Top Five Networking Sites

My recent foray into social and business networking has opened my eyes to a wealth of websites that provide valuable services. This list represents my idea of the top five. Check out what they have to offer:

Facebook
A January 2009 Compete.com study ranked Facebook as the world's most used social network. With over 250 million active users, that’s no surprise. This site can be used to promote yourself, your business, or a cause that interests you....or just to play games and catch up with friends.

Twitter
Have you ever heard the term "micro-blogging"? That’s what a “tweet” is. Twitter allows users to post a message of up to 140 characters on their profile page to update people on where they are, what they are doing, or to share an important message. This page is visible to the author’s “followers”. Use this site to promote a blog or share important information.

LinkedIn
This site allows registered users to connect to people they may know through school or business. The people in this list are called “connections”. This site is often used to find jobs, employees, or business opportunities. It is similar in structure to Facebook, but its focus is strictly business.

YouTube
YouTube is a video sharing website where users can upload and share videos with just about anyone. Unregistered users can watch the videos while registered users can both watch and upload them. Have you heard of Susan Boyle, the British singing sensation? Her performance on Britain’s Got Talent was viewed on YouTube nearly 50 million times!

StumbleUpon
With more than 8 million members, StumbleUpon is quickly gaining popularity. This site uses ratings to form shared opinions on website quality. Users can submit keywords to guide your “stumbles” to sites that have been tagged by other members. If your blog, website, photo, or other post gets a thumbs up from a reader, it will be added to the database for others to stumble upon.

Go forth readers….tweet, follow, connect, view, and stumble.

--LeAnn Carlson is the audit manager for Cook & Associates, a full-service public accounting firm with offices in San Marcos and San Antonio, TX