Top Ten Social Networks That are Useful When Earning an Online College Education

Social networking sites provide excellent avenues for students to learn more about their classmates as well as track down information for papers and projects. In a virtual college community, the right social networking site can be similar to a traditional student union.

1. Facebook
The most popular social networking site among young college students, Facebook continues to grow exponentially. The beauty of this site is that it is able to find people with similar interests based on user profiles, which makes it really easy to find everyone you want or need to connect with for school.

2. Twitter
Twitter is basically a stripped down version of Facebook for people who do not want to spend much time browsing through the other features that Facebook offers. With Twitter, you can communicate directly to a large group of people through a single message, which can be handy for setting up study groups or asking questions about the latest assignment.

3. MySpace
MySpace is similar to Facebook, but it is a more social site. Users tend to reserve MySpace for more personal connections between established friends.

4. LiveJournal
LiveJournal is primarily a blogging site where you can share your thoughts and feelings with friends and acquaintances.

5. LinkedIn
LinkedIn is an ideal forum for someone looking to make online networking connections within the business world. Students can use LinkedIn to learn more about the field they are studying for.

6. FledgeWing
This site is aimed directly at college students who are interested in starting their own businesses.

7. LibraryThing
LibraryThing catalogs book collections of individuals from around the world. It is a great resource for students who need to research certain topics.

8. Ning
Ning allows you to create your own personalized social network. You could collect all of your classmates in a special group to discuss class work or post projects.

9. YouTube
YouTube is a good source for video and audio material that can be helpful in some online classes.

10. Xanga
Provides you with a forum where you can post pictures, audio files, and documents and share them with friends or classmates.