What attracts you to social networking sites and what features are still missing?

Social Networking
Veja Especial Tecnologia asked:

What motivates and attracts you most in social networking sites?
What kind of technological features are still missing?

Questions And Answers Today

This entry was posted in Other - Internet, Social Networking Sites, Technological Features. Bookmark the permalink.

47 Responses to What attracts you to social networking sites and what features are still missing?

  1. Bara says:

    sites like myspace don’t allow all html.

  2. JESSICA says:

    um what attracts..pretty much all the things on myspace…a profile that you can express who you are, pictures of yourself, songs, comments, messaging, instant messaging, and all that stuff.
    stuff that needs work or i ****…is tops, i **** them because people fight over whos where on your top and I **** bullitens I mean there cool and everything but some of the things people post is wierd…What needs to change is your privacy and safety..youll get freind requests from people you dont even know and safety because alot of people put pics of them ***** or in there underwear or something..

  3. Christina says:

    I like using them because I can keep up with friends (as long as they keep their profiles up to date). It’s also a good way to catch up with people I haven’t talked to in awhile and keep up with bands I like (on Myspace). I like on Facebook that they tell you whose profiles have recently been updated so you know whose to look at if you want the latest news. I also like the applications that Facebook added. It’s more stuff to keep you amused and keep you coming back. I like Myspace’s customization options better since you can do all sorts of things to your page layout that you cannot do on Facebook.

  4. Weston says:

    I like ones that have a wide range of people, the people are searchable, and modifiable profile, either through htm/html or an application. One’s with little or no hacking of profiles and no spam are good too.

  5. Whatsdamatta says:

    C’est blue sites are kinda like myspace.
    They have good things but their bananas need more work in my opinion.
    Great question!

  6. Walter W says:

    Well they all have something that’s keep coming back. I love the way Face Book has security features for a user to use in order to protect their account. My Space is a little too open to viruses and other unwanted attacks. Face Book is now starting to get on the ball with the profile customization game. Something MySpace and BlackPlanet has done pretty much it seems like since the beginning. Overall, I like all three, but I had to get rid of Black Planet due to personal issues, I don’t use My Space because all my friends on there use Face Book or Yahoo and it’s makes no sense to log into three or four different accounts to talk to the same people. Face Book is getting better, but it’s starting to allow too much which in turn will eventually make it into something like MySpace.

  7. Sancira says:

    I like the ones that give you a chance to rate pictures and profiles. When you do you can earn points toward prizes. I don’t like a boring site.

  8. kenny says:

    Many of them are missing standards compliant code with good id/class attributes to hook the CSS onto.

  9. Red Panda says:

    The two websites that are most common to go to are FaceBook and MySpace. A couple years ago, it was Xanga. Most people go onto MySpace to keep in touch with their close friends or far distance friends same as FaceBook, but its harder to find friends on there, they are able to create their own homepages. However, I am starting to see the competition between MySpace and Facebook.
    They find ways to make things better and attract more people to their website. That’s the number one thing that bothers me. Like companies of cell phones. This one has a camera, this one has internet, this one has a camera, internet, and its a iphone, this one etc.
    Other websites other than myspace and facebook, like hi5 or Tag tries to attract more people by copying their ideas. They should start making their own ideas, and make the networking links easier to use.

  10. joe j says:

    myspace is good..
    BUT SOMETIMES THE PROGRAMERS ****!

  11. ADB says:

    Nothing attracts me, maybe there’s some way to make it more convenient otherwise it’s just more time spent (wasted?) sitting in front of the PC.

  12. amberwolf_for_art says:

    Good reasons
    1.) To find others with similar interests
    2.) postings of your interests
    3.) Photo sharing
    Bad Ideas
    1.) Security of minors sneaking in
    2.) Too much vulgar profanity
    3.) Pages getting too filled with flash, videos, junk

  13. ramboweasle says:

    What attracts me? Why the hot ****** (presumably) of course!
    What features are missing? Holograms of the ***** hot ****** you’re corresponding with, of course!

  14. Brooke says:

    The topics are what attracts me. That and if my friends are logged on to that site.

