Question

how is e group different from social networking sites​

Answer 1

Social Networks:

Social networks, in the simplest of terms, are much like your offline social networks. We all have groups of friends, relatives, coworkers and acquaintances that we speak to and see on a regular basis.Social networks, in the simplest of terms, are much like your offline social networks. We all have groups of friends, relatives, coworkers and acquaintances that we speak to and see on a regular basis.

Online Communities/Groups:

The biggest difference between social networks and online communities is that communities form out of groups of people from all different backgrounds and histories. From a social and anthropological standpoint, these are the most interesting to study because they consist of people who probably have never met yet are held together by a common interest or goal. People join online communities for all sorts of reasons - perhaps they share a preference for similar things or a similar lifestyle.

Furthermore, just about anything can bring a group of people together but it's what makes each person stay that is polarizing. There are two things that compel online community members to stick around:

1. The urge to contribute to the community

2. The perception of benefitting from the community

In addition to compartmentalizing and retaining groups of relative strangers, online communities can also overlap with each other and even nest within one another. Is it easy to see now why Yelp, Wikipedia, Follr, Digg, Flickr, blogs and YouTube are online communities? People who love the dining experience congregate on Yelp. Those who are proponents of the internet-dictionary-search engine movement use Wikipedia. Anyone can create an online community for their topic or interest on platforms like Follr. In short, these are online platforms where people with a common interest or purpose interact.

In summary, the biggest difference in social networks and online communities is the origination of the connection. If it was made offline, likely you're dealing with a social network. If the connection was made online, that's definitive of an online community