In this blog post, we will examine and summarize the meaning and history of SNS, as well as the origins and characteristics of major services.
The Meaning and History of SNS
These days, we see global hit songs by singers spread rapidly through Twitter and Facebook, follow politicians’ activities in real time on social media, and catch up with friends’ news every day. Just looking at the abundance of books on social media marketing in bookstores shows how deeply social networking services have become embedded in our lives.
First, we need to consider the essence of “social.” In the dictionary sense, “social” refers to the formation of relationships between society and its members. Humans have always lived in communities, and over time, relationships between people, groups, companies, and nations have become increasingly important. As sociologists began studying social networks, attempts to structurally analyze “relationships” followed. The convergence of this academic trend with advancements in information technology led to the emergence of online social networking services.
The spread of internet infrastructure has enabled the flow of vast amounts of data. Every day, enormous quantities of photos, short posts, and videos are shared among people, functioning like a new form of “digital mail.” Consequently, social networking services (SNS) have established themselves as platforms that help individuals build online connections, share common interests or activities, and maintain and expand their social relationships.
However, the definition of SNS is not fixed. While it began as a tool for managing personal connections, its user base and influence have expanded beyond individuals to include groups, companies, and culture as a whole. Therefore, the debate over “what exactly SNS is” stems from the fact that the functions and usage patterns of these services are constantly evolving.
Major Social Media Platforms and Their Features
Facebook is a social media platform that began in 2004 among Harvard students and has since spread worldwide. Initially, it focused on college students maintaining and expanding relationships with offline acquaintances, and as a result, it has established itself as a platform where users primarily post short updates and photos related to their daily lives and hobbies.
The main components of Facebook include the profile, friend management, and the News Feed (Timeline). The profile is a space for introducing one’s basic information, while friend management is a feature that connects trusted contacts online. The News Feed offers a significant advantage by allowing users to view posts from themselves and their friends in one place, eliminating the need to navigate to separate pages individually.
Additionally, users can finely adjust the visibility settings for posts on the Timeline—such as Public, Friends Only, or Only Me—making it easy to balance privacy management with communication. Thanks to this convenience and network effects, Facebook has become the mainstream social media platform in many regions.
Twitter began as a platform for posting short messages of around 140 characters, reflecting its name, which means “to chirp.” Its strengths lie in its ease of use—similar to mobile text messaging—and its ability to deliver information quickly.
Twitter’s core feature is “follow.” When you follow someone of interest, their posts appear on your timeline, and you can quickly spread information through retweets. Since you can follow others without their permission, the platform offers exceptional openness and virality, and there is a tendency for relatively public and current affairs-related content to be actively shared.
Cyworld
Cyworld is a service that achieved unique cultural success in South Korea. Although it did not stand out compared to similar services in its early days, it gained immense popularity after introducing personalized features such as Mini-Homepages, Minimis (avatars), and Mini-Rooms, along with a payment system called “Dotori.”
The core of Cyworld lies in “Friends” relationships and Mini-Homepages. Users form social networks through the process of sending and accepting friend requests, and they can view updates from specific friends separately. Mini-homepages served as a space for users to express their personal identity online by decorating their own space and representing themselves through Minimis.
The Dotori payment system is another distinctive feature of Cyworld. As the demand to decorate individual Mini-homepages in unique ways grew, users purchased virtual currency to acquire items and customize their spaces. In contrast, global services tend to have lower costs for customizing individual spaces due to the consistency of their platforms.
Summary and Implications
As we have seen, social networking services (SNS) are platforms based on IT technology that connect individuals’ personal information and social networks online to facilitate communication. Each platform differs in its design objectives and core functions, and these differences have a significant impact on user behavior and culture.
Facebook excels at maintaining relationships centered on offline acquaintances, Twitter at rapid information dissemination and public communication, and Cyworld at personal space customization and virtual payment-based personalization. A common feature of these services is the network effect, whereby greater user numbers generate greater value.
Social media is constantly evolving, and new services and usage patterns will continue to emerge. I hope this article helps you understand the basic concepts of social media and the differences between major services, thereby enabling you to use social media more effectively.
