Social Networking - the #1 buzz-word to describe something that has existed for centuries, social groups. A powerful and influential process that occurs naturally in every culture and organization. Yet many organizations that could benefit from Web based social group tools operate without them. This article tells why and offers a solution to the issue.

Worldwide access and popularity are key assets of open public Internet social groups. They can also be a great liability - limited privacy control - thus limiting their value to private companies and groups who routinely deal with proprietary / confidential information. Even if all company employees were LinkedIN.com members and understood how to create limited group discussions - I doubt any company would allow discussion of strategic plans or a potential competitive acquisition. Why risk exposing such Private information?

The highly popular Social Networking group sites (i.e. Myspace.com, Facebook.com, LinkedIn.com and Twitter) each have a unique style in their approach to group dynamics. A group being defined as "two or more individuals who are connected to each other by social relationships." Yet these social group sites contain common attributes:

1. Simple / Affordable -they are FREE, only take 5-10 minutes to join and are used by a wide range of ages and demographics.
2. Speed - perform communication to 1 person or 1000s with digital speed.  A Beta test system called Google WAVE can show you what someone is typing before the message is even finished!
3. Declared relationships - members declare who and who will not be in "direct relationship" (aka friend, connect, follower) with them.
4. Content sharing - varies by network, but can range from a simple 1 word message to simultaneous viewing of live event videos.
5. Scalable - your network and it's content can expand or shrink in size at any rate, without worry about buying new equipment, faster servers or acquiring different software versions.

Administration and PRIVACY are attributes of real concern to many when speaking of large public open social networks. Ironically worldwide access and openness, the hallmark ASSETS of popular Social Networks - are also their ACHILLES HEEL for privacy.

The rules for maximum electronic privacy are simple; secure your content and inform the fewest people necessary that it exists. How do you do that for your group, yet still gain the 5 major Internet advantages listed above?

Answer -use a private Domain Name and Group Tools that can be limited to operate WITHIN that private domain. Aside from being a Web address allowing people to locate you, your company or organization on the Internet, a Domain Name naturally defines a realm of administrative autonomy, authority, and control - crucial for effective privacy control. The large public Social Networks like MySpace, Facebook, Linked IN and Twitter are domains themselves; they CAN NOT be limited to operating within a private domain.

"Yahoo Groups" (and Google Groups) are examples of generic public Social Group tools. Yahoo has established one of the world's largest collections of online discussion boards. A Web based communication tool , that's a hybrid between an email list and a threaded internet forum that has many features. Members choose whether to receive individual, daily digest or Special Delivery e-mails, or they can choose to read Group posts on the Group's web site.

A Yahoo Group can be created with public or member-only access but it CAN NOT be provided the administration and privacy protections available to a private Domain Name. However the power of "Google Groups" social network tools are now available with Google Apps and www.GAFYD.net.

GAFYD.net (Google Apps For Your Domain via Net) is all about placing the power of Google Apps within the boundary of your Private Domain. So with "Google Groups" operating inside your private Domain, you still get the 5 common attributes (listed earlier) of Internet based tools and establish Maximum Privacy.

Best Regards, TOM