  15. SillyRabbitGets2ManyViolations says:

    I use facebook as my main soial networking site. I like using it to keep close contact with my friends and family who live abroad. It’s also a good way to find old classmates/friends. Another good feature it has is finding new friends who have similar interests as you. However, someone who is planning on using a social networking site should always be careful about what kinds of friends they meet online. While it’s a good idea, it can have dangerous aspects.

  16. :-D says:

    what attracts me to social networking sites is it is another way to stay in touch with friends and family. they offer a way to meet people and find out information. what better way to find out about a company or location than to ask someone who works or lives there.
    if two sites are similar i would choose the place that has similar values and goals to my own. if i want to stay in touch with certain friends and they are only on one website then i might consider joining that one. whereas if i want to meet people then i am more willing to try a site my friends are not on.
    there need to be better safeguards for privacy and safety. some information in someone’s profile would be difficult to confirm but other things would not be as hard. in addition, some information is not as relevant and does not matter as much if a person exagerates to make themselves sound better. age is a key area minors are often able to get into content that may be age inappropriate. they can put themselves at risk for being targeted. granted parents need to know what their children are doing, but many sites have insufficient safegards to keep children safe. even adults are not always safe because social networking sites do not use the available technology and try to make safety a priority.
    profiles can be personalized, but only to an extent. some questions only allow for certain answers but do not allow people to type their own more appropriate answer or skip the question.
    most sites allow you to personalize your profile, send email, chat, send instant messages, save profiles/ make a list of friends. sites that do not have all the “usual” features would benefit from adding them.

  17. Captain Snarky says:

    What motivates and attracts you most in social networking sites?
    -What motivates and attracts me is the sheer volume of spam, pop-ups, and excessive ad placement because everyone knows I care more about free ringtones and iPods than I do about staying in touch with my friends and family on a social networking site.
    What kind of technological features are still missing?
    -Cybergasms…

  18. perfectlybaked says:

    It’s an excuse to post up a photo of yourself in a way that doesn’t seem overly self-centered.
    I like the idea of something meant solely to increase a person’s amount of socializing…
    What I think they could use is more music… LOL.

  19. chas_see says:

    I agree with the first post you got. Too much HTML gives really long, annoying load times from people who don’t realize how annoying it is to wait for them to load all their dumb videos. Facebook has done a good job stopping that, and the adds. I just wish they didn’t give you all those updates about what your friends were doing. It’s kind of creepy.

  20. Vix says:

    A critical mass of people I know combined with some unique features would pull me towards a new site. I currently use orkut and see no complling reason to migrate out of it, since all my friends are already here.

  21. Triple 6 Soul says:

    The best thing about social networking sites is the ability to re-connect with old friends while meeting new ones. It’s also a good way to find out about people that you are newly aquitanited with.
    The most important technological feature that is missing is the quality control of these sites. There is way too much spammers and fakers on these sites. If only there were a way to limit one account per person… but that’d be too costly.

  22. Wadjet Eye says:

    Social networks are considered for me as the best window on the whole world. Best thing in it is letting all cultures and extremely different way of thinking meet together and each and everyone finds a common point or at least cross roads with different ppl and various cultures. It breaks all the barriers and help nations/ generations to get closer despite all politicians’ actions and all wars all over the world.. I’m sure u get What i mean..
    what missing?? .. well i don’t know .. for me .. as a simple end user .. so far so good.. just let us keep what we reached and benefit the most of it.. hoping for a better peaceful world.

  23. Earth Intruders says:

    We like it because our friends are on it, we use whats popular myspace is the popular one so dont bother trying to make something else cause myspace will probably add that feature anyway.

  24. Sherry says:

    I think what attracted me the most about MySpace was being able to express myself. It was also great that I have regained contact with some of my high school friends and have made some new friends.

  25. enchanted says:

    I’ve made some really great friends on Yahoo’s 360. (I refuse to use myspace – waaaay too many children, ******** and viruses.) I’ve ‘met’ people from many different walks of life, from other countries, and found that we’re all pretty much the same. We’re all looking for that human connection.
    The technology provided is fine – I just wish it worked on a consistent basis.

