Social Media and Boating.

Social Media is a catch all phrase which is bandied about. Today the more correct Social Networking is the phrase of choice. There are many different forms of social networks. The world of on-line social connections has expanded into different forms over the last few years. Each with its own unique set of characteristics. In the main a social network site allows users to connect and share with people who have similar interests. The bright new world of social networking is changing and I believe its changing for the better. 

Facebook is example of a Social Networking site. There are a large number of boating forums hosted on Facebook. Which might at first sight seem to be a good thing. However, in reality facebook comes with its own specific sets of issues. Its hard to quickly browse through. Because some forums are public, some are restricted viewing and some require prior approval to view.  For some forums its a bit like the wild west because it has to be administered rigidly. Others are over administered and are generally quite turgid and predictable in content. Generally Facebook is not the place to find the latest 'news' such as you would find on Narrowboat World.  But I find it is a place to gather a flavour of the idiosyncrasies of the boating community. 

Social sharing websites allow users to share different types of media, such as pictures and video. Most of these sharing sites also offer some basic social features, like the ability to create user profiles and the option of commenting on the uploaded images. YouTube is the most well-known media sharing site in the world. The problem is that such picture and video sites consume large amounts of data. Which can be a problem for boaters operating on a restricted service with penalty charges for consuming data above mobile phone contract limits.  Again not a place to find any boating 'news'.

Then there are the misnamed microblogging sites that allow their users to submit short written entries. Which can include links to other social media sites. These are then posted on the ‘walls’ of everyone who has subscribed to that user’s account. The most commonly used microblogging website is Twitter.

A blog site such as 'Rose of Arden' which gets between 200 and 500 visits a day. Is a commentary site which is usually more focused. The comments are usually centred around the specific subject of the blog. Though I do like to vary the content. Google has a popular blogging site which is aptly titled, Blogger. However, there are a seemingly endless number of blogging sites, particularly because so many of them are niche-based they lack the universal appeal of general social media sites.