Social Networking sites are, by definition, places on the Internet where people converge around shared interest or causes. The phenomenon has many players such as Hi5, Friendster, MySpace, FaceBook and Orkut. The age group of 18-25 accounts for the majority of the traffic at these sites and will certainly testify that interaction here has long since overtaken plain old conversions. But can social networking sites work beyond dating and friendship to emerge as platforms for careers and educational resources?
Orkut has a separate text field titled ‘professional’ in the profile that users are made to fill. One can specify one’s education, university, occupation, industry, company, title, career skills and career interests. It thus becomes a mini resume itself. Users often get friend requests from people in the same industry, which helps them to exchange notes. A search for ‘jobs’ under communities yields a mind-boggling number of results. One such community, ‘Walk-in for jobs’ has 31,030 members.
There are also a large number of communities dedicated to education. These cover a variety of issues such as online tutorial, institute listings, academic resources etc. One can also find information on requirements for specific industries and the jobs available. For those wishing to go abroad, there are forums related to visa and application issues for universities. Arundhuti, a member of one such communities, believes that they clear away any confusion one might have on issues concerning a particular field or the latest developments.
Coaching institutes too have an online presence. Mahesh Tutorials offers coaching for class 10 and 12 board exams and has communities for each of its branches. Students discuss professors and lectures, clear difficulties and arrange meets. PT Education, which coaches students for entrance examinations, also has a community. One of the threads there discusses people who got selected in a particular year at various centers.
NGOs are also walking up to the potential of social networking sites. ‘Asha for Education’ is one such community. Asha, a non-profit initiative dedicated to educating underprivileged children in India aims to discuss fund-raising, new initiatives and current events through these communities.
Another community worth mentioning is ‘Landmark Education World Wide’. Members discuss enrollments, personal experiences and take the programme offered at Landmark further by applying it in their daily life. Says Mark, a member of the community posts, “I joined the forum in March last year and have competed three seminars. My favorite is ‘creating the miraculous good times!”
However, the authenticity of the jobs posted and the accuracy of answers to quarries is open to debate. As with all resources online, social networking sites too face the problem of quacks and incorrect information.
Spamming and obscenity are common phenomena as well.

Popularity: 5% [?]

The next time you peep into a ladies’ bag, (shame on you, um, don’t get caught) don’t be surprised if you notice certain gadgets (a cell phone, iPod, palmtop, a treo, a bluetooth headset, digital camera, are the usual suspects) among all the feminine paraphernalia.
The tech revolution has given rise to the ‘geek girl’. Gadgets are cool, and girls are the new ‘technosexuals’.
Recent surveys reveal that women are fast catching up with men as users of technology and gadgets, and manufacturers are on their toes to woo this high potential customer base. From candy and jewel colored cell phones, laptops and iPods to female brand ambassadors, they’re pulling out all the stops.
While men are inquisitive about gadgets, women want to know how the gizmo will improve their lives.
Women aren’t too interested in the product specs but are particular about how a product looks.
The hot gizmo colors are now Pink, Burgundy and Mid Night Blue – think Sony’s Vaio laptop range – all with the fairer sex in mind. ‘Fashion consciousness’ in gadgetry is most evident in the cell phone segment. Take the hot Pink MotoRAZR or Samsung’s E530 that boasts of a conception calendar among other things! Then there’s Nokia’s embellished L’Amour collection and MotoRAZR Dolce and Gabbana liquid gold mobile collection.
Ah well, A mobile phone is an extension of one’s personality. Since Women are very conscious in this regard, the manufacturers just can’t afford to compromise on looks.

Popularity: 6% [?]