Social Networking

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"Social networking" has been around forever. It's the simple act of expanding the number of people you know by meeting your
friends' friends, their friends' friends and so on. In fact, many of us today use Twitter and Facebook to promote our existing and
upcoming businesses. And people looking to connect with other business-associated contacts usually move to sites like LinkedIn,
but one need to understand that social media is beyond Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Blogs. After observing and running an
analysis on hundreds of Social Networking sites I have listed down 40 most popular social networks across countries.
1. Facebook: To access Facebook.com, you must create an account on the site which is free. Facebook's terms of use state that
members must be at least 13 years old with valid email ID’s. After updating you're details, your Facebook profile is generated.
Using Facebook.com you can:
o
o
o
o

Browse and join networks, which are organized into four categories: regions, colleges, workplaces and high schools.
Pull contacts from a Web-based e-mail account, into Facebook.com.
Find friends in several ways, including search engine to look for a specific person and lot more.
Facebook has recently crossed 500 million users and is the most popular Social Networking site of the world.

2. MySpace: On MySpace, your social network starts growing from the first day. When you join MySpace, the first step is to create a
profile. You then, invite friends to join there and search for your friends on already profiled on MySpace these friends become your
initial Friend Space. Once the friendship is confirmed all the people in your friends' Friend Space become part of your network. In
that sense, everyone on MySpace is in your Extended Network. As part of terms of MySpace, the user must be at least 14 years old
to register.
3. Twitter: Twitter is a very simple service that is rapidly becoming one of the most talked-about social networking service
providers. When you have a Twitter account, you can use the service to post and receive messages to a network of contacts, as
opposed to send bulk email messages. You can build your network of contacts, and invite others to receive your Tweets, and can
follow other members' posts. Twitter makes it easy to opt into or out of networks. Additionally, you can choose to stop following a
specific person’s feed.
4. LinkedIn: LinkedIn is an online social network for business professionals, which is designed specifically for professional
networking, to help them find a job, discover sales leads, connect with potential business partners. Unlike most of the other social
networks, LinkedIn does not focus on making friends or sharing media like photos, videos and music. To start using LinkedIn you
need to register and create a profile page. To register to LinkedIn, you need to provide personal information. You can update the
profile with your education and job details and a summary. Additionally, you can also give and receive recommendations from coworkers and bosses. There are more than 75 million professionals registered on LinkedIn.
5. Bebo: In the United Kingdom, Bebo is the second best social network. Bebo allows users to create social networking profiles for
free. It offers many of the same features as other social networking sites. You can register a free account with Bebo and upload
photos, videos and information. The site lets you connect with old friends and make new ones using a unique user interface. The
site boasts users from more than a dozen countries, including the United States, Australia, Canada, Poland, France and Germany.
6. Friendster: Friendster was one of the first Web sites to bring it into mass culture. It was designed as a place to connect with

friends, family, colleagues and new friends over the Internet. However, it went beyond just a one-way communication. Using
Friendster, you can connect with friends and family, meet new people through the connections you already have, find people with
similar interests, backgrounds or geographical locations, join groups by activity, school or interest, interact through message posts,
games, blogs and application sharing, and share your details with the Internet community.
7. Hi5: Hi5 shares many similarities with many social network sites; however, it introduces some twists that make it worthwhile for
people who love trying out new and interesting online communities. However, it is not one of the popular sites in the United States.
This was a strategic move from the founder, therefore, Hi5 claims around 60 million members from more than 200 countries other
than the US. One of the site's biggest transformations is the addition of many entertainment options, including games.
8. Habbo: The Habbo online community is inhabited by pixelated, cartoon-character alter egos. You can meet others in public
rooms (nightclubs, restaurants, shops) and create private rooms for selected friends. Habbo employees heavily moderate the site,
catering to its solid teen user base. Most of the users of Habbo are between the age group of 13 – 18 years. Although, a major part
of the users are from the U.S., Habbo social networks is very popular in places like the United Kingdom, Japan, Sweden, Spain, Italy,
Finland and more.
9. NING: Ning is the leading online platform for the world's organizers, activists and influencers to create social experiences that
inspire action. It helps you create a safe and secure place online for like-minded people. Ning takes the idea of groups to a whole
new level. The ability to create your own community makes Ning a great home away from home for organizations and groups
looking to fill the social void.
10. Classmates: Classmates.com is different from most social networks, in the sense that most of its features are available to
premium member. The price for premium members depends on the length of the agreement – shorter term results in a higher cost
per month. Classmates.com is primarily used to reconnect with old classmates. The site features a search engine that lets you view
other people who went to the same school you attended. Creating a basic Classmates.com profile is free and easy. However, most
of the advanced features in Classmates.com are only available to paid users.
11. Tagged: Tagged is a blend of social networking features that MySpace and Facebook users will find very familiar. Tagged was
designed to help users meet lots of new people with similar interests in a short amount of time. You can access and register
directly or be invited by a friend to join Tagged. This is a free social network that allows you to view your friends’ newly uploaded
Tagged photo album. Tagged encourages its users to meet strangers based on shared interests, with the idea of growing your
network to meet as many people as possible.
12. myYearbook: myYearbook, the best place to meet new people and one of the 25 most-trafficked sites in the United States.
myYearbook has Flash-based games, and the games incorporate Lunch Money (the myYearbook virtual currency). It includes a
virtual economy through which people can purchase of gifts which members send to each other. Lunch Money is also donated by
members to their favourite charity. In 2010, myYearbook donated money to the Haiti Relief Fund to help victims of the earthquake
in Haiti.
13. Meetup: Meetup is an online social networking portal that facilitates offline group meetings in various localities around the

