About.me 

A simple, free and easy to use platform that allows you to create a personal 'About Me' page. 

Bebo 

First launched in 2005, Bebo was once the most widely used networking site in the UK. After failing to compete with rival sites Facebook and Twitter, Bebo have now returned with a smartphone messaging app that according to them, makes your regular text messaging app look... well, boring. 

Couchsurfing 

A hospitality exchange and social networking site that aims to provide travellers with the opportunity to share homes and experiences with people all over the world. 

DeviantArt 

DeviantArt is considered the largest online social community for artists and art enthusiasts. "We are the movement for the liberation of creative expression". 

Exploroo 

Exploroo is a social network service where people blog about there travel stories around the world. 

Facebook 

Facebook launched in 2004 and has now become one of the largest social media networks available with over 1.4 billion users worldwide. 

Google+

Google is focussing on one account for everything and Google+ allows you to add people to circles and host video conferencing or 'hangouts'. 

hi5 

hi5 is a social network that allows you to meet friends and connect through gaming and related interests. 

Instagram

Instagram is a photo sharing social networking site. Users can apply filters to the images and help other users find their images by using hashtags in the description box. Instagram also allows users to upload videos that last up to 15 seconds. 

Jaiku 

A former online microblogging service that Google shut down in January 2012. 

Kiwibox 

Initially formed as a teen orientated world, Kiwibox allows you to find friends and exchange experiences in a magazine style. 

LinkedIn

LinkedIn pride themselves for being the "World's Largest Professional Network" and is mainly used for business networking. 

Myspace 

Between 2005 - 2008, Myspace was the largest social networking site in the world. Music was a clear differentiator and the app allowed users to play Myspace radio channels. 

Ning 

Ning allows you to cultivate your own community of fans on your very own custom social media platform. 

Open Diary

One of the first blogging community platforms, Open Diary, or OD, began in 1997 and closed in February 2014.  

Pinterest 

Pinterest is a visual discovery tool that allows users to 'pin' images to 'boards' and keep them on one account online. Because of this, registration is required, but Pinterest is becoming a leading platform for blog traffic and inspiration. 

Quora 

*Not technically a social media platform.* Quora is a question and answer site where the submissions are edited and answered by the online community. 

Reddit 

*Not technically a social media platform.* Reddit is considered an entertainment, social networking and news site where content is submitted by the online community. 

StumbleUpon 

Described as a discovery engine, StumbleUpon allows users to explore web content, rate their favourite articles, games or other category and discover new items personalised to their tastes. 

Twitter 

An up to the minute micro blogging service that enables users to send and read tweets that are 140 characters or less. Other features include the @ symbol, hash tags (#) and trending. 

Uplike 

"The best way to share and discover interests in a simple manner." 

Vox 

Vox was a former blogging service that claimed to be more streamlined and easier to use than other blogging tools available with no rivals until the introduction of Tumblr. It closed in September 2013. 

weRead 

Formally known as iRead, weRead is an online community of book enthusiasts. 

XING 

A social networking software suitable for professionals. Used by over 200 countries, the platform is available in a range of languages including Italian and Korean. 

Yookos 

This full grown social networking site allows you to play online games for free, make friends and more. 

Zooppa 

A global social networking site inspired by the principles of crowdsourcing to launch user generated advertising projects.