This is a forum for discussion based on social networking posts from IT @ Intel blogs.

Post 1: Social Networking Inside Your Browser

Excerpt:
For the last month or so, I’ve been using a browser plug-in from StumbleUpon. It’s a nice little toolbar (+connected to its associated website+), available for both Firefox* and Internet Explorer*, that creates social networking right inside your browser.
Usually when I think of social networking
I’m thinking about places like myspace*, Facebook*, LinkedIn*, and the
like. They are websites you visit, log in, and start interacting with
people and provided content. You can do that via many built-in
functions like blogs, forums, bulletin posts, or even embedded
applications. Personally, I will admit that I’m addicted to the Scrabulous*
game on Facebook. It has given me the opportunity to virtually interact
with people from around the world who have a liking for “word art”. If
I hop over to myspace, one of my favourite areas to interact with is
music. I’ve found numerous independent and emerging artists who offer
free musical downloads, and I have then gone on to make purchases of
their albums if I like what I hear. The ability to follow that
6-Degrees of Separation to see where it takes me is pretty interesting.
But again, these are all websites within my browser, and I’m limited to
what those sites provide me, and I’m also limited to who else has
chosen to create an account on those same sites.

Post 2: You have received a new friend request from Heath

Excerpt:
Uh oh…not another one of those messages from a spam bot on myspace* or
facebook*. How many of those do you get every day - none if you haven’t
joined the bandwagon of social networking. Whether it’s myspace,
facebook, or even things like sixdegrees from years past, there is a
little bit of internet for everyone.
I’m a fan of social networking - having been one of the original
joiners on sixdegrees when it first started. Back then you were
basically chatting online with the same people you were chatting with
offline. They were coworkers, friends, or family members who then
linked you to their coworkers, friends, or family members, until you
had a network of people you didn’t know going out into the Nth
dimension.
Little has changed.

Let's get things started with a discussion about social networking tools that you have found effective. One of my recent posts at IT @ Intel was about the StumbleUpon toolbar for your browser. This type of plug-in offers the ability to "stumble" across any number of websites across the planet. You are linked in to the page, the person who created the page, the person who found the page, the people who liked the page, and all of the pages those people subsequently liked. It's exponential social networking.

What tools have you found successful in your search to expand your social network? For the moment (unless someone wants to start that side of the thread), let's talk about tools/techniques, vs. websites (i.e. Facebook, myspace, LinkedIn, etc.).