The 21st century saw the boom of the social networking industry. Online social communities have formed and flourished, bridging that space between and among people from different ages, race, and gender. Dozens of social networking sites are now catering to the hobbies and interests of millions of users all over the world.
Social networking began with Classmates.com in 1995. This sites goal is to help its members find, connect, keep in touch, and form a network with friends and acquaintances from preschool through college, from work, or from the military.
Unlike other networking sites that gained popularity in recent years, Classmates.com uses real names instead of screen names. It also has a rigid privacy policy – the contact information of the member is never revealed within the network unless disclosed one on one by the account owner to another member.
Another social network, SixDegrees.com, emerged in 1997. SixDegrees allows its users to send messages or post bulletins to a list of friends or family members found within their network. SixDegrees faced its early demise four years later, just as the Friendster online community was starting...