I tried going to MSN Groups and it's changed to Windows Live. What happened to the Yahoo member directory? I think it's all Yahoo 360 now. Fortunately Yahoo Groups are still here because that's where we have our Long Live TechTV group with over 2,200 members. Let's hope nothing happens to Yahoo Groups. Are you having a hard time locating a friend you were once connected to in a group? Well, maybe this page can shed some light on what's going on with the classic social networking sites like Yahoo, AOL and MSN.

First of all, let's take a look at MSN Groups. When you go to groups.msn.com you'll see a notice that says, "The MSN Groups service has closed. As we first announced on October 23 2008, the MSN Groups service has closed. If you would like to create a new group, we have established a partnership with Multiply - an online group and media sharing service that is tailored to the needs of larger groups. If you would like to create a small group of less than 1000 members, please visit Windows Live Groups".

Okay, so that's all well and good, but when I clicked the link to go the groups.live.com site, it took me to the Windows Live log-in page. I signed in, and the only option I had then was to create a group. So what, there's no member directory, no group directory, nothing? Being the owner of very large Yahoo group myself, I can tell you that a person doesn't start out with a group of over a thousand members right off the bat. It takes time to build a community of that size, and that's the criteria for the new Multiply.com site.

So, needless to say, the whole GROUPS thing is a thing of the past over at MSN, which has [pretty much] been changed into "Windows Live", but how in the heck am I supposed to know where to go over there? Can we say, "CONFUSING!"? As for finding all your friends you once had on MSN, good luck. Oh yeah, and setting up your Windows Live profile? Make sure you read the HELPS section.

So now, what's going on with AOL? I did a little research here and noticed immediately that my Hometown profile no longer exist, as a matter of fact, AOL totally removed the whole section from their site. When I tried pulling up my profile page, it took me to some blog located at peopleconnectionblog.com site. This is what the post said, "Dear AOL Hometown user, We're sorry to inform you that as of Oct. 31, 2008, AOLŪ Hometown was shut down permanently. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. -- Sincerely, The AOL Hometown Team". Well, so much for that. Bye bye AOL profile!

Now, there is an upside to the AOL thing, at least it's easy to access their community section. Apparently the name is now People Connection. It appears to have a vibrant looking home page, but I didn't go very far into the site to investigate it thoroughly; but I did check out the BLOGS link, and it doesn't look as if you can set up any personal blog. When I clicked on one of the section links there, it took me off the AOL site, and that's as far as I wanted to go. You can go check it out for yourself. Who's to say? It may be a pleasant experience.

When I tried clicking on the AOL Profiles link, it took me to some site called Bebo, a Sign-In page that said, "AIM profiles are now Bebo profiles, please sign in with your AOL or AIM screen name." I refused the cookie and didn't go any further. Anyway, enough about AOL.

Well, like I said at the top of the page, fortunately Yahoo hasn't dumped on us. They may be in the News a lot with threats of takeovers and going under, but they're still alive and kicking. I'm glad too because I am a paying customer of several of Yahoo's premium services and a group owner of a rather large community. So "YiPPeee!" for Yahoo!

However, Yahoo isn't without its transitional happenings. First of all, whatever happened to the Yahoo Member Directory where you could search for profiles of your friends? When I tried going to members.yahoo.com, it redirected me to Yahoo Profiles where I could set up my Yahoo profile (once again), so I did, again. How many times do we have to migrate all over the Internet and still be doing the same thing?

After setting up my Yahoo Profile, I found a member search tool on the right side panel of my Yahoo profile page. I was able to scrounge a link to the Yahoo Member Search page. So if you're looking for ... let's say "BilleeBobbb4192706", try and get as close to the actual screen name as possible. Hey, at least Yahoo still has some kind of Member search capability. That's more than I can say for some of the other sites.

One thing I can say about Yahoo is at least they still have their Yahoo Groups section. Well, at least for now. With all that's happening with the online social networking migrations, who's to say that won't change next month? Hopefully it won't! I SO hope it won't!

So Where Are We Headed In Social Networking?

