The idea of social networking goes back to the dawn of human history, but it is a much more recent phenomenon when referring to the top social networking sites online. People tend to think of a few sites right away when the term is mentioned. The truth is that there are hundreds of networking sites out there, but only a few dominate the field. In fact, the top few do better than then all of those hundreds of hopefuls combined. Here is a quick rundown on those sites at the top of the list.

There was a time when MySpace was the premier site for social networking. It could be said that it was the reason for the coining of the term, and that all sites that came after it were mere imitators. Unfortunately, it has lost some of its base to Facebook, but it is still a force to be reckoned with. It is still near the top of the list though, and if you are looking to network, then setting up a MySpace account is a must. Generally speaking, it has a sharper focus on those who have a common interest in various media and entertainment.

MySpace allows people to post on each other's pages, and this is where the bulk of the networking takes place. For this reason, you should think of it as more than just a hangout for music fans and film buffs. It can also be used as an effective marketing vehicle if you know how to take advantage of the opportunity.

Twitter also qualifies as one of the top social networking sites, and has made a big splash in many ways. It seems as though everybody is "tweeting", and it is becoming a major part of some people's lives. One of the things that makes Twitter unique is that all posts must be 140 characters or less. On the surface, such a limitation would seem to be a hindrance to marketing. However, the truth is that Twitter makes for an excellent addition to any marketing campaign. While it may be next to impossible to express your entire marketing message in a few characters, you can certainly get people interested in clicking a link to your site.

Now we come to the behemoth that is known as Facebook. Every so often something new comes along online that changes everything. Facebook is one of those things. People are playing games, chatting, posting, sharing, connecting, finding old friends, and much more. From a marketing standpoint, Facebook is pure gold for any business that gets it. Not only are the people behind Facebook making a lot of money, but plenty of savvy marketers are using to generate more online sales than ever before.

A few more places that could be considered as top social networking sites are LiveJournal, Flickr and Digg. Each of these has its own advantages, but they would all make good additions to an overall marketing strategy.