THE EFFECT OF SOCIAL NETWORKING SITESON PERSONAL LIVES OF THE PEOPLE

2009

A QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
Rajat Raizada Taruna Vinayak Gaurav Srivastav Sakshi Garg Sakshi Mehrotra Shobhit Chandak

SUBMITTED T !" #ro$essor %&#&Gu'ta

DECLARATION
We hereby declare that all the work presented in the project report entitled The Effect of Social Networking Sites on the Personal Lives of the People of the subject Business Research Methods at ICFAI , IBS ur!aon is an authentic record of our own work carried out under the !uidance of "rof #apas $ahapatra% &ate' Rajat Raizada Taruna ina!ak "aurav Srivastav Sakshi "arg Sakshi Mehrotra Shohit #handak

CERTIFICATE
#his is to certify that project report entitled $The Effect of Social Networking Sites on the Personal Lives of the People% of the subject Business Research Methods& which is sub(itted by )ajat )ai*ada, #aruna +inayak, Sri,asta,, Sakshi aura, ar!, Sakshi $ehrotra - Shohit Chandak at ICFAI , IBS

ur!aon is an authentic record of the candidate.s own work carried out by the( under our !uidance% #he (atter e(bodied in this thesis is ori!inal and has not been sub(itted for the award of any other de!ree%

"rof% /%"% 0"roject 'ate(

upta

uide1

)#*N+,LE'"EMENT
We e2press our deep !ratitude to Prof- .-P- "upta of /#0)/ B1S/NESS S#2++L for his constant support, !uidance and (oti,ation which helped us i((ensely in co(pletin! this project% #he project pro,ided us with an opportunity to understand the funda(entals of research (ethods in a better (anner and apply the(% #he insistence on takin! up a socially rele,ant topic like the use of social networkin! sites help us to understand the psycholo!y of the people usin! these sites better and correlate the research to hu(an beha,ioural aspect% We also would like to thank our respondents for !i,in! us their ,aluable ti(e and pro,idin! us with the infor(ation needed to carry out the research successfully%

'ate(3

Rajat Raizada Taruna ina!ak "aurav Srivastav Sakshi "arg Sakshi Mehlotra Shohit #handak

E4E#1T/ E S1MM)R.
#he social networkin! sites are !ainin! a lot of popularity these days with al(ost all of the educated youth usin! one or the other such site% #hese ha,e played a crucial role in brid!in! boundaries and crossin! the seas and enablin! the( to co((unicate on a co((on platfor(% It has beco(e a popular and a potential (ean for the( to stay friends with the e2istin! ones and to !row up their social circle at least in ter(s of ac3uaintances% #he 3uestion re!ardin! the safety, pri,acy and the le!al issues ha,e been croppin! up all this ti(e% #hrou!h this research we try to find out the i(pact of these networkin! sites on the personal and professional li,es of people usin! the(% It is a ,ery subjecti,e 3uestion to answer and is ,ery opinion based and the sa(e is reflected in the research (ethodolo!y adopted by us% #he report is initiated with the definition of the objecti,e followed with the research (ethodolo!y used alon! with the research desi!n, sa(ple si*e, (ethods used for the purpose of conductin! sur,ey% It also incorporates the sa(plin! fra(e and the data collection procedure% Subse3uent to this is the Introduction to the networkin! sites alon! with a brief description of the (ost popular sites% #hen the issues of concern which ha,e co(e up alon! the way in all these years since these sites !ained popularity are discussed% #he ,arious issues and concerns of the respondents are also incorporated there% #he ne2t part of the research has the literature sur,eys which are the articles we took up fro( the published reports% We then analy*ed and interpreted the data at len!th% #he last part deals with the su!!estions and reco((endations that the !roup has co(e up with after carefully analy*in! and incorporatin! the opinion of all concerned%

/N'E4
4% 6% 7% 8% 9% ;% <% =% 5bjecti,e )esearch $ethodolo!y Sa(plin! Introduction to sites :ow do Social networkin! sites work "opular networkin! sites Issues of concern >iterature Sur,ey S?S in India :ow safe is your 5rkut account An article re!ardin! technolo!y used #he "erils of Social ?etworkin! 5ther )esearch @% Atili*ation in business 4B% Analysis and Interpretation 44% >i(itations 46% Conclusion 47% Su!!estion 48% Anne2ure

+B5E#T/ E
In this a!e of !lobali*ation, the world has beco(e too s(all a place thanks to the electronic (edia and portals% Co((unication has beco(e effecti,e as ne,er before thanks to the ad,ent of internet% #he social networkin! sites ha,e also played a crucial role in brid!in! boundaries and crossin! the seas and brin!in! all people at a co((on platfor( where they can (eet like (inded people or find old friends and co((unicate with the(% It has beco(e a potential (ean to relation buildin! and stayin! in touch with all known% :ence the objecti,e that we wanted to achie,e throu!h our research is to' Find out the influence of social networkin! sites on the personal and professional life of the peopleC how it affects their relations, what are its uses for each indi,iduals and how ha,e they been influenced by these sites%

RESE)R#2 MET2+'+L+".
A considerable a(ount of work has been done in this field and se,eral articles are a,ailable on the internet and (a!a*ines about the social networkin! sites% So first we carried out a literature sur,ey of the a,ailable data for collection of secondary infor(ation% We followed it by a descripti,e research desi!n in order to understand the proble( and carry out the research in a lucid (anner% 'ata #ollection 6ethod( After secondary data collection throu!h data collection o,er the internet, a pri(ary research was carried out throu!h a 3uestionnaire% #he 3uestionnaire was well structured and the responses were sou!ht fro( the respondents% #he nature of the 3uestions was such that it a,oided a(bi!uous responses fro( the respondents and it also helped in 3uick analysis of the data collected% #wo (ethods of 3uestionin! were used for the data collection'

41% Person )ssisted( #he responses were collected by personal 3uestionin!% #he responses were taken fro( the students in the Dutab Institutional area fro( institutes like I$I, F5)E, IIF#, etc% this for( of 3uestionin! helped the respondent to understand the 3uestions better and answer accordin!ly% 61% ,ed ena7led( #he 3uestionnaire was eC(ailed to respondents who filled it and then (ailed it back to us% A flaw that we reali*ed here was that so(e of the respondents did not understand the 3uestions and hence could not answer the( to the best of their capability, unlike the other (ethod e(ployed where the 3uestions could be e2plained if re3uired%

S)MPL/N"(
Sa6pling 'esign( #he tar!et population for our research was defined as the students who for( the (ajor chunk of users of these social networkin! sites% #his was done to ha,e a better insi!ht into the research as the tar!et population was one which is the (ost a,id user of these sites and could pro,ide !ood responses% E,en the understandin! of the 3uestionnaire was easy to the( as they were fa(iliar with the sites and 3uite clear about the reasons they use it for and the ,arious proble(s that they face% #he e2tent of the sur,ey was li(ited to the IBS ur!aon and Dutab Institutional area of ?ew &elhi% :owe,er, throu!h online sur,ey so(e re!ions outside &elhi were also reached to ,alidate the infor(ation collected fro( &elhi% Sa6pling fra6e can be defined as all the users of social networkin! sites in the ,icinity% 5nce the sa(plin! fra(e was decided, si(ple rando( sa(plin! (ethod was used to select the respondents% In the person assisted sur,ey, al(ost e,eryone in the sa(plin! fra(e had an e3ual chance of bein! selected and we !ot the responses filled throu!h those people who were readily and willin!ly acceptin! to fill it%

#o so(e e2tent jud!(ent sa(plin! was also used, especially in the online sur,ey, where the 3uestionnaires were sent only to our ac3uaintances in the other BC schools outside &elhi%

