Top 10 Most Influential Social Media News Sites

Thousands and thousands of social media news sites…..how to choose the best ones????

You really should start with the social media sites that are ranked the highest, these are the ones that will drive the most traffic to your site most quickly.

The highest-ranked social media sites will definitely work the hardest for you, with more networks, more people, and more options available to choose from.

Some reports claim that most of the Internet traffic these days is on social media sites. That statistic is not so hard to believe when sites such as YouTube claim about 12% on Internet traffic alone. The numbers are quite staggering…..

Depending on exactly what you’re looking for, whether it’s videos, content, images, blogs, articles, or whatever, the value of each of these sites will be a little different for you personally.

But, according to Alexa, here are the top 10 best social media sites today:

youTube.com: Share videos with the world! Count the number of views, and get followers and subscribers, who can comment on your videos and help you gain visibility.

Flickr.com: This site is the number one place to share photos and images of any type. Your submissions can be rated and commented on, making them more popular.

Digg.com: This is the place where anything goes, bookmark and comment on articles, blogs, or pretty much anything. More diggs means more exposure and more links for your site.

Metacafe.com: Another top site for sharing videos.

StumbleUpon.com: Find the best content for any topic here.

Technorati.com: No great blog is left unturned, find every one of them on this site.

Scribd.com: Any kind of article you can imagine is located on this site.

Blogcatalog.com: More of the best blogs. All topics, all types.

Del.icio.us: Everything imaginable, every type of social network that’s out there is here. Network with the world, create your own network or just join other big ones and make your online contacts that way.

Propeller.com: Top Internet news place, find all current events and up-and-coming information.

While these sites might be considered to be the most popular right now, this is by far NOT an exhaustive list.

As the top 10 social media sites is an ever-changing list taken from the hundreds of thousands of sites like these, all of these sites are not necessarily firmly planted in their spots and don’t rest on their laurels at all.

Many, many social media sites are out there and fighting hard for these rankings. Every day, new features that affect user-friendliness, variety of topic/content, the ability to network, and many more factors affect the rankings and they are subject to change at any time.

With that said, these sites should be considered very solid and should be major mainstays to your plan if you think you’re going anywhere in the social media world! Networking through these social media sites is likely to get you more traffic to your site by increasing your Internet visibility.

Start Your Own Social Network: Ning, HandShakes or eFriends?

Looking to start your own social networking? There are many choices available that can help you begin a profitable online community, one that is designed like MySpace or Facebook.

You can even offer paid memberships, making your profits soar. Three of the most popular choices right now include Ning, Handshakes, and AlstaSoft eFriends software programs. Not all programs are created equal, so let’s review the pros and cons of these three.

Ning.com - This website is perfect for someone wanting to create their own social network, about anything. If you are not ready to create your own network, there are thousands that you can join.

The pros of Ning include that it is easy to use, flexible, and it integrates easily with Facebook and Flickr, upload any pictures and promote your Ning site on those sites, too. You can purchase premium services, such as hosting on your own domain so that you can make money from ad space, if that’s what you’re looking for.

The cons of Ning are really few; some say it is confusing to learn how to use because it is so flexible and there are so many ways to use it. Also, there is no quick link to your particular social network right from the main site. Takes a few clicks to get there.

HandShakes - This is a fully-customizable social networking software program that allows you to build a social networking service using a membership-type system. Pros of HandShakes include the excellent admin console, tag clouds, profiles with flexible questions, audio and video blogging, classifieds, event calendars, forums, and more.

Cons of HandShakes include that it can be difficult or confusing to make modifications. Limited documentation may make it difficult for a less-skilled programmer to make changes because of a zend-encoded script. Some complaints have been made about slow customer service for handling questions or concerns.

AlstraSoft eFriends - Another one of the many online social networking scripts that help you to start your own membership community, AlstraSoft eFriends has many flexible features. Personal networks, online friends, matchmaking, dating services, blogging, and more make AlstraSoft eFriends a popular choice. Pros of AlstraSoft eFriends include responsive customer support, customizable features, ability to upload photos, and an advanced admin control panel.
Cons of AlstraSoft include difficult features that require programming skills, and there are many steps involved to get the networks up and running smoothly with the ability to upload pictures and have members be fully interactive.