Online Social and Business Networking Communities

DERI – Digital Enterprise Research Institute Online Social and Business Networking Communities Ina O’Murchu, John G. Breslin, Stefan Decker DERI Technical Report 2004-08-11 August 2004 DERI Galway University Road Galway IRELAND www.deri.ie DERI Innsbruck Technikerstrasse 13 A-6020 Innsbruck AUSTRIA DERI – Digital Enterprise Research Institute www.deri.at Online Social and Business Networking Communities Ina O’Murchu, John G. Breslin, Stefan Decker Digital Enterprise Research Institute, National University of Ireland, Galway, University Road, Galway, Ireland {ina.omurchu@deri.ie, john.breslin, stefan.decker}@deri.ie http://www.deri.ie/ Abstract. The ability to send and retrieve information over the Web using traditional and ubiquitous computing methods has changed the way we work and live. Web portals, as content aggregators, act as gateways to pertinent and up-to-date information. Social networking portals are a recent development, allowing a user to create and maintain a network of close friends or business associates for social and/or professional reasons. The main types of social network sites will be classified, and an evaluation will be performed in terms of features and functionality. 1 Introduction In recent years, the Internet and especially the Web has enabled a communication revolution: the ability to send and retrieve information everywhere has changed the way we work and live. ...