In the last few years online social networks such as MySpace, Friendster etc have really kicked off and have become widely used all over the world. Currently there are a few hundred million users of social network sites (my guess based on member stats I have heard about leading sites) so it’s obviously a huge thing. But in the last month or two it has really amazed me as to how far these sites have spread and are really now becoming a part of our daily lives.

Here are just a few examples. To begin with about 8/9 weeks ago I was in Tesco picking up something to eat and whilst queuing at the counter I over heard a conversation. It was between two members of staff and they were talking about MySpace. Basically they were asking for each other user names so they could be friends online. I didn’t really take too much notice of this though so didn’t really think about it.

The second time was not long after, I think just a few days when my sister (who is not a big user when it comes to computers) asked me if I wanted to be her friend on MySpace. Out of interest I asked how she came into knowing about MySpace and her reply was that everyone in her work used it.

Then for the next few weeks I kept over hearing people talk about it - asking to be friends, discussing which site they prefer etc. Now where I am working FaceBook has become quite a big promotional tool (I work in a night club called Oceana) and has become a part of the clubs routine. Almost every night the DJ will tell everyone over the microphone to join the clubs FaceBook group where they can get discounts and various vouchers. I haven’t yet checked out the FaceBook group myself but I do know that they also have a very active MySpace group which they used to employ people and to promote the initial launch.

Also now that I am working in a club it is very often that I hear people asking each other for their username so they can add each other as friends on various sites. The most common ones I have heard being spoken of are MySpace and FaceBook but have heard others too.

So now I would say that a vast amount of companies/work places which allow its staff access to the internet more than likely have such groups for them to share and interact with each other. The club I work in has taken it a step further and used it for promotion but I’m sure there are others doing that too. If these social networking web sites continue to grow like they have then within the next couple of years I can see them being a part of our life almost every day - for a lot of people this is already the case.