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Social Networking Sites have quite a few features that are quite common, even if it is a general site or a site on targeted niche.

Basically these sites have the following features.

• Profile
• Friends List
• Messaging
• Discussion

Profile - Every social network lets you build a page for yourself. It lets you put in basic detials like name and a picture. Some sites let you put in extensive details like background, hobbies, interests, and other details based on the niche of the site. Like, if it were a professional networking site, then it would let you put in details of your education and work experience. The social networks also allow you to determine how much of your profile is shown to whom. You can usually control, what is seen by public, by friends and may be friend of friends.

Friends List - This is another of the crusial necessity of a social network sites. At the very least, it should let you identify yourself with the other members. Choose among them and establish relationships like friend, collegue, acquaintance and what not. Some sites let you explore your the list of contacts your friends have, organizing them based on interstets and also may be as mutual friends. A basic friend list forms the crux of the social networking site, and that builds the community which members keep coming back to.

Messaging - This also seems to be quite an important feature of a social network site these days. Other than the usual email, social networking sites lets users or members send private messages to each others. It also lets them leave comments at the other members scrap book, or guest book.

Discussion - As a social networking site grows, members soon require something to identify themselves by. Informal groups usually form based around hobbies and interests, but usually, the social networking sites provide for like minded members to come together at a section and discuss with in the group. This is quite common to happen in general sites, but even niche social networking sites happen to form groups amongst themselves by further subdividing the topic of interest.

These are the basic features of a social networking sites. Every other site has its own other set of differentiators.

What do you think is a requirement for a social networking site?