/NTR+'1#T/+N
Wikipedia states that a social network is Fa social structure (ade of nodes 0which are !enerally indi,iduals or or!ani*ations1 that are tied by one or (ore specific types of relationsF 0Social network, 6BB<1% With the rapid !rowth of people who use or ha,e access to the Internet, social networkin! websites are a (ust for the Internet co((unity to stay in touch with each other% Social networkin! web sites help people keep in touch with old friends, (ake new friends, distribute new data or product, and (any (ore aspects of our e,eryday li,es% #he first official social networkin! web site was Class(ates%co( which was founded in 4@@9 0Social ?etwork, 6BB<1% What followed was a slow but steady !rowth in nu(bers of social networkin! websites to the o,erwhel(in! nu(ber of sites we ha,e today% #he reason that social networkin! websites work so well is that, like their inception, they start of s(all and then !row e2ponentially% #he site starts off with a few people who then tell their friends about the site, then those friends tell their friends about the site and soon the site is a hu!e database of users connected by friends, ac3uaintances, or just rando( people% #he web sites are (ade to Fallow users to create a GprofileG describin! the(sel,es and to

e2chan!e public or pri,ate (essa!es and list other users or !roups they are connected to in so(e way% 0Social ?etwork 6BB<1% $ost social networkin! websites are often desi!ned to fit a certain type of co((unity such as the colle!e co((unity bein! (irrored by Facebook%co( or a (usicHparty co((unity (irrored by $ySpace%co(% With the rapid !rowth of social networkin! web sites and their !lobal scale usa!e, whate,er one feels concernin! social networkin! web sites is irrele,ant because social networkin! web sites are on a popularity rise and are here to stay%

S+#/)L NET,+R* S/TES 8SNS9( ) 'E0/N/T/+N

We define social network sites as webCbased ser,ices that allow indi,iduals to' 041 Construct a public or se(iCpublic profile within a bounded syste(, 061 Articulate a list of other users with who( they share a connection, and 071 +iew and tra,erse their list of connections and those (ade by others within the syste(% #he nature and no(enclature of these connections (ay ,ary fro( site to site% While we use the ter( Gsocial network siteG to describe this pheno(enon, the ter( Gsocial networkin! sitesG also appears in public discourse, and the two ter(s are often used interchan!eably% G?etworkin!G e(phasi*es relationship initiation, often between stran!ers% While networkin! is possible on these sites, it is not the

pri(ary practice on (any of the(, nor is it what differentiates the( fro( other for(s of co(puterC(ediated co((unication 0C$C1% What (akes social network sites uni3ue is not that they allow indi,iduals to (eet stran!ers, but rather that they enable users to articulate and (ake ,isible their social networks% #his can result in connections between indi,iduals that would not otherwise be (ade, but that is often not the !oal, and these (eetin!s are fre3uently between Glatent tiesG 0:aythornthwaite, 6BB91 who share so(e offline connection% 5n (any of the lar!e S?Ss, participants are not necessarily Gnetworkin!G or lookin! to (eet new peopleI instead, they are pri(arily co((unicatin! with people who are already a part of their e2tended social network% #o e(phasi*e this articulated social network as a critical or!ani*in! feature of these sites, we label the( Gsocial network sites%G

2+, '+ES :SNS; ,+R*

While S?Ss ha,e i(ple(ented a wide ,ariety of technical features, their backbone consists of ,isible profiles that display an articulated list of Friends who are also users of the syste(% "rofiles are uni3ue pa!es where one can type oneself into bein!% After joinin! an S?S, an indi,idual is asked to fill out for(s containin! a series of 3uestions% #he profile is !enerated usin! the answers to these 3uestions, which typically include descriptors such as a!e, location, interests, and an Gabout (eG section% $ost sites also encoura!e users to upload a profile photo% So(e sites allow users to enhance their profiles by addin! (ulti(edia content or (odifyin! their profileJs look and feel% 5thers, such as Facebook, allow users to add (odules 0GApplicationsG1 that enhance their profile% #he ,isibility of a profile ,aries by site and accordin! to user discretion% By default, profiles on 5rkut or hi9%co( are crawled by search en!ines, (akin! the( ,isible to anyone, re!ardless of whether or not the ,iewer has an account% Alternati,ely, sites like $ySpace allow users to choose whether they want their profile to be

public or GFriends only%G Facebook takes a different approachKby default, users who are part of the sa(e GnetworkG can ,iew each otherJs profiles, unless a profile owner has decided to deny per(ission to those in their network% Structural ,ariations around ,isibility and access are one of the pri(ary ways that S?Ss differentiate the(sel,es fro( each other% After joinin! a social network site, users are pro(pted to identify others in the syste( with who( they ha,e a relationship% #he label for these relationships differs dependin! on the site popular ter(s include GFriends,G GContacts,G and GFans%G $ost S?Ss re3uire biCdirectional confir(ation for Friendship, but so(e do not% #hese oneCdirectional ties are so(eti(es labelled as GFansG or GFollowers,G but (any sites call these Friends as well% #he ter( GFriendsG can be (isleadin!, because the connection does not necessarily (ean friendship in the e,eryday ,ernacular sense, and the reasons people connect are ,aried 0Boyd, 6BB;1% #he public display of connections is a crucial co(ponent of S?Ss% #he Friends list contains links to each FriendJs profile, enablin! ,iewers to tra,erse the network !raph by clickin! throu!h the Friends lists% 5n (ost sites, the list of Friends is ,isible to anyone who is per(itted to ,iew the profile, althou!h there are e2ceptions% $ost S?Ss also pro,ide a (echanis( for users to lea,e (essa!es on their FriendsJ profiles% #his feature typically in,ol,es lea,in! Gco((ents,G althou!h sites e(ploy ,arious labels for this feature% In addition, S?Ss often ha,e a pri,ate (essa!in! feature si(ilar to web(ail% While both pri,ate (essa!es and co((ents are popular on (ost of the (ajor S?Ss, they are not uni,ersally a,ailable% Beyond profiles, Friends, co((ents, and pri,ate (essa!in!, S?Ss ,ary !reatly in their features and user base% So(e ha,e photoCsharin! or ,ideoCsharin! capabilitiesI others ha,e builtCin blo!!in! and instant (essa!in! technolo!y% #here

are (obileCspecific S?Ss 0e%!%, &od!eball1, but so(e webCbased S?Ss also support li(ited (obile interactions 0e%!%, Facebook, $ySpace, and Cyworld1% $any S?Ss tar!et people fro( specific !eo!raphical re!ions or lin!uistic !roups, althou!h this does not always deter(ine the siteJs constituency% 5rkut, for

e2a(ple, was launched in the Anited States with an En!lishConly interface, but "ortu!ueseCspeakin! Bra*ilians 3uickly beca(e the do(inant user !roup% So(e sites are desi!ned with specific ethnic, reli!ious, se2ual orientation, political, or other identityCdri,en cate!ories in (ind% #here are e,en S?Ss for do!s 0&o!ster1 and cats 0Catster1, althou!h their owners (ust (ana!e their profiles% While S?Ss are often desi!ned to be widely accessible, (any attract ho(o!eneous populations initially, so it is not unco((on to find !roups usin! sites to se!re!ate the(sel,es by nationality, a!e, educational le,el, or other factors that typically se!(ent society, e,en if that was not the intention of the desi!ners%

E4)MPLES +0 S+#/)L NET,+R*/N" S/TES

+R*1T-#+M
+rkut is an Internet social network ser,ice run by oo!le and na(ed after its creator, oo!le e(ployee 5rkut BLyLkkMkten% It clai(s to be desi!ned to help users (eet new friends and (aintain e2istin! relationships% Si(ilar to Facebook, Friendster and $ySpace, 5rkut !oes a step further by per(ittin! the creation of easyCtoCsetCup si(ple foru(s 0called Gco((unitiesG1 of users% Since 5ctober 6BB;, 5rkut has per(itted users to create accounts without an in,itation% 5rkut is the (ost ,isited website in Bra*il, bein! (ore ,isited than oo!le Bra*il, nu(ber 6 on the list% In total ,isits, oo!le is probably still (ore popular since it appears as the second 0the Bra*ilian ,ersion1 and se,enth (ost ,isited site 0the international ,ersion1%

#he initial tar!et (arket for orkut was the Anited States, but the (ajority of its users are in Bra*il% In fact, as of ?o,e(ber 6BB<, ;6%@N of the traffic co(e fro( Bra*il, followed by <=->? fro6 /ndia% In &ece(ber 6BB<, oo!le dropped orkut fro( the dropCdown (enu of its international ho(epa!e %

0)#EB++*-#+M
0ace7ook is another e2a(ple of social networkin! site% &e,eloped by sopho(ore $ark Ouckerber! of :ar,ard Ani,ersity in 6BB8, Facebook%co( was ori!inally #heFacebook%co( 0Facebook, 6BB<1% "urchasin! the do(ain na(e of Facebook%co( in Au!ust of 6BB9 for P6BB,BBB the site was ori!inally de,eloped for colle!e and uni,ersity students as a way to connect with each other 0Facebook, 6BB<1% :ostin! the (ost (e(bers for a colle!e based social networkin! site, Facebook%co( is also the nu(ber one site for uploadin! pictures, boastin! se,eral (illion uploads daily% Since its inception, Facebook%co( has now been opened to anyone with a ,alid e(ail address and offers its (e(bers options of joinin! the (illions of networks of people with si(ilar interests% It is said that =BN of Facebook%co( users check their account daily and that @7N of Facebook%co( users check their account at least (onthly 0Facebook, 6BB<1 Facebook%co( !enerates its re,enue fro( ad,ertise(ent since it boasts a hu!e nu(ber of re!istered users%

