“Social networks aren’t about Web sites. They’re about experiences.” Mike DiLorenzo

The more I read this quote to myself the more my brain starts to get frazzled. It sort of reminds me of the aged old question “What came first, the chicken or the egg? I mean, without the websites there would be no online social networks and vice versa. People would have to make connections in the real world. OMG can you imagine that!

I don’t think the quote is really insinuating that the websites are not needed. I think it is questioning the importance of the websites. After reading the quote 328 times, I am still not leaning towards agreeing or disagreeing with Mike DiLorenzo’s quote. The websites are a necessity. It’s what happens after landing on that website that produces the experiences. Websites are the cornerstones of the social networks. 

                                   What is a social network anyway?

                                         

An online brand presence for a social media website is obviously very important.  It also has to be easy to use and provide the tools that produce the social network experience. The websites contains the blogs, pictures, videos, comments, instant messaging etc. How would the social network ever evolve without it also being about the websites?

I think if you asked people what a social network is, they would name the most common social media websites such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. This now makes me lean towards disagreeing with the original quote and I feel that social networks are definitely about the websites. The websites are the hubs connecting us all to social networks. Experiences come from our interactions on these social media websites.

Here is an interesting link about "Sharing Experiences Through Social Networking"

References:
 

Greg Wyshynski (2011, October 29). “Social networks aren’t about Web sites. They’re about experiences.” Mike DiLorenzo. Inside the NHL's social media innovations, growing pains. Retrieved July 3, 2012, from http://ca.sports.yahoo.com/nhl/blog/puck_daddy/post/Inside-the-NHL-s-social-media-innovations-growi?urn=nhl,199092

Wikipedia (2012, July 5). Social networking service. Social networking service. Retrieved July 5, 2012, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_networking_service

Century Link (2012, April 19). Social Networking in Plain English . Social Networking in Plain English . Retrieved July 3, 2012, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=xTDyqDaBDdk

Peter Marino (2011, August 16). Sharing Experiences Through Social Networking. Retrieved July 4, 2012, from http://www.searchmarketingstandard.com/sharing-experiences-through-social-networking