Still, the distinction is useful for understanding how individuals perceive their
own privacy with regard to the networked platforms they inhabit and the publics
they wish to network with, and this analysis pertains to social network sites. As
boyd (2006) notes, the norm for early adopters of Friendster did not comply with the
expectation that they would simply link to their offline friends. Not until this
practice became challenging for privacy did users handle their information and
friend selection more cautiously. Whether maintaining offline relationships or
initiating new ones, the wide range of web services that fall under the heading of
“social network site” at their core present the opportunity for individuals to (1)
construct a public or semi-public profile within a bounded system, (2) articulate a
list of other users with whom they share a connection, and (3) view and traverse
their list of connections and those made by others within the system. (boyd and
Ellison 2007 p. 211). This chapter will observe this definition in discussing privacy
and the self in the context of social network sites.