world. It makes it easy for anyone to organize a local group or find one of the thousands already meeting up face-to-face. More
than 2,000 groups get together in local communities each day, each one with the goal of improving themselves or their
communities.
14. MyLife: MyLife (formerly Reunion.com) is a social network service. MyLife can search over 60 social-networking sites and other
information resources on the Web. MyLife searches the web to deliver accurate and timely results. Even in cases when you don't
immediately find who you're looking for, MyLife continues searching and provides updates and alerts. MyLife suggests friends and
contacts you may know based on your profile information and existing contacts. It also intimates you when someone else is looking
for you. MyLife gives you a global view into the most popular sites your friends are part of, including LinkedIn, Facebook and
MySpace as well as 50 other sites.
15. Flixster: Flixster is a social networking site for movie fans. Users can create their own profiles, invite friends, rate movies and
actors, and post movie reviews as well. From the site, people can also get information about movies, read user-generated movie
reviews and ratings, converse with other users, get movie show times, view popular celebrity photos, read the latest movie news,
and view video clips from popular movies and TV shows. Flixster.com also operates leading movie applications on Facebook,
MySpace, iPhone, Android, and BlackBerry.
16. myHeritage: MyHeritage is a family-oriented social network service and genealogy website. It allows members to create their
own family websites, share pictures and videos, organize family events, create family trees, and search for ancestors. There are
more than 15 million family trees and 91 million photos on the site, and the site is accessible in over 35 languages.
17. Multiply: Multiply is a vibrant social shopping destination, but faster and more convenient, where sellers and buyers interact. A
user's network is made up of their direct contacts, as well as others who are closely connected to them through their first-degree
relationships. Users are also encouraged to specify the nature of their relationship with one another, making it possible to share
content based on relationship. Many shoppers in the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam have made
the Multiply Marketplace a favourite shopping destination.
18. Orkut: Orkut is a free social networking website where you can create a profile, connect with friends, maintain an online
scrapbook and use site features and applications to share your interests and meet others. The prerequisite for logging on to Orkut
is that the user must be over 18 years old. Currently, Orkut is the most popular in Brazil. The number of orkut users in India is
almost equivalent to those in its original home in the United States.
19. Badoo: Badoo is a multi-lingual social networking website. It is gaining popularity in emerging markets like Russia and Brazil.
The site allows users to create profiles, send each other messages, and rate each other’s profile pictures at no cost. However,
features that are designed to make user profile more visible to other users are provided at a cost. Badoo includes geographic
proximity feature that identifies users’ locations based on analysis of their network connection. This lets users know if there are
people near their current location who may wish to meet.
20. Gaia Online: Gaia Online is a mix of social networking and massive multiplayer online role-playing games. It is a leading online
hangout for teens and young adults, and offers a wide range of features from discussion forums and virtual towns to fully

customizable profiles and avatars. It provides a fun, social environment that inspires creativity and helps people make meaningful
connections around shared interests such as gaming, arts and anime.
21. BlackPlanet: Initially, BlackPlanet was designed as a way for African-American professionals to network. Since then, it's grown
and evolved as a site operating under the principles of Web 2.0. Members can read other members' blogs, watch music videos,
chat with one another, look for new careers and discuss news. Though BlackPlanet is not restricted to any community, this site is
more popular amongst African-American. This site helped Obama to connect to nearly 200,000 potential supporters.
22. SkyRock: SkyRock.com is a social networking site that offers its members free web space where they can create a blog, add a
profile, and exchange messages with other registered members. The site also offers a specific space for members who create blogs
showcasing their original musical compositions. SkyRock is very popular in France and French speaking markets including
Switzerland and Belgium. The site is also available in English, German, Dutch and Spanish. It’s very popular in the European Union.
23. PerfSpot: PerfSpot provides a web portal for people of any age, gender, or background to share their interests and favourite
things on the web. PerfSpot currently publishes its site in 37 different languages, with comprehensive moderator team based in the
U.S. and the Philippines that screens through up to a million pictures on a daily basis.
24. Zorpia: Zorpia.com is a social network that has a large international community. Zorpia’s features include profile customization,
networking features and an incredibly detailed search. Zorpia has an impressive music section featuring popular artists like Ashlee
Simpson, Vanessa Hudgens, Alanis Morissette and more. You can purchase a Royal Membership for extra networking options such
as an ad–free profile, extra profile design features and unlimited messaging.
25. Netlog: Netlog (formerly known as Facebox and Bingbox) is a Belgian social networking website specifically targeted at the
European youth demographic. On Netlog, you can create your own web page with a blog, pictures, videos, events and much more
to share with your friends. Netlog is pageview market leader in Belgium, Italy, Austria, Switzerland, Romania and Turkey. In the
Netherlands, Germany, France and Portugal, Netlog covers the second place. Pan European, Netlog is the market leader. Netlog is
localized in over 25 languages, to enable users from around the world to access the network.
26. Tuenti: Tuenti is an invitation-only private social networking website. It has been referred to as the "Spanish Facebook”, by
many social network watchers. It is one of the largest social networking sites in Spain. It allows you to set up a profile, upload
photos, link videos and connect and chat with friends. Many other utilities, such as the ability to create events, are also offered.
From 2009, utilizing a simple interface, Tuenti user can change their language to Catalán, Basque, Galician, and English. Tuenti is
also available as an iPhone App.
27. Nasza-Klasa.pl: nasza-klasapl is considered one of the largest and most used social networking sites in Poland. It primarily
brings together school's students and alumni. The site is in polish therefore restricting its popularity only to Poland and polish
speaking people. Nevertheless, it claims to be the most popular networking site in Poland, and therefore, has found its niche in the
competitive social networking space. The site where one might say, new meets old, where the intractability is like Facebook, yet
traditional with old styled forums.

