I have been making efforts to explain the scope of social networking to many of my clients recently so decided that I would take the time to create a visual representation of the online “sociosphere” as I see it.

I’m hoping that this layout will help ease the process of understanding the inter connections between all the different social groupings on the internet and show the extent to which one can develop their online social media presence, if they so wish.

Of course, this wont be to everyone’s liking or indeed fit in with everyone’s schedule, channels or target groups, but this is part of the beauty of the social media and networking. It is so interlinked, so forgiving and can be so rewarding that we can pick and choose where we are present, how we present ourselves and when we are present without  being subjected to penalties, aside from missing out on the latest information or feedback!

Of course, like most things, the more effort you put in and the more involved you are the more you get out as interaction helps grow your network and open new doors and opportunities.

Social Media Map

Check out the Social Media Networking Map

How the social media map may work

To understand or explain this map begin at the visitor and choose any dotted line in any direction.

Predominantly on the left side are the associates and friends of the visitor, split into 3 groups but all possibly inter-linked. Though associated they may or may not be directly connected to the visitor.

On the right side are the mediums of the social network (a small selection but some of the more prominent) which are all directly related to your blog by the population of your content or by receiving theirs. As shown these mediums also have the potential to be interconnected directly but the end result will always lead to your blog itself.

As you create content in an effort to reach that visitor it will have to pass through any one, multiple or potentially, all of these mediums to reach the final destination and begin the return journey of bringing the visitor to you to interact with your blog. This can all occur in milliseconds.

The aim may be then to repeat the process within the groups that the visitor is associated with to grow and nurture more interested visitors who will continue the process and maintain the momentum.

This is why it is essential that you aim to achieve quality content on your blog as if the information is not engaging or of interest then the process will only serve to frustrate the visitor and the viral effect will slow dramatically or stop altogether.

Feedback

I would be very interested in feedback and comments on this and if anyone should like a copy of the original artwork (done in Adobe Illustrator CS3 v13.0.0) would be more than happy to send it through or a copy in another format. Just add a comment in this thread and I will get back to you.  If enough people want it I will post a link to allow download via FTP.