Web 2.0tools to engage with others.
Create and manage your own custom groups.
Share content, news, polls and conversations.