28. IRC-Galleria: IRC Gallery has been one of the most popular social networking sites for over 10 years, in Finland; with over 5.5
lakh registered users, 90% of which use the site regularly. IRC-Galleria is popular within the age group of 18-22. To be able to create
an account with this site, at least one of the uploaded images must be accepted by the administrator. While regular users can
upload only up to 60 visible images, you have the option to upgrade to VIP status that enables you to upload 10,000 visible
images. Using this site, users can communicate with other users, comments on photos, and join over a 100 communities.
29. StudiVZ: StudiVZ is the biggest social networking site in Germany. It is also popular in German-speaking countries like
Switzerland and Austria. This site works as a student directory in particular for college and university students in Europe. The site
allows students to maintain a personal page that containing their personal information like name, age, study subjects, interests,
courses and group memberships (within StudiVZ).
30. Xing: Xing, (formally known as openBC/Open Business Club) is a professional networking tool. It is popular in countries like
Germany, Spain, Portugal, Italy and France. Xing is similar to LinkedIn and claims to have professionals from over 200 countries.
Xing has two features Basic and Premium, depending on weather the user wants to use the site for free or at a cost. It is available
in different languages including English, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, French, Dutch, Chinese, Finnish, Swedish, Korean,
Japanese, Russian, Polish, Turkish and Hungarian; French and German being the most popularly.
31. Renren: Renren (formerly called Xiaonei Network) is one of the largest social networking sites in China, and caters to people of
Chinese origin. It is very popular amongst college students. Renren also has a WAP version, which users can access through mobile
phones. It features an instant messaging service for its users. Users can use the same username to log in both Renren and Kaixin.
Renren appeals more to Chinese college students who use internet cafes, while Kaixin001 targets Chinese white-collar workers who
have internet access at work.
32. Kaixin001: Kaixin001 is a popular professional networking tool in China. The target audience for Kaixin’s, are typically whitecollar middle class who come from a first tier city. This site in China is extremely popular among people who work for multinational
companies, ad agencies and other white collar companies. Kaixin001 has gained much more popularity since 2009, because social
networking sites, such as Myspace, Facebook, Twitter and Youtube were blocked in China.
33. Hyves.nl: Hyves, pronounced hives (from beehives) is the largest social network in Netherlands, with many Dutch visitors and
members. Hyves Payments and Hyves Games, allows you to play games and pay friends through the social network. Hyves
provides usual amenities of a social networking site, including profiles, blogs, photos, and so on. ‘Hyven’ (Hyving) became a
common word in Dutch, and is gaining popularity across Europe.
34. Millat Facebook: MillatFacebook is a Muslim-oriented social networking website. Originally launched in Pakistan, it has gained
popularity in Arab counties as well. This site came into existence after Facebook was banned in Pakisthan. Millatfacebook offers
video chat, bulletins, blogs, polls, shout box, and customization of profile page. Members can change the page CSS and design it
on their own will.
35. Ibibo: Ibibo stands for iBuild, iBond. It is an Indian social networking site. It is an umbrella site that offers a variety of
applications under its social network. The services offered include games, blogs, photo unlimited storage, mail, messenger, videos,

free SMS service, mail, polls and surveys.
36. Sonico: Sonico is a free-access social networking website focused on the Latin American audience. You can do a to rage of
things in this site including search and add friends, interact with friends over message, update their own personal profile, manage
their privacy, upload photos and videos, organize events, play games with other users. Sonico, more importantly, let’s its members
more control over their profile by giving them three distinct profiles that the user can organize based on the need: a private profile,
a public profile, and a professional profile. This site is popular in Latin America and other Spanish and Portuguese Speaking
Regions.
37. Wer-kennt-wen: Wer-kennt-wen, is one of the most popular social networking website in Germany. It is by an invitation-only
social networking website, and only for people over 14 years old. The site provides the user to write blogs, chat with friends, and
write in their guestbook. It provides users a social community for people, to interact with anybody they want.
38. Cyworld: Cyworld is a South Korean social network service. It has had a big effect on Korea’s Internet culture. Many renowned
Korean socialites and celebrities have accounts where they post upcoming tours and works. Cyword has networks in South Korea,
China, and Vietnam and is gaining popularity across Asia and the Pacific Island. Users have access to a profile page, photos,
drawings and images uploading, an avatar, neighbourhoods, and clubs.
39. Mixi: Mixi is primarily for Japanese. Mixi offers options to meeting new people, send and receive messages, writing in a diary,
read and comment on others' diaries, organize and join communities and invite their friends. The site requires users to own a
Japanese cell phone which bars anyone who is not or has not been a resident of Japan.
40. iWiW: iWiW (abbreviation for International Who is Who) is a Hungarian social networking web service. The site is an invite-only
website, where a user can provide personal information. Users can search for friends using the search tool. iWiW allows users to log
in to external websites using their iWiW credentials. iWiW is also available for iPone and Android.

