Discussion Forums
As the name hints, this type of social network allows users to start a discussion, ask questions and get answers from the community. Such forums can be specialized or have overall direction.
Examples: Quora, Reddit
Content Sharing Networks
Content sharing networks are a great place to search for creative ideas and inspiration. They allow users to save links to interesting content, organize them in folders and share them with the community.
Examples: Pinterest, Flipboard
Consumer Review Networks
Users of such networks can share their reviews of companies, brands, products, cafes, restaurants, etc. Consumer review networks are a valuable source for businesses, as in the case of positive reviews, they can expand their audience and get new customers. There are numerous review platforms dedicated to restaurants, hotels, and other traveling destinations.
Example: Yelp, TripAdvisor
Blogging and Publishing Networks
Today, users don’t need to create a website from scratch to create a personal blog. Such platforms as Medium allow starting a blog and sharing articles.
Examples: Medium, Twitter
Relationship networks
This type of network is also known as dating apps. Their main goal is to help users meet new people and find dates.
Examples: Tinder, Badoo
Interest-Based Networks
Interest-based networks are designed to unite people by their interests, occupations, hobbies, and other areas of common interest.
Examples: LinkedIn
Anonymous Social Networks
Anonymous networks allow users to post content and share videos while keeping their identities private.
Examples: Whisper, Ask.fm
Below you can see a table with app examples for each app group, some key statistics and features related to each of them.