Portugal

Online social networks are mainly used by individuals for amusement and professional linkage in Portugal, a country of 10.7 million that shoulders with Spain on its northern and eastern borders and looks out over the Atlantic Ocean on its west and south. Considering social networking as a form of connection based on specific types of interests or interdependencies, one could say that in Portugal, it is thought to be a new form of socialization, a social platform of virtual friendships that is boosted online by approaching others within the connections of a primary group.

Online networks are built upon prior face-to-face relations. Younger generations have the opportunity to broaden their connections and make comments and to structure and develop social activities from the real world while at home or on the move; older generations find the opportunity to reestablish connections from their schools, universities, or former workplaces that have been lost in time. Most profiles in Portugal online social networks were influenced by a friend's invitation to join. In most cases, there was no specific intention: enthusiasm, along with the possibility to get in touch, stay updated, and achieve group integration were crucial to creating a social profile, using technology to improve social skills.

[Page 716]Organizations of all kinds use Portuguese social networks to communicate with different publics and promote their products or services. In this sense, branding uses social networking to approach people and to have them bond through the brand profile. The objective is to establish strong ties between consumers: friends, followers, and others who, by the invitation of their friends, get to know the brand, the company, the product, or the service provided. Online branding is creating an infinite network of interaction; the strategy is to evangelize through these connections, having the audience working for the brand and promoting its image and content, while associating the brand to each social profile.

Traditional media have also used social networks to connect with their audience, enlarging it through the ties that friends establish, using these profiles as an alternative platform of communication, and offering instant updates and appealing content.