Name

43 Things

Description/focus

Goal setting and achievement

Date
launche
d

Register
ed user
s

1 January

3,000,000[2] Closed

Registratio
n

GlobalAlex
rankin

12,914[3]

Name

Description/focus

Date
launche
d

Register
ed user
s

Registratio
n

GlobalAlex
rankin

2005

Academia.edu Social networking site for academics/researchers

September
211,000[4]
2008

Open

1,995[5]

About.me

Social networking site

October
2009

5,000,000[6] Open

1,447

Advogato

Free and open source software developers

1999

13,575[7]

Open

292,620[8]

Books

2006

Open

26,939[9]

AsianAvenue A social network for the Asian American community

1997

Open

170,384[10]

aSmallWorld

European jet set and social elite world-wide

March
2004

550,000[11]

Invite-only

580,060[12]

Running, swimming

2001

139,458[13]

Open

69,170[14]

Audimated.co
Independent music
m

2010

Open

656,507[15]

aNobii

Athlinks

Bebo

General

July 2005

117,000,00 Open to people
4,169[17]
0[16]
13 and older

Date
launche
d

Register
ed user
s

Registratio
n

Norwegian community

1 June
2005

430,000[18]

Requires
Norwegian
81,916[19]
phone number

Black Americans

1
20,000,000[
September 20]
Open
1999

Anyone who wants to tell something about a stranger or
acquaintance.

2010

Open to people
1,081,215[22]
13 and older.

General

1996

Open

589,595[23]

Language learning community (headquartered in Madrid, Spain)

16 May
2008

Open

4,976[25]

Music and pop-culture

2005

Open

6,955[27]

Mothers

Open to moms
December 1,250,000[2
and moms-to- 1,293[29]
8]
2006
be

Green living and social activism

1998

Name

Biip.no

BlackPlanet

Blauk

Bolt.com

Busuu

Buzznet

CafeMom

Care2

Description/focus

12,000,000[
24]

10,000,000[
26]

9,961,947[3
0]

Open

GlobalAlex
rankin

7,193[21]

1,930[31]

Name

CaringBridge

Description/focus

1995

General. Popular in Iran

2004

ClusterFlunk

American network for students to share files with their peers

2012

CouchSurfing

Worldwide network for making connections between travelers
and the communities they visit.

2003

CozyCot

East Asian and Southeast Asian women

Cross.tv

Crunchyroll

Registratio
n

GlobalAlex
rankin

50,000,000[ Open to people
3,284[38]
36]
18 and older[37]

Open

749[39]

545,917[40]

2,967,421[4
1]

Open

2,231[42]

2001

150,000[43]

Open

36,959[44]

Faith-based social network for Christian believers from around
the world

2008

450,000[45]

Open

53,394[46]

Anime and forums.

2006

Open

5,721[47]

2012

Open

175,796[48]

1999

24,000,000[ Open

Cucumbertow
Networking for cooks
n

Cyworld

Register
ed user
s

9,500,000[3 Open to people
4,279[35]
3]
18 and older[34]

Not for profit providing free websites that connect family and
friends during a serious health event, care and recovery. [32]

Classmates.co
School, college, work and the military
m

Cloob

Date
launche
d

General. Popular in South Korea.

1,616[50]

Name

Description/focus

Date
launche
d

Register
ed user
s

Registratio
n

GlobalAlex
rankin

49]

DailyBooth

Photo-blogging site where users upload a photo every day

13
February
2009

Closed

5,963[51]

DailyStrength

Medical & emotional support community - physical health,
mental health, support groups

4
November
2007

Open

10,511[52]

Social bookmarking allowing users to locate and save websites
that match their own interests

September 8,822,921[5
Open
3]
2003

DeviantArt

Art community

7 August
2000

Diaspora*

Decentralized, privacy aware, general (open source)

November 370,000+[n
Open
1][57]
2010

delicious

didlr

Disaboom

Dol2day

Drawing service

26,000,000[ Open to people
131[56]
55]
13 and older

204,515

People with disabilities (amputees, cerebral palsy, MS, and other
disabilities)

Politic community, social network, Internet radio (German-

436[54]

40,200[61]

36,792[n 2][58]

Open

2,869,116[59]

Open

218,135[60]

Open

385,237[62]

Name

Description/focus

Date
launche
d

Register
ed user
s

Registratio
n

GlobalAlex
rankin

speaking countries)

DontStayIn

Clubbing (primarily UK)

Draugiem.lv

General (primarily LV, LT, HU)

2,600,466[6
4]

Chinese Web 2.0 website providing user review and
recommendation services for movies, books, and music.

