Social networking is a term used to describe online arenas where subscribers can share files, discuss issues, or just provide a forum where people can meet online. Facebook and MySpace are two of the largest social networking sites with hundreds of millions of subscribers. Many social networking sites are based around a theme or a common interest.

A subscriber to a site will normally have a personal area where they can enter their details and also where they can upload files to share with the whole group or just with their buddies. Sites will often integrate personal messaging and instant messaging for live chat. There is no fixed format, but they can include discussion forum, blogs, catalogued document libraries and for example could point to a FURL group offering information sharing platforms not included under the generic social networking platform options.