In a nutshell? Everyone is on Facebook and MySpace. Even my wife joined Facebook. Am I going to join either one of these networking sites? The answer is NO! Why?...you might ask. Because of all the hackers, spammers, and virus and trojan creators. Vicious people target large online communities like these just like they do Microsoft. Why? Because they attack more people with less effort. It's hard enough keeping my stuff secure without having to go into bad neighborhoods on the Internet and HOPE something doesn't download onto my computer just because I clicked on a link to a friend's page (these are known as "Drive-By Downloads").

When asked by friends if I have a Facebook or MySpace page, I tell them no, but I do have a Yahoo 360 page. Sure, Yahoo 360 isn't as big and "HAPPENING" as the Facebook and MySpace arenas, but it's all good for me. I do have other profile pages out there on the Web, but they're within elite circles, such as: WWE Universe (Yes, it's true, I am a WWE wrestling fan), and I do have a Twitter account where I stay in touch with friends and colleagues. I guess you could say I'm somewhat connected, but I'm just picky about the neighborhood. My main concern is, and always has been security!

I want to focus our attention on eBay for a moment. It's no secret, we've been big-time eBay sellers for years. We've cut back tremendously over the last couple years because, well to be blunt, it's been a LOT of hard work and long hours.

The main reason I'm dedicating a special little section of this page to eBay isn't because we're sellers, but rather they actually have an excellent community platform. If you go beyond the buying and selling (which is about all most people really see), eBay is a pulsating, thriving community with lots of personal interaction going on all the time. Instead of only focusing in on the e-commerce side of eBay, I challenge you to go deeper into its social network.

Out of all the online communities, when it comes to being clean, maintained, balanced, and watched over, I would have to say that eBay qualifies on all counts. They have a great Groups section, and they own the best instant messenger client available today. I know, you're asking, "Ebay has an IM?" Keep reading. You may be surprised to find out that you have it right there on your own computer.

My wife can tell you that she has learned more about the eBay business from within the eBay community than anywhere else online or offline. Much of it she had to learn on her own because we were doing eBay when hardly anyone even heard the word, but she's also taught what she's learned to thousands of people, and she did most of her teaching on the chat boards at the ebay.com site.

Now let me say, if you think you can go over there and use foul language, throw around slurs and prejudicial comments, think again. However, that's what makes eBay Groups stand out as one of the best on the Web. I guess it all depends on your cup of tea, but I appreciate the family-safe Web environments more than the cyber slums.

Also, one more thing. Have you ever wondered how to find a particular member on eBay? It's pretty easy, but not real apparent to the casual surfer. So, we're providing a link here for you to the eBay Member Search tool.

If I had to choose one instant messenger client as being the best, I would have to go Skype all the way. Why did I put Skype in this special little eBay section? Because eBay purchased Skype for approximately $2.6 billion in up-front cash and eBay stock. Someone had faith in this little piece of software!

So what makes Skype the best? Quality! Quality in its video performance, its audio, sharing files, and you can voice conference with more than just one person. I love and use the Yahoo messenger a lot, but you can only voice chat with one person at a time.

Take about 15 minutes and download Skype and get it set up the way you want it. If you didn't know anything about it before now, you'll be glad I recommended it to you. As with any instant messenger, take the extra time to go through all the Preferences and shut off any of the bells and whistles you don't want, or it will quickly become a nuisance.

We're providing you some links below where you can go and download a few different instant messengers (yes, they're all FREE! ~~ and they're SAFE, otherwise we wouldn't even put a link to them here on our website).

But first, we want to give you some tips before you download anything:

• Only use the Custom setting BEFORE you install ANYTHING. That way you can refuse any additional software you don't want installed. UNcheck the boxes!
• Go into your computer's Control Panel and make sure you have your sound and video configured BEFORE you try configuring it inside your instant messenger.
• Make absolutely sure you configure the Preferences or Options before you ever start using the client.
• Turn off the "Anyone can contact me" feature if it has one. Just like your email inbox can get hammered with SPAM, it happens with IMs as well.

If you do these four things FIRST, you should be alright. Now, onto actually downloading the software itself. If you have a firewall, be sure to allow these clients access to the Internet, or they won't work. Have fun, but most of all -- BE SAFE!