M.SP)#E-#+M
M!Space is a social networkin! website offerin! an interacti,e, userCsub(itted network of friends, personal profiles, blo!s, !roups, photos, (usic and ,ideos internationally% It is head3uartered in Be,erly :ills, California, ASA, where it shares an office buildin! with its i((ediate owner, Fo2 Interacti,e $ediaI in turn, the owner of Fo2 Interacti,e and therefore $ySpace, ?ews Corporation, is head3uartered in ?ew /ork City%

Accordin! to Ale2a Internet, $ySpace is currently the worldJs si2th (ost popular En!lishClan!ua!e website and the si2th (ost popular website in any lan!ua!e, and the third (ost popular website in the Anited States, thou!h it has topped the chart on ,arious weeks% #he ser,ice has !radually !ained (ore popularity than si(ilar websites to achie,e nearly =B percent of ,isits to online social networkin! websites% #he co(pany e(ploys 7BB staff and does not disclose re,enues or profits separately fro( ?ews Corporation% With the 4BB (illionth account bein! created on Au!ust @, 6BB;, in the ?etherlands and a news story clai(in! 4B; (illion accounts on Septe(ber =, 6BB;, the site reportedly attracts new re!istrations at a rate of 67B,BBB per day% As of &ece(ber 4=, 6BB<, there are o,er 7BB (illion accounts%

2/@-#+M
hi@ is a social networkin! website, which, throu!hout 6BB<, was one of the 69 (ost ,isited sites on the web% #he co(pany was founded in 6BB6 by )a(u /ala(anchi who is also the current CE5% As of &ece(ber 6BB<, hi9 had o,er @= (illion (e(bers% In hi9, users create an online profile in order to show infor(ation such as interests, a!e and ho(etown and upload user pictures where users can post co((ents% hi9 also allows the user to create personal photo albu(s and set up a (usic player in the profile% Asers can also send friend re3uests ,ia eC(ail to other users% When a person recei,es a friend re3uest, he or she (ay accept or decline it, or block the user alto!ether% If the user accepts another user as a friend, the two will be connected directly or in the 4st de!ree% #he user will then appear on the personJs friend list and ,iceC,ersa% So(e users opt to (ake their profiles a,ailable for e,eryone on hi9 to ,iew% 5ther users e2ercise the option to (ake their profile ,iewable only to those people who are in their network% #he network of friends consists of a userJs direct friends 04st de!ree1, the friends of those direct friends 06nd de!ree1 and the friends of the friends of direct friends 07rd de!ree1

/SS1ES +0 #+N#ERN
Althou!h (any people don.t think of it, social networkin! web sites harbour (any dan!erous ele(ents and (any people are concerned about so(e (ajor proble(s that they contain% 5ne such proble( is pri,acy issues% With social networkin! web sites like 5rkut%co(, Facebook%co( and $ySpace%co(, it is al(ost too easy to retrie,e personal infor(ation about so(eone and use it to har( the(% In a case with $ySpace%co(, the a,ailability of bein! able to custo(i*e one.s own site has allowed people to use phishin! ht(l code to create phishin! profiles that allows that person to access anyone.s profile who ha,e ,isited the phishin! profile% "hishin! can often lead to the loss of personal infor(ation such as userna(es, credit card nu(bers, and passwords% 0"hishin! 6BB<1 #his in turn causes !reat pri,acy issues since that person can now access personal infor(ation and then sell it off to (arketin! co(panies for a profit% 0$ySpace, 6BB<1 #his sellin! of infor(ation to co(panies has led to the rise in spa( e(ails that we all recei,e% Another !reat issue of concern with social networkin! web sites is that of child safety% )esearch has shown that al(ost three out of e,ery four teena!ers who use social networkin! web sites are at risk due to their lack of usin! online safety% 0Qoly, Rarine, 6BB<1 A lot of the web sites do ha,e an a!e re3uire(ent but it is easily bypassed by the lyin! about of one.s a!e% E,en if they don.t lie about their a!e the a,era!e a!e re3uire(ent is around fifteen years old% $yspace%co( has been specifically tar!eted for these child safety issues after a si2teen year old !irl flew to #el A,i,, Israel to (eet and en!a!e in se2ual relations with a twenty year old (ale who( she had (et throu!h $ySpace%co(% 0$ySpace, 6BB<1 Althou!h a lot of the social networkin! web sites are tryin! to i(ple(ent new ways to keep children safe, $ySpace%co( included, predators are findin! ways around these new i(ple(entations and kids are still nai,e to the fact that not e,eryone online is who they say they are%

A third issue of concern with social networkin! web sites is that of copyri!ht infrin!e(ent% With the (assi,e a(ount of files shared throu!h social networkin! web sites it has to tell so(eti(es who the ori!inal owner of the selected file is% Also, co((ercial products are bein! reproduced by indi,iduals and uploaded to these social networkin! web sites% /ou#ube%co( is a !reat e2a(ple of how copy ri!ht infrin!e(ent can co(e about usin! a social networkin! website% $e(bers can pretty (uch upload anythin! they want on to /ou#ube%co( to be ,iewed by anyone who co(es across it% #his leads to (any people co((ittin! copyri!ht infrin!e(ent and uploadin! files and ,ideo clips that don.t belon! to the(% #he only real way that copyri!ht infrin!e(ent is reported is throu!h the selfCpolicin! of the /ou#ube co((unity% 0/ou#ube, 6BB<1 With the easily (issed copy ri!ht infrin!e(ent /ou#ube has been sued (any ti(es in the past and is now bein! sued for o,er one billion dollars by +iaco( on the clai( that /ou#ube%co( has 4;B,BBB ,ideos that belon! to +iaco( on their site without +iaco(.s per(ission% 0/ou#ube, 6BB<1

L/TER)T1RE S1R E.
SNS /N /N'/)(
In all the social networkin! pheno(enon in India is s(all co(pared to the AS 0Indian social networkin! websites today clai( a user base of around 7 (illion re!istered users1 while $ySpace, which has 4B; (illion users and 5rkut which has ;< (illion ha,e far !reater nu(bers% Clearly, Indian fir(s ha,e a lot of work ahead of the( in order to catch up% :owe,er, Siddhartha )oy, CE5, Bi!Adda, says opti(istically' We are early on the cur,e% Alok $ittal, $&, Canaan "artners, a ,enture capital fir(, says' When you put that in conte2t, Indian social networkin! websites are in their infancy% #he

breakCe,en point is lon!er, but once they attain a critical (ass of 8B (illion users, then +C fir(s will start in,estin! in the(% ?a,in $ittal, CE5, fropper%co(, says' With the Indian Internet userCbase ne!li!ible co(pared to the AS or China, these are ,ery early days% #he owner of the blo! #rak%in does a !reat job of e2plainin! the benefits of social networkin! for India and what it (eans for consu(ers and businesses%

)RT/#LE3<
Social networking sites& which allow users to 7uild or 7e part of online co66unities& account for AA? of the countr!;s /nternet traffic Social networkin! sites, which allow users to build or be part of online co((unities, account for 88N of the country.s Internet traffic, accordin! to a report by consultin! fir( Qu2tConsult )esearch and Consultin! ",t% >td% #he space is do(inated by !lobal players such as 5rkut, $ySpace, Facebook and :i9% oo!le Inc%.s 5rkut, launched in 6BB8, isthe (ost popular social networkin! site a(on! Indians with (ore than se,en (illion users, but ad,ertisin! is so(ethin! the site has only recently dabbled with% ?obody has (ade (oney on social networkin! so far, Ajit Balakrishnan, chair(an and chief e2ecuti,e officer 0CE51, )ediff%co( India >td, the co(pany behind rediff%co(, one of the earliest Indian dotCco(s, had pre,iously said% But when 4B (illion people con!re!ate, so(ewhere down the line the co(pany will (ake (oney, and it will be ad,ertiserCrelated, he had added% )ediff%co( launched iShare, a ,ideo sharin! platfor(, in Quly, and plans to add a social networkin! tool to it in the co(in! weeks% Indian fir(s and entrepreneurs enterin! the social networkin! space are con,inced that they need to build up a critical (ass of users first, and then worry about ad,ertisin!% Bi!Adda%co(, started by the )elianceCAnil &hirubhai A(bani roup.s )eliance Entertain(ent three (onths a!o, has about <BB,BBB users but no ad,ertiser yet%

