Saturday, November 8, 2008

Social Networking Resources

I have honestly been having a bit of fun checking out some of the Social Networking websites and resources that have been appearing in the past couple years. In fact, I've actually been so impressed that I thought that I should post something to the blog about them.

However, I have actually been working on this post for quite a few days, already. There are so many social net websites out there that I was trying to include in this one post that I realized that the only way around this was to split this blog entry into a bunch of little posts that will tell a bit about each site. That way, I don't have to have every single social website pegged in one big post.

Heck, there are still a bunch of these social networking groups out there that I want to check out. Some of these actually have optional tools developed specifically for them, so there are actually little cottage support resource sites for some, built to support them, allowing extra plug-ins or software tools to make them more convenient to use.

What, you may ask, does this have to do with the automotive industry? Well, the truth is that these are often great places for auto enthusiasts, car clubs, as well as neat places to promote auto shops or trade parts. Most allow easy setup, and may support blogging. Some even offer a great place to post news and articles and would be a great way to distribute them to an already large pool of social networking users. Others offer a great place to promote your (auto related) website by allowing the sharing and promotion of bookmarks. Users of these sites that are logged in can sometimes also vote on the materials of the resource(s) in question, making them even more popular or notorious.

One of the very first new trends was the blog and some of these services even allow you to incorporate your current blog.

Remember that as the trends move in the online industry, the automotive industry must adapt, adopt them, and move with them in order to maintain a high profile to the masses or regions that they are targetting as customers and clientel.

So, eat this stuff up guys, because social networking websites utilities, and software applications are not only fun to participate in, but actually strengthen the market and provide new interest.

To most this will be understood, others will have to check it out. But as a webmaster I understand that the security of a managed and constantly updated network is much better than the vulnerability of an open source software based website that is usually chock full of security holes.

And if the security is not an issue, there are other things that should be, like the fact that these social sites already have an established user base, like the fact that your firends and community are probably already online using them.

If nothing else, these are great opportunities to promote your existing website. Yet, they really are so much more.

Anyway, in order to share this information as quickly as possible, I will be spotlighting these social networking websites and tools. Each site or resource will be discussed individually, showcased in their own blog entry. This will also allow me to update them individually, should I need to. And I will always identify each service by through our membership so that you can join us and have a friend on the site.

Look for a bunch of blog entries to follow very shortly.

-Syd's Eastside Auto Parts webmaster

0 comments:

Post a Comment