  26. Pete says:

    What attracts me to a social networking website like Myspace is that you can find virtually any of your friends on there. You can also find and socialize with other people, search through music, and check out videos. A big plus with a website such as myspace is that they allow you to change the layout without much restriction from them.
    However, what’s missing from Myspace is security and stability. Millions of people log onto Myspace everyday and the system can sometimes fail and keep you from accessing the “home” page once you are logged in. Also, the threat of online offenders is ever present. Plus, there are currently too many scams that can easily fool you into giving up your password.

  27. The Liist says:

    The fact that I can link up with my friends without the hassles of email or phone calls.
    We need more technology guarding against child predators. The last thing I need is my son to get buttraped by a *** pedophile.

  28. The answer is 42. says:

    If I were college age, I certainly would have both myspace and facebook; but now, I am way too busy for that. I will be putting up advertising sites for my videos and other stuff, but that’s just to get ‘presence’ and not really go into it on a daily basis.
    Technologically missing? It’s too easy for abusers, flamers, and other obnoxious unfriendly people to get on the sites (including Yahoo! Answers). You can delete and block but they just come back under another name…
    Too bad there isn’t an Internet etiquette course you need to pass (and I don’t mean just agreeing to the “Terms and Conditions”). Once you pass the course, you get an assigned ID which can only be associated with one e-mail. That should bring civility back…
    Mind you, I am not against well thought out arguments. I am against people who resort to name calling and or other put-downs as opposed to giving a succinct argument with data backing up any claims and counter-claims.

  29. NathC says:

    I like meeting new people! Talk about all kind of things, checking messages…

  30. sandman says:

    what motivates me? the ability to stay in touch. what annoys me is myspace and the rediculous layouts with too many bells and whistles. simplicity is best. in designing your site basically copy facebook. use them as the blueprint. but skip the new applications features. in terms of your using us as unpaid guinea pigs and the yahoo answers forumsas a market research tool, my feedback is that you should be more upfront, its transparent and makes me want to avoid your product.

  31. alomi_revolution says:

    Myspace is good. Very convenient to talk to friends, check up on them, new blogs/pics/bulletins and even music bands / TV shows.
    They’ve listened and done heaps of enhancements (increased bulletin headings on the front page, allowed search of email addys linkage to hotmail/gmail, allowed showing online friends only).
    One more change I’d like to see is in search of email addys linkage to hotmail/gmail, have a check/uncheck all box for emails in the addy book.

  32. -:¦:-SKY-:¦:- says:

    The sense of belonging. Becoming part of and interacting amongst a community of like-minded users that share common attributes as well as exploring new and fresh ideas with users who own unorthodox views and/or mind sets.
    The prospect of meeting and developing relationships with people I would have been unlikely to have met otherwise is somewhat amusing and I find it especially intriguing to connect with people from various cultures and countries from around the globe.
    No doubt, “share” technology continues to develop at a rapid pace enabling for more robust (and easier) communication applications. I am not sure if there are any technological features missing. Although it may exist, I haven’t personally run up on instant messenger technology (and all it’s bells and whistles) integrated directly into the user’s page. It’d be kinda cool, think?
    Obviously, security and privacy issues will continue to be of the utmost importance as the internet becomes even more volatile than it is today. Site developers must continue to give the user the tools to protect their turf.

  33. FairesRuleTheLand says:

    Well we use facebook why because we have some cousins in other parts of the country that we can share pictures or just keep in touch.

  34. whiskeyflirt says:

    I wish facebook had real IM’ing to keep connected to my friends in one site rather than having to open messenger and facebook at the same time.