2005

U.S. Physicians and medical doctors.

2011

DXY.cn

Chinese online community for physicians, health care
professionals, pharmacies and facilities

2000[70]

Elftown

Community and wiki around fantasy and sci-fi.

douban

Doximity

Ello

Elixio

46,850,000[
66]

400,000[68]

2,000,000[7
1]

185,000[73]

General

March
2014[75][76]

Business executives jet set and global elite.

July 2007

80,000[78]

Open

86,535[63]

Invitation only

2,698[65]

Open

106[67]

U.S. physicians
27,539[69]
only

Open

8,367[72]

Open, approval
43,277[74]
needed

Invite only
while in beta

106,782[77]

Invite-only

545,268[79]

Name

Description/focus

English, baby! Students and teachers of English as a second language

Date
launche
d

2000

Register
ed user
s

1,600,000[8
0]

Registratio
n

GlobalAlex
rankin

Open

29,585[81]

798,086[82]

Epernicus

For research scientists

Open

Eons.com

For baby boomers and mature internet users age 40 and beyond.

Open to people
age 40 years
73,767[83]
and older

Open

1,591[84]

Life experiences

Open

2,658[85]

Exploroo

Travel social networking.

Open

163,545[86]

Facebook

General: photos, videos, blogs, apps.

eToro

Experience
Project

Social investing, finance

Faceparty

General. Popular UK.

Faces.com

Adult social network, mainly UK & USA

May 2007

February
2004

2,500,000

1,280,000,
000[87]

200,000

2011

[89]

Open to people [88]
2
13 and older

Invitation only
to people 18
and older

163,639[90]

Open to people 149,839[91]
18 and older

Name

Description/focus

Date
launche
d

Register
ed user
s

Registratio
n

GlobalAlex
rankin

worldwide

People who are into BDSM

January
2008

Open to people
2,701,715[9 "of legal age to
4,131[93]
2]
see adult
content"

FilmAffinity

Movies and TV series

2002

250,000[94]

Filmow

Movies and TV series

2009

Fetlife

FledgeWing

Flixster

Flickr

Focus.com

Entrepreneural community targeted towards worldwide
university students

Open

3,151[95]

Open

44,630[96]

Open to
university
students

696,513[97]

63,000,000[ Open to people
4,012[99]
98]
13 and older

Movies

2007

Photo sharing, commenting, photography related networking,
worldwide

February
2004

32,000,000[

Business-to-business, worldwide

2005

850,000[102]

100]

Open to people
13 and older
48[101]
(Yahoo! Login)

Open to people
12,114[103]
13 and older

Description/focus

Date
launche
d

Register
ed user
s

Registratio
n

Photo sharing, video hosting, photo contests, journals, forums,
flexible privacy protection, friend's feed, audio comments and
unlimited custom design integration.

October
1998

1,632,565

Open

8,011[104]

Photoblogging. Popular in South America and Spain

2002

Open

3,168[106]

Location based mobile social network

2009

Open

817[108]

Open

354,946[109][n 2]

Name

Fotki

Fotolog

Foursquare

20,000,000[
105]

20,000,000[
107]

GlobalAlex
rankin

Friendica

Distributed, federated, privacy aware, open source, general

Friends
Reunited

UK based. School, college, work, sport and streets

July 2000

19,000,000[ Open to people
29,239[111]
110]
13 and older

General. Popular in Southeast Asia. No longer popular in
the western world

2002

90,000,000[ Open to people
12,167[113]
112]
16 and older.

Friendster

Frühstückstre
General
f

Fuelmyblog

FullCircle

July 2001

Blogging community

July 2007

Geosocial networking and location-based services portal
for mobile devices

April 2009

14,800[citation
needed]

Open

1,827,621[114]

50,000[115]

Open

85,547[116]

Open

1,167,425[117]

Name

Description/focus

Gaia Online

Anime and games. Popular in USA, Canada and Europe.
Moderately popular around Asia.

GamerDNA

Computer and video games

Gapyear.com Travel social network

Gather.com

Date
launche
d

Register
ed user
s

Registratio
n

GlobalAlex
rankin

23,523,663[ Open to people
6,277[119]
118]
13 and older

21
September 310,000[120] Open
2006

59,730[121]

July 1998

74,763[122]

Article, picture, and video sharing, as well as group discussions

Open

465,000[123] Open

3,062[124]

100,000[125] Open, global

224,302[126]

Gays.com

Social network for LGBT community, guide for LGBT bars,
restaurants, clubs, shopping

16 May
2008

Geni.com

Families, genealogy

16 January 15,000,000[
Open
127]
2007

5,958[128]

Social network for entertainment.

28 October 2,000,000[1
Open
29]
2008

3,735[130]

GetGlue

Gogoyoko

Fair play in music - social networking site for musicians and
music lovers.

Goodreads

Library cataloging, book lovers.

Invite only
while in beta

December 13,000,000[
Open
132]
2006

145,552[131]

327[133]

Description/focus

Date
launche
d

Register
ed user
s

Goodwizz

Social network with matchmaking and personality games to find
new contacts. Global, based in France.

October
2010

110,000[134]

Google+

General

28 June
2011

1,600,000,
000[137]

GovLoop

For people in and around government.

