Most likely, you have already received and turned down social networking invitations as you believe that these are a mere craze. However, you should re-consider as social networking sites have multiple benefits.
The topmost advantage of these sites is that you could easily contact people, and vice versa. The features of bulletin boards could keep you updated with the current happenings with relatives and friends whom you have not seen in a while. It would be like receiving news in a flash - know about their engagements, sudden plans and other very recent events. You could also rekindle old friendships as these sites enable you to find them easily. Just leave a message in their page and you could continue socializing.
You may wonder if social networking sites allow business endeavors to flourish.
You may not believe it, but social networking sites have actually paved the way for easier advertising. Another positive news is that you could promote your products and/or services for free. For example, you could create forum threads to generate interest. You could tell people the simple steps in acquiring your products or availing your services. You could also ask your friends to post links of your business or just about anything so those people in their networks could know about your business. When the ads are enticing enough, it would be like viral promotion.
If you are on the artistic side, you could post invitations to your activities like concerts, performance night or recitals. You could also upload videos on your page so people in the site would immediately know that you are an artist. There are some current popular singers who have started in social networking sites. They gained fans through their page, which might also happen to you. Back in the old days, promoting oneself as an artist was expensive. With the help of these sites, you could gain popularity for free.
Arts and culture are not the only fields of society that benefit from these sites. Politicians around the globe have used social networking sites to propagate their candidacy, especially among the younger generations who are the majority members of these sites. They have also used the sites to make people aware of their political stands and policies made. Through the sites, supporters and advocates have easier access to the politicians they like. One could even send them messages about opinions on their political work.
Another political use these sites offer is you could make people know about your advocacies. Write about political issues and post them in community boards, forums and your own blog site within the network. Through such mechanisms, you could even get support from other site members. In addition, you could join causes. Some members also have other advocacies which could be your source of further information. Hence, every member could truly be informed about current events through these sites.
Aside from individuals, companies and organizations of all sorts have taken part in social networking sites. The members and/or employees of these groups could effortlessly gather information about the current happenings in their respective companies and organizations. This proves to be a cost-effective method of information dissemination.
With all these advantages known, you could surely be enticed in being a member of any site, and jumpstart your social networking.