Si(ilarly, oneCyearCold social networkin! site for students $in!lebo2%co( has a user base that e2ceeds one (illion but no ad,ertisers% 5n the Internet, consu(er is kin!% #hey decide where they want to spend their ti(e and ad,ertisers reco!ni*e that, said Siddhartha )oy, chief operatin! officer, Bi!CAdda%co(% /ou want to first create a stron! user base and !i,e the( an uninterrupted e2perience% Ra,ita Iyer, CE5, $in!lebo2, a!rees' %%%In this business, users fluctuate fro( one site to another and it is i(portant to first reach a certain le,el of stability and (aturity before !ettin! ad,ertisers on board%

But so(e e2perts say that those scra(blin! to enter the social networkin! space ha,e left it too late, and that plain ,anilla social networkin! will, by itself, not work any lon!er% Accordin! to Balakrishnan, social networkin! has to beco(e (ore than just a co((unication platfor(% Social networkin! will ha,e to be (orphed into e,ery online initiati,e, he had said% It has a tendency to pick up fast but loses (o(entu( just as fast% #his is why we are inte!ratin! iShare with social networkin!% #hat.s a strate!y si(ilar to the one adopted by /ahoo Inc% We want to (ake /ahoo (ail (ore social by co(binin! properties such as S$S,instant (essen!er and e(ails to!ether% It.s too early to tell what we.re plannin! on social networkin!, but it will be a con,er!ence of co((unication channels, Qohn Rre(er, ,iceC president, /ahoo $ail, had pre,iously said% 5thers are tryin! this as well% Ibibo Web ",t% >td.s Ibibo%co( is a (ultiCplatfor( social interacti,e site with applications such as networkin!, blo!!in! and !a(in! as so(e of its applications% We.,e been around for se,en (onths in India but I can tell you that it takes about two to three years of !ood consu(er traction to dri,e re,enues, said Ashish Rashyap, CE5, Ibibo !roup% It is i(portant to create a picnic effect before we can !et to ad,ertisers, he added% Ad,ertisers the(sel,es see( content with the picnic effect itself% "epsiCo India :oldin!s ",t% >td has not yet bou!ht into social networkin! fro( the ad,ertisin! point of ,iew, but it has bou!ht into the concept% "epsi has not ad,ertised on social networkin! sites so far but we ha,e !ot what we wanted by users the(sel,es creatin! discussion !roups about the brand, said a spokesperson for "epsiCo India% Accordin! to one e2pert, that (ay well indicate what social networkin! sites need to do to start earnin! re,enues% For ad,ertisers, social networkin! sites are slow in !eneratin! re,enues directly but they are !ood in influencin! decisions, said ulre* Ala(, !roup head, paid search, #o66unicate>, a paidCsearch (arketin! co(pany% Social (edia sites will soon ha,e alternati,e re,enue !eneratin! tactics that will help influence the user without intrudin! on the e2perience, that.s the way ahead%

Al(ost half the Internet traffic !enerated in India is on account of social networkin!, and while this has not translated into ad,ertisin! re,enue so far, a pioneer in the country.s Internet space e2pects the situation to chan!e%

)RT/#LE3>
:ow safe is your 5rkut accountS
$ayank #ewariH&hananjay Rhadilkar Sunday, &ece(ber 67, 6BB< B7'B< IS# A virus, which has been fixed by Google, had affected between 4 lakh to 7 lakh users $A$BAI' oo!le recently added a new feature on 5rkut where users can post Acti,e T Content on their friend.s scrapbook% But the feature turned out to be oo!le.s ne(esis as an attacker used the ,ulnerability and posted a ,irus that affected between 8,BB,BBB to <,BB,BBB 5rkut users% #hou!h oo!le (ana!ed to fi2 the bu! on #hursday, the incident has hi!hli!hted the security aspects of social networkin! sites such as 5rkut that ha,e a hu!e followin! in countries like India% A oo!le official, who re3uested anony(ity, ad(itted that because of this bu! se,eral people recei,ed scraps fro( friends, who clai(ed they had ne,er posted any such scraps% #he newly introduced scrapbook feature had been e2ploited, the official said% Accordin! to Chetan upta, a 6;CyearCold independent cyber security e2pert, #he feature allows users to post clips, son!s, ani(ation etc on their as well as other user.s scrapbooks, he said% Asers who were attacked !ot a (essa!e in their (ailbo2es infor(in! the( that so(eone had posted a scarp on their profile% #he scrap, written in "ortu!uese, when translated into En!lish reads' 6BB= is co(in!F I wish that it be!ins 3uite well for you% As soon as the user ,iewed the post, the ,irus downloaded a file to the user.s co(puter% #he wor( then took control of the user.s account and enlisted a !roup called UInfections pelo +Vrus do 5rkut., which translates as UInfected by 5rkut ,irus.% #he ,irus also sent copies of itself to all the friends of the user and repeated the process% Accordin! to ,nunet%co(, the ,irus infected se,en lakh 5rkut users within 68 hours before oo!le was able to rectify the proble(% #he ,irus was not supposed to do any real har( to the users% #he intent, accordin! to a blo! postin! on #rend

$icro, was to only (ake a point% #he blo! post says It appears fro( both the script that this script was desi!ned purely to spread, rather than for (ore (alicious purposes% #he author has pulled the (alicious Qa,aScript fro( the Web, ha,in! !otten his point across% A oo!le spokesperson said that the internet search !iant takes the security of its users ,ery seriously% We worked 3uickly to i(ple(ent a fi2 for the issue% Ser,ice to 5rkut was not disrupted durin! this ti(e% #his is not the first ti(e a ,irus like this has tar!eted a social network% $ySpace too was attacked by USa(y Is $y :ero. wor( in 6BB9%

)RT/#LE3B
Business Standard, Qanuary 69 JB< #hursday, 69 Qanuary 6BB< Business Standard, )idin! the networkin! wa,e "riyanka Qoshi H ?ew &elhi Qanuary 68, 6BB< TE#2N+L+".( Want to !et seenS Ad,ertise on social networkin! sites% #his, incidentally, is the new (antra of online ad,ertisers% About @7 per cent of the 6= (illion Indians online belon! to the a!e !roup 4=C89 years K a tar!et audience that has the (a2i(u( buyin! power% #en (illion of these are hooked on to so(e for( of online social (edia, be it personal, career or business networkin!, (atri(onial sites, discussion roo(s, ,irtual acti,ity platfor(s, instant (essen!er, podcasts, )SS feeds and blo!s% #he (i2 of social (edia sites bein! a hot fa,ourite a(on! this bunch of youn! Indians, it presents a perfect (ilieu for online ad,ertisers% ContentCspecific ad,ertise(ents ha,e beco(e a ra!e on networkin! sites like 5rkut, #ech#ribe, >inkedIn, )y*e, Flickr, $S? >i,e Spaces, Blo!!er, Fropper and Facebook, which are a co(pellin! buy for ad,ertisers seekin! to tar!et the acti,e lifestyle set the sites cater to% In short, contentCspecific networks are ridin! a wa,e of popularity and newer networks see( to be sprin!in! up e,ery day% )ajnish, head 0di!ital (arketin! re,enue and strate!ic business1, $S? India, e2plains why (arketers want to be seen on social networkin! sites' In Asia, e(ail and instant (essa!in! take 8BC9B per cent of the ti(e we spend online% Blo!osphere is doublin! in si*e e,ery si2 (onths and an a,era!e Indian user spends anywhere between 8BC;B (inutes daily on social (edia sites% >ittle wonder, banks, auto(obile co(panies, F$C s, and e,en I# fir(s want a ,irtual ad,ert that.s both en!a!in! and inno,ati,e%

Social (edia ad,ertisin! has been takin! the online ad,ertisin! industry by stor(% #he total (arketin! spend on social (edia is forecast to !row at a co(pound annual rate of 4B;%4 per cent fro( 6BB9 to 6B4B, reachin! P<9< (illion in 6B4B, accordin! to a report fro( "D $edia% So(e socialCnetworkin! co((unities focus on ,ertical (arkets with a narrowlyC defined audience, such as businessCrelationship sites like >inkedIn and #ech#ribe% #heir ad re,enue e2ceeded P6B (illion in 6BB;% #here has been a recent Uchan!e of !uard. online with social networks K fro( bein! a Upush. (ediu( to a Upull. (ediu(, re(arks )ajnish, $S? is usin!

