17 “Must-See” Social Media Sites

Social media has been the topic of much discussion for the past few years. In a very short amount of time sites like Twitter, MySpace, Facebook, and Digg – have become some of the most visited sites in the world. The focus on social involvement and interaction is heralded as the perfect opportunity for businesses and organizations to seamlessly integrate with followers and members.

Frequently I’m asked what social media sites I use to promote content and businesses online. My answer is generally the same, but thought it would be helpful to share an in-depth analysis of my all time favorites.

I now present you with 17 of my favorite social media communities – in no particular order of importance.

The List of 17 “Must-See” Social Media Sites

1. Twitter – It’s no secret that Twitter has become the giant of social media. With its simplicity and far reaching community, it’s become one of my all time favorite social media communities. Twitter is an excellent tool, as it allows me to easily syndicate my newest content or thoughts to thousands of people – with just click of a button, and a 140 character message. Twitter is micro-blogging at its finest. In order to “tame” my Twitter life, I use tools such as TweetDeck to manage and organize the floods of tweets I receive and send out daily.

2. Facebook – In order to manage more of my “personal” life, I use Facebook. It allows me to easily stay up-to-date with friends, family, and collegaues – all with the use of personal walls and messages. Facebook is ingenius with its design and simplicity, which has made it such a hit with even the older generation of internet users.

3. Plurk - Unique in its design, Plurk has recently garnered much attention. I appreciate Plurk because of its linear, timeline-like style – and intriguing interface. Although it can become a time drain if not careful, I do enjoy communicating via Plurk.

4. MySpace – Recently I’ve grown apart from MySpace, but I still enjoy its many uses. Much of the world still uses MySpace, and especially the younger crowd. It’s a great tool for communication, and setting up a gateway page for businesses and groups.

5. Digg – The ultimate social “link sharing” tool, I believe, is Digg. With its supreme structure and ease of use – it makes finding new links fun and enjoyable. I’m always pleasantly surprised at the simplicity in “Digging” new pages, and finding new content from the Digg community.

6. FriendFeed – Recently FriendFeed has undergone a major redesign. Although I haven’t had the chance to explore some of its newest features, I’ve always enjoyed FriendFeed to find new content from different contacts and friends.

7. LinkedIn – If MySpace is the place for friends, LinkedIn is the place for your professional business. An excellent tool to find, explore, and share different contacts and businesses for your use.

8. StumbleUpon – I’ve always enjoyed StumbleUpon and its excellent bookmarking features. I’ve always implemented a StumbleUpon toolbar on my Firefox installation, allowing me to easily stumble new content and information.

9. Flickr – I’m a photo freak. Flickr is my photo haven, and I could spend hours and hours browsing the excellent images uploaded daily. For myself, I use Flickr to share my latest photos with family, friends, and blog followers – which allows me to be something more than just a “computer” voice. It helps me to bring my audience into my own life, and share with them more of my thoughts and feelings.

10. Reddit – Although it’s yet another social bookmarking website, I enjoy Reddit’s features and usability. It’s a great way to stay current on the latest in online content.

11. Identi.ca – Recently Identi.ca has made its mark on the micro-blogging community, and is used by many people. It’s easy to use, and offers further tools for communication.

12. Rejaw - Rejaw is also a micro-blogging social media site, and offers an excellent user interface. I don’t spend much time on micro-blogging sites such as Identi.ca or Rejaw, but the updates that I send to Twitter are automatically pushed to these secondary micro-blogging sites via HelloTxt.

13. Delicious – Delicious is used by everyone from bloggers to classrooms, and is a great tool for social bookmarking. I use Delicious on a regular basis and enjoy its simplicity.

14. Technorati - A great community for bloggers is Technorati. It offers rankings directories, and can easily become a great tool for bringing your blog to a wider audience.

15. BlogCatalog – Between BlogCatalog and MyBlogLog, I’ve oftentimes enjoyed the features of BlogCatalog further. It’s very easy to use, and offers many options for connection with other bloggers.

16. MyBlogLog – MyBlogLog offers many of the same features as BlogCatalog, although I see benefits from using both.

17. YouTube – Of course, I must include YouTube as my favorite social video site. It speaks for itself, and offers many ways for connection with others.

Conclusion

As you’ve probably noticed, there are hundreds of social media websites to choose from. Many are very specific to a certain niche or community although many, like the sites above, are very general. I use the above social media sites in various degrees for my needs – and blend them together to create a powerful mix of social media needs.

One important thing to remember, in my own opinion, is that you don’t spread yourself too thin with all of the current social media choices. As Bilbo Baggins of the Lord of the Rings once stated, “I feel thin, sort of stretched, like butter, scraped over too much bread.”

Share with us – what are YOUR favorite social media sites?

Coffee Shop photo by tboard

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