Social media is a rapidly growing platform which is becoming a vital part of everyday life. The usage of social media has increased due to increasing number of smartphone users. Using social media on smartphones makes access to the social media websites easier as it can be accessed from anywhere. Social media applications on mobile phones provides a user friendly interface because of which users can use the application conveniently. Networks formed through social media change the way groups of people interact and communicate or stand with the votes.

Social Media is a web based platform which allows users around the globe to connect, communicate and share content. It facilitates social interaction between users via Internet. On platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.

Categories

1. Social networks: These are used to connect with people and its examples are – Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn. These networks are the hub that transforms nearly every aspect of modern life i.e. from reading news to sharing vacation photos or finding a new job.
2. Media sharing networks: These are used to share photos, videos, and other media and its examples include – Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube. Media sharing networks give people and brands a place to find and share media online, including photos, video, and live video. These sites are invaluable for brand awareness, lead generation, audience engagement, and most of your other social marketing goals.
3. Discussion forums: These are used to share news and ideas and its examples include – reddit, Quora, Digg. Discussion forums are one of the oldest types of social media. These are the sites where people visit find out the trending topics comment or tweet about their opinions. While social relationship networks are increasingly implementing measures to reduce anonymity and create a safe space online, discussion forums generally allow users to remain anonymous.
4. Bookmarking and content curation networks: These are used to discover, save, and share new content and its examples include – Pinterest, Flipboard. Bookmarking and content curation networks help people discover, save, share, and discuss new and trending content and media. Bookmarking networks like Pinterest help people discover, save, and share visual content. An easy first step for getting started with Pinterest is to make your website bookmark-friendly. Content curation networks like Flipboard are similar to bookmarking networks, but with a focus on finding and sharing articles and other text content. You can create your own Flipboard magazine to sort through the most engaging content on your topic of choice from third-party sources, and to showcase your own content.
5. Consumer review networks: These are used to find and review businesses and its examples include – Zomato, TripAdvisor. Consumer review networks give people a place to review brands, businesses, products, services, travel spots, and just about anything else. Reviews are a type of content that adds a lot of value to many websites and online services—think about the buying experience on Amazon, or the experience of searching for a local business on Google Maps. Consumer review networks take it one step further by building networks around the review as a core part of the value they provide.
6. Blogging and publishing networks: These are used to publish content online and its examples include – WordPress, Medium, Tumblr. Blogging and publishing networks give people and brands tools to publish content online in formats that encourage discovery, sharing, and commenting. These networks range from more traditional blogging platforms like WordPress and Blogger to microblogging services like Tumblr and interactive social publishing platforms like Medium.
7. Interest-based networks: These are used to share interests and hobbies. Example includes – Goodreads, Houzz. Interest-based networks take a more targeted approach than the big social networks do by focusing solely on a single subject, such as books, music, or home design. Networks such as Last.fm (for musicians and music lovers) and Goodreads (for authors and avid readers) also provide an experience designed specifically for their niche audience.
8. Social shopping networks: These are used to shop online and examples of it includes Etsy. Social shopping networks make ecommerce engaging by adding a social element. Services like Etsy allow small businesses and individual crafters to sell their products without an existing brick-and-mortar location.
9. Sharing economy networks: These are used to trade goods and services and its examples are Airbnb, Uber. “Sharing economy” networks, also called “collaborative economy networks,” connect people online for the purpose of advertising, finding, sharing, buying, selling, and trading products and services.
10. Anonymous social networks: These allows users to communicate anonymously. It is used by users to gossip, vent, snoop, and sometimes bully. Some Anonymous social networking platforms are – Whisper, Ask.fm, sayat.me. These sites go the other way and allow users to post content anonymously.

Pros:

• Easy & faster spread of Information
• Helps find jobs
• Provides Real-time news and information discovery
• Easy & Instant Communication
• Helps in Marketing
• Used by Law enforcement to catch and prosecute criminals

Cons:

• Leads to spread of Unreliable and false information
• Lacks privacy
• Facilitates Cyber Bullying
• Causes distraction
• Harms user’s productivity

 Conclusion:

Social media is an important and convenient network. It is too convenient for people. Many people bully others using social media. Social Media changed our life so much. Our life became more convenient because social media is a very useful tool for everyone. It has the potential to help us improve our life. However, we have to be aware of how to user it. If we could use the social media smartly, having social media will become a good change for us.