Social networking sites have given a new look to the World Wide Web. In the past, internet was a place filled with interesting information, but provided less opportunity to participate or contribute. Social networking sites have fulfilled the missing part by connecting people from all over the world. These sites have become the main place for interaction and communication. What started as a network for building relationships has now become a flourishing place for small and big businesses. Let us look at the top 10 social media websites that bind the world together.

Facebook

Facebook, the number one social networking site was launched way back in 2004. Mark Zuckerberg, the man behind the success of Facebook created this site joining hands with his colleagues in Harvard University. This online community aroused interest among the Harvard students and it became instant success when they were able to create profiles, search profiles and also invite others. The doors were opened to public in 2006 with a minimum qualification of a valid registered email address. Facebook was warmly welcomed by the public and Mark went onto add several updates to make the social media site more interesting and user-friendly. His non-stop attempts have made Facebook one of the best social networking sites in the world.

Twitter

Twitter, the micro blogging service was created by Jack Dorsey in March 2006 and was launched in July. It became instantly popular grabbing the attention of celebrities and normal citizens. Messages can be sent up to 140 characters and is known by the name ‘tweets.’ Twitter is described as the ‘SMS of the Internet.’ Twitter is open to both registered and unregistered users. Registered users can make the most of it by tweeting via SMS, website interface or through mobile apps.

LinkedIn

This is a unique site specially designed for professionals. LinkedIn was established by Reid Hoffman and a huge team from Socialnet.com and PayPal. The CEO of the company is Jeff Weiner, who was working with Yahoo! Inc. previously. LinkedIn was found in December 2002 and was opened to public from May 2003. LinkedIn boasts of having the membership of about 354 million people. The company also claims that executives from all the Fortune 500 companies have member profiles in LinkedIn. LinkedIn is a perfect place to expose your professional skills and experience.

YouTube

YouTube was initially created as a video sharing site and the site still serves the purpose. However, businesses use YouTube to market their products and services via videos and have made it a social networking site. This site was created in February 2005 by three former employees of PayPal. YouTube until today serves as the best place to view and upload videos. It is also an excellent place to interact via video and text comments. This site is open to everyone to view, but, you require a member account to post videos.

Hi5

Hi5 was launched in 2003 by Ramu Yalamanchi. This social networking site experienced tremendous growth during the initial six months of 2008. Slowly, this site started taking a different form and became a popular gaming platform. After the introduction of sites like Facebook and others Hi5 started looking for opportunities internationally. Soon, the site became popular in Latin America and Mexico. Similar to any other social networking site, members can create profiles, post messages, share photos and play games.

Skyrock

This social site was launched in December 2002 by Pierre Bellanger. It became a full-scale social site from May 2007. This is the most popular site in France and has all the features that a social networking site should possess. Though, the site is headquartered in France, it is available in other languages like Spanish, English, German, Italian and Portuguese. Skyrock is packed with all the interesting features, which makes it a colorful social networking site.

Friendster

This is one of the sites to introduce the concept of social networking. This site was founded by Jonathan Abrams and launched in the year 2002. It has now become a popular gaming site and largely used in Philippines and Indonesia. This site can be used to maintain contacts and stay in touch with them, search for new members and share contents. It was also largely used for discovering new bands, events, hobbies and for dating. Friendster is also known as the ‘grandaddy’ of social networks.

51.com

This site is solely dedicated to China. This is the most popular site in China with maximum Chinese users. Studies reveal that China has more number of Internet users than the United States; however, the total percentage of citizens having Internet access is very low. 51.com allows customers to create profile pages, write blogs and upload photos.

Orkut

This social network operated and owned by Google is widely popular in Brazil. Brazilians render more than 50% of the total traffic to Orkut. The main reason for the popularity of Orkut in Brazil is that the large number of Portuguese population finds it easy to pronounce the name of the site. And then add to the fact that there are no ads on this site. Though, the site failed to make a massive dent in the United States, Brazil has given a strong foothold for Orkut.

MySpace

MySpace was launched in 2003 by the famous actor and pop music singer Justin Timberlake. During the period 2005 to 2008, this site enjoyed its golden period and was the most visited site in the whole world. The golden era came to an end in 2008 when Facebook became popular. MySpace stands out from the crowd by offering free marketing. This site has undergone many changes and the latest version is dubbed as ‘New MySpace.’

This is a guest post is brought to you by Samantha Kirk, a writer for AT&T U Verse. Samantha provides up to date content and information for AT&T.