Social Networking Sites

I viewed Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, and Youtube, and these four sites have vastly different appeals to different audiences.

First, Facebook, once used by all the early adopters to social media, has mostly been abandoned, save for older audiences. Facebook has become a platform for individuals to connect and talk to each other, as well as see updates on the lives of their friends. From sharing photos to even hosting a marketplace, Facebook has shifted its target audience from teens and young adults towards older adults.

Twitter is one of the trendiest social media tools currently. While giving a voice to every individual, it allows users to speak colloquially to random people who share their passion, or even celebrities and people of importance. In addition, Twitter shows users the trending hashtags, keeping users curious and clicking.

Reddit is a social media tool that models internet forums of back in the day. While this style has mostly fallen out of favor, Reddit's design keeps users clicking on the next link. Subreddits are categorized nicely, and since there are subreddits for nearly every topic, users will definitely find something of interest to mull over. Redditors are able to share their own ideas, upvote or downvote on comments or threads, and share their thoughts by replying.

Youtube is often seen simply as a video viewing platform, but in actuality, it is a social media tool tied to videos. In essence, it is a less organized video version of Reddit. Users are able to comment on videos, and like or dislike them. The trend, however, seems to show that Youtube commenters are much more inflammatory with their words.