  35. Eve says:

    Not me, not into that…just like to yap in here…LOL

  36. Tanya A says:

    i used to love myspace but for the past 8 months or so i’ve been HOOKED on facebook.. honestly, im a rat. and i know that everyone else out there is too :p by that, i mean be nosey and see whats going on in my friends lives .. like wall to walls on facebook, or seeing who theyve added etc. ahha i know it sound s stupid but ratting is pretty addictive .. and its not creepy because EVERYONE does it / its not on random people, its your friends haha.
    anyway, go to facebook and you’ll see the jist of it

  37. peeusht says:

    Social Networking SItes are good places to keep in touch with Friends ;especially those whom we don’t normally meet for days or even months.These sites also provide a forum to discuss or ask a number of topics ranging from Sports,Languages to Science & technology or even Politics and News.Yahoo Answers and Mylot.com fall in this category.Then there is Myspace.com where one can check out on a number of Albums or Videos .
    Orkut and like forums provide Instant Communication with Friends (both Real and Online.) .
    The features which I like these sites to add are :
    1) Provide a user the facility of restricting the number of people who can send a Friend Request because as of now we receive too many friends’ requests on these forums.
    2) More security – I have heard tales of Individual Pictures being misused.That is why people are afraid of putting their own pictures many times .

  38. SG says:

    Advantage: you can meet old friends, teachers, and some old crush.
    Missing feature: accountability, security and privacy.

  39. rashmi t says:

    i want help of poor & i want leran abut sciences

  40. ? snapple ? says:

    I like meeting new people. I love Myspace. You meet new people. You can add your favorite songs, customize your profile, and just describe what you like, what you don’t like. I **** it when people send chain letters though. They’re everywhere like Youtube, Myspace, Yahoo Answers sometimes,and just everywhere!

  41. RameelRaymundo says:

    the best thing about the networking sites are the ability to meet old/ longlost friends.

  42. Super Kitten says:

    I wonder if we have enough local online groups to make local friends that we might actually spend face to face time with? If we had local online would we say all the things we say if we think they are total strangers and we might never see them again if we didn’t mean what we said or we didn’t like them?
    I think that everyone is so busy, and the mass has people connected for reasons that keep them in and out of certain groups in many cases so it is the same old same old. So this keeps us engaged in mental activity and disengaged in physical activities, but I wonder if that is best or even good for us in some ways?
    I get bored and wonder if others get bored as well, and yet I always seem to come back? I don’t have the latest in technology so can’t get into everyone of the latest sites, I think there are some that might be pretty good that I can’t even reach.
    Do we all actually realize that there are people on the other side of the screens typing in what is in their minds, it is not just a keyboard and a screen, these people have thoughts, emotions, needs, and wants too and they may be very different then they let on like and / or different then our own. Who helps them to get their real needs met if this is just computers and not hard bodies? It is confusing at points.
    How are we going to make it work for all of us and if we spend to much time then they say something is wrong with that and if not enough something is wrong with that, let me ask who makes the determination for others what is enough or what is too much and why? Who has the right to do that?

  43. Heather says:

    I use sites like myspace and facebook to keep in touch with all my friends, but I wish there was more privacy so i don’t have all these strangers and spambots adding me as a friend. Also I can’t stand myspace bulletins. There are so many people I’m friends with and like to talk to on there but I really want to delete them because of bulletins. Why can’t I be friends with someone without seeing every single insignificant thought that pops into their head???

  44. geewillie says:

    I enjoy messaging my friends, decorating a page with my own style like on myspace, and sharing pictures with everybody.
    I think you could improve by integrating social sites with messenger services. Also, some online games that can be played between two or more friends through the social site would be interesting.

  45. Panda says:

    I use caringbridge to keep in touch with family, friends, neighbors, and other people who share the same type of cancer that my son has. It is an excellent way to keep people informed so that we do not need to repeat the same story a million times. I also like it to keep in touch with others in the rare cancer community. We visit each others sites and lend support and encouragement (although we also have a Yahoo Group to do this too). I am also a member of several mailing lists where we exchange information and offer support. The advent of patients and caregivers sharing information and resources has also been noted by the medical community, especially for those of us fighting and advocating for rare cancers.
    More than sympathy: Patients find collective voice for advocacy

  46. The Fallen One says:

    The thing that attracts me the most is expressing my opinion on a matter. Equality and some people are great. I think they should make these scan type mods, if you have broken some of the rules you get a message (warning), if you continue to break the rules you get banned

  47. Ferret says:

    I like Social Networking sites because they give you the ability to stay in touch with anyone in the world on 1 website. I would like to see these sites give their users a blank customizable web page.

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