LinkedIn is a social networking site to support business and professionals. Once joined, you can request a connection with people you’ve done business with including co-workers, clients, and vendors you’ve hired. LinkedIn gives the option to decline any connection so you can build a network of trusted connections. You can add your resume to your profile and others can ‘recommend’ you. Businesses can post opportunities and look for potential candidates. LinkedIn may be a way for you to find peers to share ideas or join forces to do a study. This video explains the advantages of using LinkedIn.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzT3JVUGUzM

Yammer provides private social networking for corporations. Membership is allowed based on matching your email address with the company’s email address. You can create groups visible only to your group or to the whole company. You can upload and share documents, create a personal profile, send private messages, create a shared knowledge base, or even create an external network that reaches out to your external partners. Simply put, it’s another way to connect with co-workers. To see if it’s right for you, watch this video on why these Deloitte employees like Yammer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=myEGChLvnPw&feature=related

Facebook is a well-known social networking site intended for family, friends, and business. After you create an account, you can post text, images, links, and videos to your Wall. These postings are visible to your friends and are posted to their home page. Your friends can even make comments on your posts. Your postings can be completely open to the public or controlled by creating groups with different privacy settings. You can also join groups based on your interests like gardening. Facebook recently added Skype to its features so you can video chat. This video explains why so many people use Facebook.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fckmbnng5Ws

Google+ was just released in June 2011. It’s Facebook’s newest competition. It provides a means to connect to your friends, family, and business associates. You can create groups and control who sees what on your page. You can join groups of interest called sparks. Huddle allows you to plan and stay connected with a group of friends for an evening out at the mall or a concert or anywhere else. It also has a built in video chat capability. This video describes potential advantages of Google+ over Facebook.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hC_M6PzXS9g&feature=player_embedded

Foursquare is networking based on your GPS location using your cellphone. You can connect with other people or businesses based on your location. Businesses can market their products and even offer discounts for frequently visiting their place of business based on your foursquare account. It’s also a great way to get tips from other customers as well recommendations of what to see and do based on your location. The more often you visit a place you can earn points, acquire badges, and may be titled mayor of that location. This video introduces you to what foursquare can do for you.

http://www.howcast.com/videos/386406-How-To-Unlock-Your-World-With-Foursquare