people.s attention to en!a!e users with ad,ertisers throu!h conte2tual ad,ertisin! and desktop tele,ision% #he audiences, in return, !enerate re,enues each ti(e they click on a banner, keyword or a floatin! ad,ertise(ent on a webpa!e% While online rate cards are not e2actly cheap, a,era!in! between )s 9B,BBB and )s 6 lakh, the prices are e2pected to !et spiked by another 6BC69 per cent by the end of 6BB<% SocialCnetworkin! sites entice users to spend considerable ti(e and ,iew (any pa!e ,iews, and (any sites are seein! those nu(bers increase% ?ielsenH?et )atin!s reports that users. ,isits to /ou#ube !rew in duration fro( about 4< (inutes to 6= (inutes 0;8 per cent1 o,er the first si2 (onths of 6BB;% "a!e ,iews !rew 949 per cent durin! the sa(e period% $e(bers of co((unities spend hours lookin! up friends. profiles and followin! paths of interconnected relationships% #hese lon! ,isits and hi!h pa!e ,iews directly correlate to ad re,enue% Blo! ad,ertisin!, worldwide, totalled P69 (illion in 6BB;, which includes blo!s, podcasts and )SS ad,ertisin!% By the tailCend of 6BB<, e,en Indian blo!!ers 0the well known ones1 would be (akin! (oney out of ad,ertisin! on their blo!s, podcasts, ,ideos, personal web pa!es and other for(s of user !enerated content, clai(s a (edia buyer% Anil Raul, CE5, Absolute &ata, a research and analytics fir(, has helped websites and ad,ertisers look beyond popular tar!etin! options like !eo!raphy and de(o!raphy usin! co(ple2 tar!etin! options on networks, like beha,ioural and conte2tual and do(ainCle,el tar!etin!% We ha,e shown clients how to !et the (ost fro( an online ad,ert%

)RT/#LE3A

The Perils +f Social Networking B. BR/)N 'E)"+N

I?+ES#5)JS BASI?ESS &AI>/ "osted 46H6;H6BB<

In ?o,e(ber, (ore than 489 (illion people worldwide lo!!ed onto at least one of the 6B (ostC,isited social networkin! Web sites, says NielsenCNetRatingsBrian $ann wasnJt a(on! the(% ItJs not that $ann, founder of (ana!e(ent consultin! fir( $idni!ht 5il, is opposed to networkin!% &e,elopin! relationships, !ettin! referrals and connectin! with potentially new clients is crucial to his business% :e has as (any as ei!ht businessCrelated (eals a week% :e re!ularly attends a weekly networkin! !roup in >os An!eles, where 99 professionals (eet for Saturday breakfast to discuss trends in technolo!y, (edia and entertain(ent% :e ,isits trade shows, conferences and se(inars to (ake connections% /et he says social networkin! Web sites such as >inkedIn, Facebook and $ySpace, which let people post their profiles and potentially link up with hundreds of others, isnJt for hi(%

Duantit!& Dualit!
G?etworkin! to (e (eans addin! real, incre(ental ,alue to the person you (eet,G $ann said% G/ou canJt screen people on social networks the way you can in real life% GSocial networks are not so (uch about 3uality as they are about 3uantity% And 3uantity (eans you ha,e to kiss a lot of fro!s with the hope that so(eday youJll find a prince%G Social networkin! Web sites re(ain a social e2peri(ent% Whether these sites can (aintain stickiness K keepin! people co(in! back K is critical to keepin! enou!h ,iewers to draw ad,ertisers% But as $ann attests, not e,eryone likes the sites, for business or pleasure% Asers of Facebook re,olted when the fir( un,eiled Beacon, a syste( desi!ned to catalo! user acti,ity and use the data so ad,ertisers could (ore accurately track ads%

"ri,acy ad,ocates and analysts said Beacon was far (ore in,asi,e than the co(pany i(plied% Facebook founder $ark Ouckerber! issued a public apolo!y and chan!ed the pro!ra( so that only users who wanted to be part of Beacon were included in the pro!ra(%

G#he pushCback was stron!,G said ?icholas i,oto,sky, an analyst with research fir( &iffusion roup% GSo(eti(es what people want isnJt directly in line with the business (odel of the co(pany% >i(its are bein! felt%G A case in point to the li(itations is a story told by Fons #uinstra, director of speaker relations for ChinaCbased Chinabi* Speakers, on a recent Web postin! titled GWhy >inkedIn &oes not Work for $e%G #uinstra used >inkedIn to see if his contacts on the site would help hi( connect to their contacts, in a bid to de,elop so(e business relationships% It didnJt work% #urns out his contacts really didnJt know the people they had listed as their contacts, or at least didnJt know the( well enou!h to feel co(fortable forwardin! #uinstraJs re3uest% Wrote #uinstra' GA lar!e nu(ber of people % % % ha,e so (any contacts that they cannot realistically know the( personally%G #uinstra then offered this ad,ice' G/ou should only add people you really know to your contact list%G #hen thereJs the case of a (an weJll call Qohn &oe, since he spoke on condition he not be identified% 5n Facebook, Qohn had linked to a fe(ale ac3uaintance that another friend reco((ended, thinkin! she (i!ht beco(e a client down the road%

Rac! Photos
When her photo popped up on QohnJs Facebook pa!e one ti(e, QohnJs !irlfriend happened to see it, and asked about her% G$y !irlfriend be!an to think I had a secret life,G he said% So Qohn in,ited his !irlfriend to check out his new friendJs Facebook pa!e, to learn that the connection was a professional contact% But Qohn hi(self had failed to check out his new friendJs Facebook pa!e thorou!hly% And the friend had se,eral racy photos of herself on the site, which his !irlfriend saw, addin! to her suspicions% G#hin!s escalated, and it ended up with (y !irlfriend lea,in! (e,G Qohn said%

#hat e2a(ple is a(on! the reasons $ann and others a,oid social networks% G/ou can end up puttin! control into the hands of people who donJt ha,e your best interest at heart,G $ann said% G/ou can end up destroyin! your brand 3uicker than anythin! else%GAnalyst i,oto,sky ad,ises caution% G/ou canJt treat social networkin! with the casualness you would a ,ideo !a(e,G he said% G"eople need to think hard about how they spend their ti(e in the di!ital world, on what ter(s and what (echanis(s they use%G

+T2ER RESE)R#2
Networks and Network Structure Social network sites also pro,ide rich sources of naturalistic beha,ioural data% "rofile and linka!e data fro( S?Ss can be !athered either throu!h the use of auto(ated collection techni3ues or throu!h datasets pro,ided directly fro( the co(pany, enablin! network analysis researchers to e2plore lar!eCscale patterns of findin!, usa!e, and other ,isible indicators 0:o!an, in press1, and continuin! an analysis trend that started with e2a(inations of blo!s and other websites% For instance, older, Wilkinson and :uber(an 06BB<1 e2a(ined an anony( *ed dataset consistin! of 7;6 (illion (essa!es e2chan!ed by o,er four (illion Facebook users for insi!ht into Findin! and (essa!in! acti,ities% >a(pe, Ellison, and Steinfield 06BB<1 e2plored the relationship between profile ele(ents and nu(ber of Facebook friends, findin! that profile fields that reduce transaction costs and are harder to falsify are (ost likely to be associated with lar!er nu(ber of friendship links% #hese kinds of data also lend the(sel,es well to analysis throu!h network ,isuali*ation% S?S researchers ha,e also studied the network structure of Friendship% Analy*in! the roles people played in the !rowth of Flicker and /ahooW 7;BJs networks, Ru(ar, ?o,ak, and #o(kins 06BB;1 ar!ued that there are passi,e (e(bers, in,iters, and linkers Gwho fully participate in the social e,olution of the networkG% Scholarship concernin! >i,e QournalJs network has included a Friendship classification sche(e 0:su, >ancaster, "aradesi, - Weni!er, 6BB<1, an analysis of the role of lan!ua!e in the topolo!y of Friendship 0:errin! et al%, 6BB<1, research into the i(portance of !eo!raphy in Friendin! 0>ibenC?owell, ?o,ak, Ru(ar, )a!ha,an, - #o(kins, 6BB91, and studies on what (oti,ates people to join particular co((unities 0Backstro(, :uttenlocher, Rleinber!, - >an, 6BB;1% Based on 5rkut data, Spertus, Saha(i, and BLyLkkMkten 06BB91 identified a topolo!y of users throu!h their (e(bership in certain co((unitiesI they su!!est that sites can use this to reco((end additional co((unities of interest to users% Finally, >iu, $aes, and &a,enport 06BB;1 ar!ued that Friend connections are not the only network structure worth in,esti!atin!% #hey e2a(ined the ways in which the perfor(ance of tastes 0fa,orite (usic, books, fil(, etc%1 constitutes an alternate network structure, which they call a Gtaste fabric%G Bridging +nline and +ffline Social Networks Althou!h e2ceptions e2ist, the a,ailable research su!!ests that (ost S?Ss pri(arily support preCe2istin! social relations% Ellison, Steinfield, and >a(pe 06BB<1

