Social Networking Sites

Four of the most popular social networking sites today include Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat. This post is dedicated to give a basic understanding of how each platform works. To begin, upon login of Facebook, there is a newsfeed section, where posts of each friend are displayed in chronological order. Each friend also has their own wall, where users can view their posts/reposts and pictures, or leave a post or comment/like themselves. Friends are added based on actual names, and you can communicate with them through posts, or messages. The means of expression for this platform of social networking is beyond generous, with a 63,206-character limit. 

Upon login of twitter, you are directed to the main page, which displays comments and posts (“tweets”) of people who you follow (similar to Facebook’s newsfeed).  On this platform, you have a personal page as well, which displays your own tweets and replies to other tweets alike. The communicative sense of this platform is promoted through updated posts/reposts and rapid replies and likes. However, the character limit for twitter is limited to 140 characters.

When it comes to Instagram, upon login, you are introduced to posts of friends as well. However, on this platform, posts are strictly photos and videos. The character limit for comments and captions in this case are limited to 2200 characters. The length limit is one minute for videos.  This platform also has a new story feature, which displays 24-hour-temporary pictures and videos to keep on track with what friends are doing through the day. Users can like, comment, and reply to posts, and explore personal pages as well. 

Lastly, snapchat is one of the more recent social networking websites. Upon login, you are introduced to stories of all friends, which are limited to pictures and ten second (maximum length) videos. You are able to create your own story, as well as view your friends’. The communicative sense is experienced through sending friends personal snaps, or viewing and commenting on their stories. The limit for captions turns out to be just 31 characters, but messages are extended to much lengthier limits. 

Across all platforms, there seems to be a “newsfeed”- like centrality, where you can see what users are doing throughout the day. All platforms, in a sense, allow you to have your own page where your personal content is expressed. Snapchat is the only platform which does this temporarily, in a 24-hour span. Something I noticed across all platforms was the mutual friend feature. When you add your own friends, each of these sites suggest people you may know, most often friends of friends. Although differing in designs and layouts, these four social networking sites have been some of the most used and successful sites up to date.