Social Networking Sites

There have been a lot of social media platforms that have come and gone like myspace and Hi5.  We have now a shortlist of social media companies that dominate the space and they are Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.  I know I'm missing some other social media sites that are also dominant but these four were the first ones to get into the space.  All of these social media sites offer great platform for their users to share, view and connect with other users.  Out of the four social media sites mentioned above Instagram was bought by Facebook and LinkedIn was bought by Microsoft Corp. 

Comparing these four social media sites requires one to understand why they are using it in the first place.  Facebook is mainly regarded as social media for family and friends to connect and keep in touch.  While Instagram is usually regarded as millennial social media site where they can share pictures and stories for 24 hours.  It is for tight knit group of people who follow each other or some celebrities.  Twitter is a interesting case as it prides itself in being able to share news or anything trending instantaneously.  People are able to see what is trending and react.  Currently, the president uses twitter a lot and his tweet has instant impact on how the stock market moves.  Finally, LinkedIn is a special purpose social media site for professionals and students who want to connect and improve their professional network.  There are companies who post jobs and people who look for jobs through LinkedIn. 

My impression of all these four social media sites is that all of them are important and serve a special purpose for everyone which is the reason I have account in all of these sites.