su!!est that Facebook is used to (aintain e2istin! offline relationships or solidify offline connections, as opposed to (eetin! new people% #hese relationships (ay be weak ties, but typically there is so(e co((on offline ele(ent a(on! indi,iduals who friend one another, such as a shared class at school% #his is one of the chief di(ensions that differentiate S?Ss fro( earlier for(s of public C$C such as news!roups 0Ellison et al%, 6BB<1% )esearch in this ,ein has in,esti!ated

how online interactions interface with offline ones% For instance, >a(pe, Ellison, and Steinfield 06BB;1 found that Facebook users en!a!e in Gsearchin!G for people with who( they ha,e an offline connection (ore than they GbrowseG for co(plete stran!ers to (eet%

Privac!
"opular press co,era!e of S?Ss has e(phasi*ed potential pri,acy concerns, pri(arily concernin! the safety of youn!er users 0 eor!e, 6BB;I Rornblu( $arklein, 6BB;1% )esearchers ha,e in,esti!ated the potential threats to pri,acy associated with S?Ss% In one of the first acade(ic studies of pri,acy and S?Ss, ross and Ac3uisti 06BB91 analy*ed 8,BBB Carne!ie $ellon Ani,ersity Facebook profiles and outlined the potential threats to pri,acy contained in the personal infor(ation included on the site by students, such as the potential ability to reconstruct usersJ social security nu(bers usin! infor(ation often found in profiles, such as ho(etown and date of birth% Ac3uits and ross 06BB;1 ar!ue that there is often a disconnect between studentsJ desire to protect pri,acy and their beha,iours, a the(e that is also e2plored in Stut*(anJs 06BB;1 sur,ey of Facebook users and BarnesJs 06BB;1 description of the Gpri,acy parado2G that occurs when teens are not aware of the public nature of the Internet% In analy*in! trust on social network sites, &wyer, :ilt*, and "asserini 06BB<1 ar!ued that trust and usa!e !oals (ay affect what people are willin! to shareKFacebook users e2pressed !reater trust in Facebook than $ySpace users did in $ySpace and thus were (ore willin! to share infor(ation on the site% In another study e2a(inin! security issues and S?Ss, Qa!atic, Qohnson, Qakobsson, and $enc*er 06BB<1 used freely accessible profile data fro( S?Ss to craft a Gphishin!G sche(e that appeared to ori!inate fro( a friend on the networkI their tar!ets were (uch (ore likely to !i,e away infor(ation to this GfriendG than to a percei,ed stran!er% Sur,ey data offer a (ore opti(istic perspecti,e on the issue, su!!estin! that teens are aware of potential pri,acy threats online and that (any are proacti,e about takin! steps to (ini(i*e certain potential risks% "ew found that 99N of online teens ha,e profiles, ;;N of who( report that their profile is not ,isible to all Internet users 0>enhart - $adden, 6BB<1% 5f the teens with co(pletely open profiles, 8;N reported includin! at least so(e false infor(ation%

1T/L/E)T/+N /N B1S/NESS #here are (any ways that business. can use social networkin! web sites to their ad,anta!e but we are !oin! to focus on three% #he first aspect of a business that could use a social networkin! website for would be the hirin! of e(ployees% Such

sites as $onster%co( actually help (any people searchin! for jobs and (any co(panies lookin! for e(ployees to find each other% It.s as si(ple as creatin! your own resu(e and puttin! it out there% $onster%co( then takes your resu(e and co(pares it to the needs and wants that co(panies ha,e posted on the web site and connects the co(pany with people who (eet or e2ceed their posted standards% #his a lot faster and in,ol,es a (ore broad spectru( of resources for which a co(pany can use to find the perfect e(ployee% Another aspect of business affected by social networkin! websites is (arketin!% With the (illions of people that use social networkin! web sites, what better way to (arket your product then by buyin! space on those web sitesS Whether it.s throu!h banners or links (illions of people will ,iew your ads should they be placed on a social networkin! website% An e2a(ple is that of 4up%co(% #hrou!h its !reat reputation to !a(ers (any !a(in! co(panies are willin! to spend thousands of dollars for ad,ertisin! space since they know that !a(ers who ,iew the web site will (ost likely learn about their product% ?ot only is online ad,ertisin! (ore effecti,e than co((ercial ad,ertisin! such as #+ ads and (a!a*ines, it.s also (ore cost effecti,e and reaches far (ore people than other for(s of ad,ertisin!% An e2a(ple of the effecti,eness of internet ad,ertisin! is /ou#ube%co( in which e2perts ha,e esti(ated that i,en its traffic le,els, ,ideo strea(s and pa!e ,iews, so(e ha,e calculated that /ou#ubeJs potential re,enues could be in the (illions per (onth% 0/ou#ube, 6BB<1 A third aspect of business that is affected by social networkin! websites is that of fair pricin!% With so (any businesses. out there creatin! ,irtually the sa(e product it.s easy for one to !et lost in the broad spectru( of products% With social networkin! websites people can !et ad,ice fro( e2perts, !ain knowled!e of product throu!h others who ha,e used it, and !et re,iews on nearly anythin! that is (ass produced today% #his in turn is also !reat for businesses% With all this infor(ation out there concernin! products it.s easy for a co(pany to look throu!h it and see what custo(ers want and for how (uch% #his in turn leads to better products bein! (ade to suit the custo(ers. needs and wants%

)N)L.S/S )N' /NTERPRET)T/+N

#he popularity of the social networkin! sites is i((ense, specially a(on!st the youth% #he sa(ple chosen had a (ajority of students fro( the BCSchools% Analysis of the data tells us that @=N of the students uses at least one of the networkin! sites%

$ale Fe(ale

;@ 74

31% male female 69%

below 49 yrs 49C4@ yrs 6BC68 yrs 69C6@ yrs 7B yrs and abo,e
70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 2 below 15 yrs 0

6 B ;8 6= 4

64

below 15 yrs 28 15-19 yrs 20-24 yrs 20-24 yrs 1 30 yrs and above 25-29 yrs 30 yrs and above

A?&E) )A&AA#E 0a1

)A&AA#E 0b1 9= "5S# )A&AA#E 0c1 86 5f all the respondents 9=N were !raduate while the rest i%e% 86 N were post!raduate%

2ow 6an! sites do the respondents useF

9@N of the respondents use only 4 site re!ularly, 6N usin! no such networkin! sites and 7@N of the( usin! (ore than 4 site% 5ut of the ones who use (ore than one site, 74N a(on!st the( use two sites and 9 N use three sites with an e2ception of 7N use four and abo,e networkin! sites% sites 5ptions used 8 or a abo,e b 7 c 6 d 4 e B percenta! e 7 9 74 9@ 6

Nu67er of nteworking sites used

<B ;B percentage users 9B 8B 7B 6B 4B B 4 6 7 nu67er of sites used 8 9

By this we infer that althou!h these networkin! sites are !ettin! ,ery popular these days, (ost of the students use one site with the second (ajority bein! of those who use two networkin! sites%

Now we will anal!ze which sites are the 6ost popular onesSites 5nly 5rkut 5rkut Facebook /aari $y space :i9 Asers 9< @8 78 ; ; ;

