Getting to know Web 2.0 networkers

When it comes to social networking no two users in the same, a new book on the risks and opportunities of the Web 2.0 world argues.

According to a recent Financial Times review of Groundswell: Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies by Charlene Li and Josh Bernof, there are four types of users.

These include: creators - people who develop their own content; critics - comment posters; joiners - people who sign up for online communities; and spectators - people who only read and watch.

Li and Bernof say companies need to understand which of these categories the majority its audience fits into before launching a social networking site.

For example, 'alpha mums' are generally 'spectators'; accordingly any website aimed at this group should be geared towards users who like to read rather than create content themselves.