Social Networking Sites Comparison Table

     Social media has changed the way we interact with each other, now it is easier to “tweet” or simply send a message online than actually picking up the phone and calling someone. For instance, what was once a simple website for Harvard’s students known as Facebook; today can claim over 1.23 billion monthly active users (Patton-Carson, 2014). With that huge online presence it is very simple to see why social media is so important. Nevertheless, with so many social media websites and applications it is very hard to find the right one for you. The following table compares just but three of the many, but to me these three are some of the most important ones available to us.

	FACEBOOK	TWITTER	LINKEDIN
Description	Largest social network website that allows users to stay connected with friends, family, co-workers, etc. regardless of their location.	Social platform built on the premise of answering short questions or sharing thoughts.	Similar to Facebook, but its’ focus is on connecting professionals with other professionals with the intent of sharing information, ideas, and/or opportunities.
Privacy settings	Privacy settings can be customized to the liking of the users, which can decide what information and/or pictures to share and with whom.	Users can choose between the default public account and a private one (the ability to see updates is only possible after permission has been granted).	Privacy settings are very customizable, thus allowing the user to choose which information to share and with whom.
Smartphone applications	Yes	Yes	Yes
Widgets & integration	Yes	Yes	Yes
Photo sharing	Yes	Yes	Yes
Video sharing	Yes	Yes	Yes
Private messaging	Yes	Yes	Yes
“Friending”	Yes	No	Yes
“Following”	Yes	Yes	No
News feed	Yes	Yes	Yes
Status updates	Yes	Yes	Yes
Sharing	Yes	Yes	Yes
“Like” button	Yes	No	Yes
Groups	Yes	No	Yes
Repost button	Yes	Yes	Yes
Video chat	Yes	No	No
Chat	Yes	No	Yes
Location sharing	Yes	Yes	No
Hyperlinks	Yes	Yes	Yes
Hashtags	Yes	Yes	No
Tagging	Yes	No	No
Commenting	Yes	No	Yes
Checking in	Yes	Yes	No
Age restrictions	13 years old to be able to create an account.	13 years old to be able to create an account.	13 years old to be able to create an account.
Strengths	Great social network site to connect with other people. Millions of users utilize Facebook. The interface of the website is very clean and neat. It allows the user the ability to connect with many other websites and services, such as games, advertisements, etc.	Very vast diversity amongst community users. Allows users to follow their favorite topics, artists, celebrities, friends, etc. Offers multiple ways to interact with other users and how to update your account.	Great social network site to connect with other professionals. Allows users the ability to create a very wide network of businesses.
Weaknesses	The privacy settings are not easy to manipulate or find. It is impossible to have complete privacy. No protection to posted photographs.	Limits the “tweets” to only 140 characters.	There are limitations on how to contact certain users or how many users to search for unless one has the Premium account.

Sites used:           www.facebook.com

                           www.twitter.com

                           www.linkedin.com

Patton-Carson, L. (2014). Why social media is important for your personal and professional life. Retrieved September, 15, 2015, from https://blog.udemy.com/why-social-media-is-important/