A social network site is a web-based service where people create profiles, list their connections to other users, and view or navigate those connections. The defining idea is that the service makes a social network visible—not simply that it helps people meet strangers.
What defines a social network site?
In their influential 2007 definition, researchers danah boyd and Nicole B. Ellison describe social network sites as web-based services that let people:
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- Create a profile that is public or semi-public within a bounded system.
- Articulate connections to other users in that system.
- View or navigate connection lists—their own and those made by other users.
The service’s connection labels and the reasons people connect can vary. A connection called a “friend,” for example, does not necessarily mean a close friend in everyday life. boyd and Ellison’s 2007 article sets out this three-part framework.
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People commonly use “social network site” and “social networking site” interchangeably. boyd and Ellison preferred “social network site” because “networking” can suggest initiating relationships, often with strangers. Their definition instead emphasizes making existing social connections visible. As they put it, “What makes social network sites unique is not that they allow individuals to meet strangers, but rather that they enable users to articulate and make visible their social networks.”
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How can you tell whether a service fits the definition?
Use the three features as a practical checklist:
- Can users create public or semi-public profiles within the service?
- Can they identify or list connections to other users?
- Can they view or navigate their own connections and those of others?
A communication service may have social features without meeting all three criteria. Its classification depends on how its features work; the definition alone does not establish a current, platform-by-platform taxonomy.
Is the definition universally agreed?
No single boundary is established for every service. The 2007 formulation is influential, but scholars have debated both its terminology and how well any fixed definition fits a changing category. A 2008 response questioned the preference for “social network site” over the more familiar “social networking site” (the response). In a 2013 chapter, Ellison and boyd revisited how the field had evolved and noted the difficulty of defining services as they proliferate and change (chapter information).
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