Name

Grono.net

Habbo

hi5

Hospitality
Club

Hotlist

[135]

Registratio
n

Open

GlobalAlex
rankin

597,008[136]

Open to people
13 and
NA[n 3]
[138]
older

138,576[139]

2,000,000[ci

Poland

tation needed]

Open

395,036[140]

General for teens. Over 31 communities worldwide. Chat room
and user profiles.

August
2000

268,000,00 Open to people
15,255[144]
0[141][142][143] 13 and older

General. Popular
in Nepal, Mongolia, Thailand, Romania, Jamaica, Central
Africa, Portugal and Latin America. Not very popular in the USA.

2003

80,000,000[ Open to people
902[146]
145]
13 and older.

Hospitality

328,629[147] Open

99,562[148]

Geo-social aggregator rooted in the concept of knowing where
users' friends are, were, and will be.

80,000[149]

155,811[150]

Open

Date
launche
d

Register
ed user
s

Social networking site for human resources professionals.

1999

194,000[151] Open

Global influencers focused on worth creation.

November
20,000[153]
2002

Hyves

General, mostly popular in the Netherlands.

September 10,097,000[
Open
155]
2004

Ibibo

Talent based social networking site that allows to promote one's
self and also discover new talent. Most popular in India.

3,500,000[1

Twitter-like service popular with hackers and software freedom
advocates.

395,695[citati

Name

HR.com

Hub Culture

Identi.ca

Indaba Music

Influenster

Instagram

IRC-Galleria

Description/focus

57]

on needed]

Online collaboration for musicians, remix contests, and
networking.

Registratio
n

Invite-only

GlobalAlex
rankin

79,591[152]

152,756[154]

2,243[156]

Open

1,143[158]

Open

7,290[159]

350,000[160] Open, global

45,039[161]

Online product sampling and review platform.

2010

850,000[162] Open, global

8,612[163]

A photo and video sharing site.

October
2010

Open to
150,000,00
anyone 13 or
0[164]
older

41

Finland

505,000[165] Open to
Finnish
speaking

36,982[166]

Name

Description/focus

Date
launche
d

Register
ed user
s

Registratio
n

GlobalAlex
rankin

people 12 and
older

Language learning social network. 100+ languages.

500,000[167] Open, global

Itsmy

Mobile community worldwide, blogging, friends, personal TVshows

2,500,000[1

iWiW

Hungary

14 April
2002

Jaiku

General. Microblogging. Owned by Google

February
2006

Location-based mobile social network. In Chinese language

2010

italki.com

Jiepang

Kaixin001

General. In Simplified Chinese; caters for mainland China users

Kiwibox

General.

Lafango

Talent-focused media sharing site

770,100[170]

69]

1999

4,000,000[1
71]

18,956[168]

Invite-only

3,831[172]

Open to people
62,910[173]
13 and older

3,000,000[1
74]

Open

14,790[175]

Open to the
general public

284[176]

2,400,000[1 Open to people
104,563[178]
77]
13 and older

Open, global

161,778[179]

Date
launche
d

Register
ed user
s

Registratio
n

Marathi social networking

2010

250,000

Open

952,782[180]

Music

2002

Open

772[182]

Book lovers

29 August
2005

Name

LaiBhaari

Last.fm

LibraryThing

Description/focus

Lifeknot

Shared interests, hobbies

LinkedIn

Business and professional networking

30,000,000[
181]

GlobalAlex
rankin

1,300,000[1 Open to people
10,800[184]
83]
13 and older

Open to people
1,071,686[185]
18 and older

May 2003

200,000,00 Open to people
12[187]
0[186]
18 and older

LinkExpats

Social networking website for expatriates. 100+ countries.

Open, global

800,451[188]

Listography

Lists. Autobiography

Open

92,525[189]

LiveJournal

Blogging. Popular in Russia and among the Russian-speaking
diaspora abroad.

Livemocha

Online language learning

15 April
1999

17,564,977[
190]

5,000,000[1
92]

Open (OpenID) 115[191]

Open

4,100[193]

Name

Date
launche
d

Description/focus

9 August
1999

Meetup
(website)

General

Open

318,979[195]

General. Used to plan offline meetings for people interested in
various activities

Open to people
481[196]
18 and older

MillatFaceboo
General, created in response to Facebook
k

MocoSpace

MOG

GlobalAlex
rankin

756,300[194]

Meettheboss Business and finance community, worldwide.

mixi

Registratio
n

Open

Makeoutclub General

MEETin

Register
ed user
s

[198]

May 2010

Open

315,513[197]

461,200[199] Open

236,663[200]

Japan

25 October 24,323,160[
Open
201]
2000

Mobile community, worldwide

2005

Music

MouthShut.co
Social network, social media, consumer reviews
m

232[202]

3,000,000[2 Open to people
9,882[204]
03]
14 and older

Open to people
13,955[205]
14 and older

Open

3,340[206]

Name

Mubi

MyHeritage

Description/focus

Date
launche
d

Auteur cinema

Register
ed user
s

Registratio
n

200,000

Open

18,225[207]

Open

3,756[209]

Open

1,765[211]

Closed

NA[n 3]

30,000,000

Family-oriented social network service

[208]

Locating friends and family, keeping in touch
(formerly Reunion.com)

51,000,000[

My Opera

Blogging, mobile blogging, photo sharing, connecting with
friends, Opera Link and Opera Unite. Global

7,300,000[2

Myspace

General

MyLife

Nasza-klasa.pl School, college and friends. Popular in Poland

Netlog

Nexopia

NGO Post

General. Popular in Europe, Turkey, the Arab world and Canada's
Québec province. Formerly known as Facebox and Redbox. [218]

Canada

Non-profit news sharing and networking, mainly in India

210]

12]

August
2003

30,000,000 Open to ages
+[213][214]
13 and older.

