social network

noun

1. A network of personal or business contacts, built and updated by social networking (human interactions of all types); (now especially, since 2000s) such a network as facilitated by the Internet via social networking (digital services that aid it).

   “The social network of interest in this volume is the personal social network that is centered on a particular child. Definitions of social network draw attention to the ties or linkages that connect individuals (and sometimes groups or institutions)—linkages that can be conduits for diverse resources.”

   “Civicizing public spaces is an antidote to marginalization and exclusion, and it requires that we restore linkages between municipalities, social networks, cultural institutions and communities.”

2. A service allowing users to manage and interact with their network of friends or contacts on the Internet. (Called a social network application in precise usage that reserves social network to its original sense.)

   “The trends in recent years have focussed on online social networks, in which the social network is enabled as an internet application. Some examples of such networks are Facebook, LinkedIn and MySpace.”