ABSTRACT
Online social networks or social network sites (often simply termed SNS) have attracted widespread attention among users, journalists and researchers in recent years. Successful platforms like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn have contributed to an expectation that the full potential of Web 2.0, the interactive, user-generated Internet is finally coming true. The success of social network sites indicates that Internet users integrate the technology in their daily lives but also prefer to interact online with those they already know, rather than forming new acquaintances online (see for instance, Lampe, Ellison and Steinfield 2006).