Popularit! of sites

4BB @B =B <B ;B Percentage users 9B 8B 7B 6B 4B B

@8 9< 78 ; 5nly 5rkut 5rkut Facebook /aari ; $y space ; :i9

Sites

:ours per week )espondents 49 or abo,e 47 4B to 48 49 ; to @ 66 7 to 9 68 4 to 6 4= less than 4 = 5rkut is a hands down winner in this re!ard% 5ne (ajor interpretation here is that 9@N users who use only 4 networkin! sites, @@N of the( use orkut% Considerin! the o,erall data, @8N students see( to use orkut site which (akes it the (ost popular one% #he second (ost popular is facebook which is used by 78N people followed by a ;N share by each yaari, (yspace and :i9%

#he nu(ber of hours spent on these networkin! sites should be analy*ed here to deter(ine what i(pact it would ha,e on the users% #he (ore the ti(e spent, (ore probability of these sites bein! beneficial is there%

#he (ajority of the students spend on an a,era!e of about ; to @ hours e,ery day surfin! these networkin! sites% A(on!st those about 6=N users spend (ore than 4 hour e,eryday, ran!in! between 4B to o,er 49 hours bein! spent e,ery week%

#he ne2t 3uestion that arises is what else these students would be doin! if not surfin! on these sites durin! that ti(e% When we asked that 3uestion durin! the sur,ey, we arri,ed at a nu(ber of such thin!s% Acti,ites Studyin! Socialisin! Constructi,e work )eadin! no,els 5thers "ercenta!e 4= 8= 44 66 =

$ost of the students would use the spare ti(e for Socialisin! or han!in! out with friends if they were not usin! these networkin! sites% 8BN were of the opinion that they would be studyin! or readin! no,els and books which (eans that these networkin! sites are lea,in! the students with less ti(e to study and to read books and no,els% =N said that they would be doin! so(e other thin!s like social work, sports, pursuin! their hobbies etc%

What is it that attracts the students to spend ti(e surfin! rather than doin! other thin!s (entioned abo,e% So(e said it was because they could (ake (ore friends, so(e said it was easier for the( to stay in touch with their e2istin! friends, for others it was to find old friends, to share a lo,e relationship with or to find and interact with people with co((on interests%

Let us see what 6ade these sites the 6ost attractive(

1sage to (ake new friends to find old friends to co((unicate with e2istin! friends for relationships to find people with co((on interests Percentage 6B 96 ;B ; =

#his shows that the desire to find old friends alon! with the need to co((unicate with the e2istin! friends is (akin! (ore and (ore students use these networkin! sites% In only rare case, people are lookin! for relationships o,er there% Also 6BN tend to use these sites for (akin! new friends%

The i6pact on !outh can also 7e deter6ined 7! anal!sing if these people have 6et an!one in personal through these networking sites-

Personal 6eetings

Who (et throu!h networkin! sites Who did not (eet throu!h these sites

About 6@N of the users ha,e (et so(eone personally throu!h these networkin! sites which is a hu!e nu(ber as it takes a lot of trust in (eetin! so(eone personally% :ere, the 3uestion arises re!ardin! safety and trust as a lot of people fake their profiles%

For so(e, these networkin! sites (ake the( feel co(fortable in their se2uality% For 8@N, it is easier for the( to be the(sel,es while interactin! throu!h these sites% It raises 3uestion as to how real they are while they act with people in personal or in their nor(al routine life%

#he networkin! sites for sure ha,e so(e beneficial effects on the users% >ets e2a(ine now how these social sites ha,e benefited the users%

BENE0/TS

1SERS

$ore friends Better connecti,ity Found (y life partner Enjoy leisure or ti(e when I a( alone >ink with prospecti,e recruiters

69N ;7N 4N 66N <N

Better connecti,ity is what these sites definitely pro,ide% Also people see( to ha,e (ore friends throu!h their use% It happens due to findin! out old friends and also re(ainin! in close connection with the old as well as the e2istin! friends% #his also !i,es its users a way to enjoy the(sel,es or the leisure ti(e when they are alone% #hey can be the(sel,es and also re(ain in touch with friends at the sa(e ti(e% Another benefit is the opportunity to connect with the prospecti,e recruiters and to find e(ploy(ent throu!h these sites% 5nly an e2ception of 4N found their life partners throu!h this% As per the sur,ey, =BN of the people find that there is no as such ne!ati,e i(pact in their personal life% 5nly 6BN of the sa(ple population feels that there is a ne!ati,e i(pact on their personal li,es%
?E A#I+E I$"AC# 0a1 "5SI#I+E I$"AC# 0b1 6B =B

20%

80%

NE GA !"E !#$A% &a' $() ! !"E !#$A% &b'

Fro( that of 6BN, 99N feels that loss of ti(e is the (ajor cause of ne!ati,e i(pact while 6BN feels its loss of pri,acy and 49N feels that it (akes the( (ore dependent on electronic (ediu(% 5nly 9N of the 6BN people feel that it creates so(e e(otional disturbance or less e(otional bondin! in relationships%

/0 .ES ?)"E >5SS 5F ")I+AC/ 0a1 8 >5SS 5F #I$E 0b1 44 )E>IA?CE 5? E>EC#)5?IC $E&IA$ 0C1 7 >ESS E$5#I5?A> B5?& I? )E>A#I5? 0d1 4 A?/ 5#:E) 0e1 4

*())(+ $,!"A%- &a' *())(+ !#E &b' ,E *!AN%E(N E *E % ,(N!% #E .!/# &%' *E ) )E #( !(NA* 0(N. !N ,E *A !(N &d' AN-( 1E, &e' 5% 5% 20% 15%

55%

#here was no clear view that ca(e out of the sur,ey re!ardin! the stand whether parent.s discretion and (onitorin! is re3uired while there children use these social

networkin! sites% Because 8=N of the respondents thou!ht that it is re3uired while 96N said that they don.t think it is correct% "A)E?#JS &ISC)E#I5? A?& $5?I#E)I? )EDAI)E& /ES 0a1 8= ?50b1 96

48% 52%

-E ) &a' N(&b'

#he sur,ey also shows that only 7; people feel that social networkin! sites in,ade in their pri,acy% When we looked at the specific 3uestion askin! about if parents discretion and (onitorin! is re3uired in this case for children usin! these sites, we !et al(ost 8= sayin! definitely yes% So we see that these thin!s indicate that there is no as such anythin! wron! with the social networkin! sites and people find it useful too%

IF #:E)E IS I?+ASI5? 5F ")I+AC/ /ES 0a1 ?5 0b1

7; ;8

36%

-E)&a'

N( &b'

64%

/t clearl! shows that social networking sites are having no crucial negative i6pact on people;s life-

/nfluence of networking sites on lifest!le(

Social networkin! sites ha,e so(e or the other sort of influence on the lifestyle of the people% While so(e people did not feel that it influences the lifestyle as they use these networkin! sites just for connectin! with friends and did not feel its influence on their lifestyle% 5n the other hand, those who feel that it has so(e influence on their lifestyle had a lot to share% #he responses su!!est that so(e people ha,e !ot addicted to the networkin! sites and use the( (ore often and as such their life is co(pletely influenced by these% "eople find it trendy to use these networkin! sites and bein! a (e(ber of the sites is considered trendy and in ,o!ue thin!% So(e people surf these sites to interact with people with si(ilar preferences and it helps in their decisionC(akin! ability% #hey take the ,iews and su!!estions of the people before takin! any such decisions and feel 3uite co(fortable with it% So(e people !et knowled!e about latest trends in fashion, electronic !ad!ets etc%

#he (ost sta!!erin! influence of these networkin! sites for so(e people is the use of abbre,iated words like Ud. for Uthe. and likewise% #hey tend to use the si(ilar words in their day to day life and e,en in official co((unication and often ha,e suffered due to this% For students, it often co(es across durin! e2a(s% So(e people use abusi,e words to ,ent out their feelin!s on these networkin! sites and the sa(e has been seen in their personal life of late% Certain people often use co((unities to dishonour their teachers and bosses or use badC (outhin! words for e,en celebrities and sports stars%