11,000,000[
216]

Open

GlobalAlex
rankin

161[215]

75,145[217]

95,000,000[ Open to people
545[220]
219]
13 and older

1,400,000[2
21]

15,000[224]

Open to people
13 and
25,241[223]
[222]
older

Open

42,076[225]

Name

Ning

Odnoklassniki

Open Diary

Orkut

Description/focus

Users create their own social websites and social networks

Date
launche
d

Register
ed user
s

2005 (Net
works
2007)

227]

General. Owned by Google Inc. Popular in India and Brazil.[231]

22 January 100,000,00
Closed
2004
0[232]

Pingsta

Dutch virtual community for people interested in house music
and other electronic dance music.

Collaborative platform for the world's internetwork experts

65[228]

5,000,000[2 Open to people
28,134[230]
29]
13 and older

1998

OUTeverywher
Gay/LGBTQ community
e

Partyflock

Open

First online blogging community, founded in 1998

Open

Online community for patients with life-changing illnesses to find
PatientsLikeM
other patients like them, share their data with others, and learn 2006
e
more about their condition to improve their outcome.

GlobalAlex
rankin

Open to people
378[226]
13 and older

45,000,000[

Connect with old classmates. Popular in Russia and former Soviet
republics

Registratio
n

109,587

10
November 321,125
2001

[235]

319[233]

445,440[234]

Open to people
13 years and
69,514[236]
up

Open to people
18 years and
16,828[237]
up

Invite-only,
only Internet
experts

2,533,640[238]

Name

Pinterest

Plaxo

Playfire

Playlist.com

Plurk

Poolwo

Description/focus

Online pinboard for organizing and sharing things you love

Register
ed user
s

2011

50,000,000[

Aggregator

240]

Registratio
n

GlobalAlex
rankin

Open

38[239]

Open

5,310[241]

Computer and video games

Open to people
38,259[242]
13 and older

General, music

Open to people
8,026[243]
over 13

Micro-blogging, RSS, updates. Very popular in Taiwan

Open

1,991[244]

Open

764,227[246]

Closed

20,640[247]

Open to those
over 16

82,914[248]

Social networking site from India

Qapacity

A business-oriented social networking site and a business
directory

Quechup

General, friendship, dating

Qzone

Date
launche
d

General. In Simplified Chinese; caters for mainland China users

7 January
2014

2007

12,350[245]

480,000,00 Open to the
0[249][250]
general public

NA[n 3]

Name

Raptr

Description/focus

Date
launche
d

Video games

Ravelry

Knitting and crochet

Renren

Significant site in China. Was known as 校内 (Xiaonei) until August
2009.

3,000,000[2
52]

500,000[256]

General, with focus on privacy rights

16 May
2012

ShareTheMusi Music community. Sharing and listening to music for free and
c
legally

Shelfari

Books

11 October
2006

GlobalAlex
rankin

Open

25,664[251]

Open

2,334[253]

95[255]

Open to people
1,806[257]
16 and older

500,000[258] Closed

Business

ScienceStage Science-oriented multimedia platform and network for scientists

Sgrouples

Registratio
n

160,000,00
Open
0[254]

ReverbNation.
Social network for musician and bands
com

Ryze

Register
ed user
s

71,324[259]

Open

61,668[260]

Open

258,091[261]

Open

612,429[262]

Open

18,152[263]

Name

Sina Weibo

Skoob

Skyrock

Date
launche
d

Register
ed user
s

Social microblogging site in mainland China.

14 August
2009

300,000,00
Open
0[264]

28[265]

Collaborative social network for Brazilian readers

2009

420,000[266] Open

28,449[267]

Description/focus

22,000,000[

Social network in French-speaking world

SocialVibe

Social network for charity

Sonico.com

General. Popular in Latin America and Spanish and Portuguese
speaking regions.

SoundCloud

Repository of original music pieces and networking.

268]

435,000[citati
on needed]

GlobalAlex
rankin

Open

710[269]

Open

101,364[270]

50,000,000[ Open to people
2,676[273]
271][272]
13 and older

10,000,000[
274]

Spaces

Russian social network targeted to mobile phone users

Spot.IM

A service for webmasters to add social networking functionality
to their websites

2012

Social network for meeting people

September
2013

Spring.me

Registratio
n

Open

299[275]

Open

9,953[276]

250,000[277] Open

68,016[278]

Open to people
4,967[279]
13 and older

Name

Description/focus

Stage 32

US-based social network and educational site for creative
professionals in film, television and theater

Stickam

Live video streaming and chat.

StudiVZ

University students, mostly in the German-speaking countries.
School students and those out of education sign up via its
partner sites schülerVZ and meinVZ.

Students
A social network connecting students, teachers and institutions
Circle Network to course resources, study groups and learning spaces.

Date
launche
d

Register
ed user
s

February
2012

175,000

9,000,000[2

Tagged

General.

35,382[280]

9,201[282]

Open

7,080[284]

Open

345,110[285]

Open

146[287]

100,000,00
Open
0[288]

288[289]

17,000,000[
283]

December
2010

20,000,000[
286]

October
2004

GlobalAlex
rankin

Closed

81]

StumbleUpon Stumble through websites that match users' selected interests

Registratio
n

Business networking

Open

136,346[290]

Taltopia

Online artistic community

Open

281,501[291]

Taringa!

General (primarily Argentina)

Talkbiznow

11,000,000[ Open to people
214[293]
292]
13 and older

Name

TeachStreet

TermWiki

The Sphere

Description/focus

Date
launche
d

Register
ed user
s

Education / learning / teaching - more than 400 subjects

Registratio
n

GlobalAlex
rankin

Open

422,704[294]

Learning / languages / translation - 1.2 million terms in more
than 1300 subjects

May 2010

Open

22,997[295]

A private online social luxury network with exclusive
personalized services

December
1,300[296]
2008

Invite-only

1,115,305[297]

TravBuddy.co
Travel
m

2005

1,588,000[2 Open to people
21,523[299]
98]
18 and older

Travellerspoin
Travel
t

2002

310,000[300] Open

tribe.net

Trombi.com

General

French subsidiary of Classmates.com

Tuenti

Spanish-based university and high school social network.

Tumblr

Microblogging platform and social networking website.

Open

4,400,000[3

305]

8,081[302]

16,227[304]

03]

12,000,000[

15,275[301]

Open

11,221[306]

Open

32[307]

Name

Description/focus

Date
launche
d

Register
ed user
s

Registratio
n

GlobalAlex
rankin

Twitter

General. Micro-blogging, RSS, updates

15 July
2006

645,750,00 Open to all
0[308]
ages[309]

Tylted

Mobile social game network[311]

2007

3,000,000[3 Open to people
737,508[313]
12]
14 and older

Uplike

Microblogging platform and social networking website.

2013

Vkontakte

General, including music upload, listening and search. Popular in September 249,409,90
Open
Russia and former Soviet republics.
2006
0[315]

Vampirefreaks
Gothic and industrial subculture
.com

Viadeo

Open

1999

1,931,049[3 Open to users
17]
13 and over

35,000,000[

Global social networking and campus networking available in
English, French, German, Spanish, Italian and Portuguese

319]

8[310]

201,100[314]

38[316]

21,052[318]

Open

435[320]

Open

33,371[321]

Virb

Social network that focuses heavily on artists, including
musicians and photographers

Vox

Blogging

Open

56,558[322]

For readers and authors to interact and e-book sharing

Open

7,036[323]

Wattpad

2007

Name

Description/focus

WAYN

Travel and lifestyle

WeeWorld

Teenagers - 9 to 17

We Heart It

Wellwer

Date
launche
d

Register
ed user
s

May 2003

10,000,000[ Open to people
1,367[325]
324]
18 and older

Registratio
n

30,000,000[ Open to ages
326]
10 and older.

Image-based social network focused on inspiration, expression
and creativity

2008

Community without borders, where sharing is everything.

September
2011

20,000,000[
328]

Open

GlobalAlex
rankin

18,317[327]

899[329]

Open to people
13 years and
370,755[330]
older

WeOurFamily General with emphasis on privacy and security

Open,
subscriptionbased

3,359,241[331]

Wepolls.com

Social polling network

Open

1,204,376[332]

General

General

2,147[333]

Open

305,720[334]

Wer-kenntwen

weRead

Books

June 2007

4,000,000[ci
tation needed]

Name

Wiser.org

Wooxie

Description/focus

Online community space for the social justice and environmental
April 2007
movement[335]

Blogs and "metro" areas

XING

Business (primarily Europe (Germany, Austria, Switzerland))

Xt3

Catholic social networking, created for World Youth Day 2008

Yammer

Yelp, Inc.

Yookos

Register
ed user
s

Registratio
n

71,600[336]

Open to people
239,901[337]
16 and older

Blogging and micro-blogging

WriteAPrisone
Site networking inmates, friends, family
r.com

Xanga

Date
launche
d

Social networking for office colleagues

Open

September
66,000[339]
2000

Unknown

27,000,000[
341]

11,100,000[
343]

2008

GlobalAlex
rankin

111,538[338]

Open to people
18 years and
228,915[340]
older

Open

3,943[342]

Open

270[344]

Open

712,292[345]

Must have
3,622[346]
company email

Local business review and talk

Open

186[347]

General: photos, videos, blogs, games.

Open

53,498[348]

Name

Description/focus

Zoo.gr

Greek web meeting point

Zooppa

Online community for creative talent (host of brand sponsored
advertising contests)

Date
launche
d

Register
ed user
s

2004

890,000[349] Open

60,000[351]

Registratio
n

GlobalAlex
rankin

34,577[350]

Open to people
14 and
36,373[3
[352]
older

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