NegativeC7ad eGperience fro6 networking sites(

enerally the networkin! sites ha,e been of !reat utility to the users and they ha,e found it of i((ense i(portance% But so(e people ha,e had bad e2periences fro( these networkin! sites% #hese bad e2periences ha,e been seen obser,ed (ore by the fe(ale users than (ale users% #he ,erification of !enuine identity of the people is a proble(% $any users ha,e suffered fro( the sa(e% "eople pose as so(eone else and tend to seek personal or confidential knowled!e% #his has led to breach of trust of a section of respondents% #he albu(s are accessible to e,eryone and as such the pictures can be easily copied and ha,e e,en been distorted in so(e cases and put on fake profiles% Sa(e is the case with scrapbooks or (essa!e bo2es which is ,isible to e,eryone% Infor(ation (eant for one person is ,isible to e,eryone and is often har(ful in relations% So(e unknown people also put their

co((ents on the scrapbooks to attract undue attention% #he lan!ua!e is also offensi,e on (any occasions% #he co((unities ha,e e,en created furore o,er national and reli!ious senti(ents% &ue to absence of any strict (onitorin!, co((unities tar!eted to hu(iliate one or the other co((unity has (ushroo(ed% Co((unities like I hate $usli(s or I hate :indus ha,e created differences a(on! the people and ha,e often in,ited unwanted tension and rift% So(e co((unity had an Indian fla! burnin! which shook the entire users of India and the national senti(ents as a whole%

+ther insights(
Social networkin! sites ha,e beco(e a way of e2pression for so(e indi,iduals% #hey feel that life would ha,e been inco(plete without these sites% #hese ha,e shrunk the entire world and pro,ided a co((on platfor( for all% So(e people find it ,ery i(portant in this a!e of e,er chan!in! world where people (o,e fro( one place to another ,ery fre3uently% It has also brid!ed borders and brou!ht about crossCcultural understandin! and sensiti,ity% #he need is to utili*e it effecti,ely for !ood reasons and find ways to curb its ne!ati,e influence% #he situation also de(ands so(e kind of (oral traffickin! and policin! to re!ulate its use% E,en the use of a social security nu(ber or so(e uni3ue national identity could be asked for while openin! an account to pre,ent its (isuse% "ri,acy is a concern which so(e of the sites like 5rkut ha,e !ot sensiti*ed to and are pro,idin! security option to the users as to enable the( use it as per their own discretion and a,oid (ishandlin! of their infor(ation or pictures, etc% All the uses of these networkin! sites ,ary fro( person to person and their (entalities% >ike each syste( has its !ood thin!s as well as bad thin!s, these sites also ha,e both the aspects% It now depends on the indi,idual how well they are !oin! to use the sa(e% Effecti,e utili*ation is the source to !ainin! (a2i(u( ad,anta!e out of these networkin! sites%

L/M/T)T/+NS 4% #he sa(ple si*e that we ha,e taken is 4BB which we are assu(in! that it is ho(o!eneous and enou!h to carryout the research% 6% $ost of the sa(ple population consists of students and hence our research (ainly focuses on students usin! social networkin! sites% 7% #he analysis done is (ainly jud!(ental in nature% 8% #he concept of social networkin! sites is not ,ery old in India thus not (uch of research has been done in re!ards to its effects% 9% #he e2pertise of the 3uestionnaire desi!n is li(ited% ;% #he underlyin! assu(ption is that the sur,ey conducted in li(ited area represents the !eneral psyche of the users of the social networkin! site%

#+N#L1S/+N
A social networkin! web site is an online co((unity in which people can connect to others with si(ilar interests% Since their start in 4@@9 with Class(ates%co(, social networkin! web sites ha,e !rown enor(ously to include such hu!e sites today as hi9%co(, Facebook%co(, and orkut%co(% #hrou!h these sites businesses. can use social networkin! web sites to connect to potential e(ployees, (arket new products, and !et feedback on their current products as well as new ideas for future products% Althou!h there are (any ,aluable assets to social networkin! web sites, there are also (ajor issues that the sites (ust address such as the protection of pri,ate infor(ation, the protection of children, and the protection of copyri!hted (aterial% Althou!h they ha,e issues, social networkin! web sites are still one of the best in,entions of the (odern era because they connect so (any people% #he work described abo,e contributes to an onC!oin! dialo!ue about the i(portance of social network sites, both for practitioners and researchers% +ast, uncharted waters still re(ain to be e2plored% $ethodolo!ically, S?S researchersJ ability to (ake causal clai(s is li(ited by a lack of e2peri(ental or lon!itudinal studies% Althou!h the situation is rapidly chan!in!, scholars still ha,e a li(ited understandin! of who is and who is not usin! these sites, why, and for what purposes% Such 3uestions will re3uire lar!eCscale 3uantitati,e and 3ualitati,e

research% We hope that our findin!s and the work described here will help build a foundation for future in,esti!ations of these and other i(portant issues surroundin! social network sites%

S1""EST/+NS
So(e ideas for future research for social networkin! websites would be personal contact offices to re!ister on these sites to deter(ine the le!iti(acy of the person who is tryin! to re!ister% Althou!h this would (ost likely end up a !reat hassle, it would pro,ide the best security out there for people who are tryin! to ha,e safe fun and connect with people that share si(ilar interests and ideas% Another future tool social networkin! websites could use would be a licensin! a!ree(ent with certain parties to pre,ent copyri!ht infrin!e(ent fro( happenin! on the Internet%

2ere are so6e :"olden Rules of Networking; that we suggest to 7e followed(

<- :elp without e2pectin! i((ediate returns X you ne,er know, if the s(all fa,our you !i,e to other person (i!ht !et you his reco((endation for the co,eted position in his co(pany a few years down the line% >- "ursue e2cellence in all you do X ensure that people reco((end you because of your !ood work B- Be !enuine X people will see throu!h your faYade sooner or later #o su((ari*e at this pointC 4% Ase each interaction with so(eone as an opportunity to network X to build a relationship 6% Base these interactions on the 7 principles to increase your effecti,eness at networkin!%

ButWait a minute Aren!t we missing something" Ah#it!s the $eo%le to build a network with

)NNE4T1RE3<

Na6e( 4% &o you use any social networkin! sitesS

a% /es b% ?o /f !es& continue- +therwise ter6inate6% :ow (any social networkin! sites do you use acti,elyS a% 8 and abo,e b% 7 c% 6 d% 4

7% Select the sites that you use' a% 5rkut b% Facebook c% /aari d% $yspace e% :i9

f% Any others 0please specify1ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

8% :ow (any hours per week do you spend on usin! these sitesS a% 49 and abo,e 4 b% 4BC 48 c% ;C@ d% 7C9 e% 4C6 f% less than

9% If you were not usin! these sites, what would you ha,e done to utilise that ti(eS a% studyin! b% han!in! out with friendsHsocialisin! d% readin! no,els c% doin! (ore

constructi,e work specify1ZZZZZZZZZZ

e% Any others0 please

;% What do you use social networkin! sites forS a% to (ake new friends e2istin! friends b% to find old friends c% to co((unicate with

d% to find so(eone I can share a relationship with

e% to interact with people with co((on interests

<% :a,e you e,er (et so(eone in person that you ha,e co(e to know throu!h a social network siteS a% /es b% ?o

=% &o you think social network sites help you to feel co(fortable in your se2ualityS a% /es b% ?o

@% :ow has social networkin! sites benefited you as a userS

a% I ha,e (ore friends b% I a( able to connect easily with (y e2istin! friends% c% I ha,e found a lifeCpartner throu!h these sites% d% I find it a !reat way to enjoy (y leisure or whene,er I a( alone% e% >ink with prospecti,e recruiters and find e(ploy(ent%

4B% &o you feel these networkin! sites ha,e created any ne!ati,e i(pact on your

personal lifeS a% /es b% ?o

If yes, then what do you feel can be these i(pactsS a% >oss of pri,acy (ediu( b% >oss of ti(e c% $ore reliance on electronic

d% >ess e(otional bondin! in relations e% E(otional disturbance

e% Any others 0 please specify1ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

44% &o you think that there is in,asion of pri,acy throu!h these networkin! sitesS a% /es b% ?o

46% &o you feel that parents. discretion and (onitorin! is re3uired in this case for children usin! these sitesS a% /es b% ?o

47% &o these networkin! sites influence your lifestyle in any wayS a% /es b% ?o

If yes, how will you describe the influenceS ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

48% :a,e you e,er had any ne!ati,eHbad e2perience fro( these networkin! sitesS a% /es b% ?o

If yes, would you please describe the sa(eS ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

49% Any other insi!hts you would like to pro,ideS ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ 4;% enderS a% $ale

b% Fe(ale d% 69C 6@yrs e% 7Byrs and

4<% What is your a!eC!roupS a% Below 49 yrs b%49C4@ yrs c% 6BC68yrs abo,e 4=% What is your educational 3ualificationS a% Ander!raduate b% raduate

c% "ost

raduate

4@% What is your professionS a% Business 5thers b% ",t% 5r!ani!ation c% o,t Ser,ice d% Student e%

#hanks for your coCoperation%