If you had a social networking profile back in 2003, it very well may have been on the Friendster website. This site has a ton of members then and still does today.

When we first navigated to the Friendster site, it looked like your average 'meet friends and network' website. There were lots of profile images and advertisements, a common occurrence on sites of their kind. But, we found some cool features we're sure you'll enjoy here.

• Who’s Viewed Me – keeps track of how many times your Friendster profile has been viewed
• Search for friends by name, high school, college, and more

Star Reviews thinks that Friendster is a pretty good choice if you're looking to connect with friends or meet some new people. There are over 50 million users around the globe, which is a staggering number. You can start your own blog here or search for other members who share your interests. Customer support is pretty much the same as what we've experienced on many other social networking sites: hard to come by. There are a few FAQs and email support that tends to give 'cut and paste' answers. Overall, we feel that Friendster deserves 5.0 Stars!

If you enjoy blogging or keeping an online journal, then Xanga may very well be the best social networking site for you. It got its start back in '98 and many of us have had a profile on the site at some point or another.

Xanga has definitely come a long way, in that they now host blogs and profiles from around 40 million users worldwide. They've expanded their service to include video and audio uploads, as well as images, as the 'older' Xanga didn't have all of the features we've come to expect from social networking sites.

• Xanga Mobile – Have the latest updates from your favorite members sent directly to your mobile phone.
• Eprops -Let someone know you've enjoyed their blog post!

We definitely applaud Xanga for maintaining a loyal following and sticking to its roots-blogging and journaling. It's a great way to meet likeminded individuals who have something to say! The free version of the service does have advertisements, but you can opt to pay for upgraded accounts, such as Xanga Premium, which will cost you $4 a month. Hey, if you don't like ads and want more customization features, this is a small price to pay! Customer support via email sent us a friendly and personalized response, unlike the 'canned' responses we've grown accustomed to with social networking sites. All in all, we feel they deserve 5.0 Stars!

We landed on the Ning website and immediately liked what we saw! It didn't look overly flashy or ad-driven, which we liked. We also loved their tagline 'Create Your Own Social Network for Anything.' How appealing!

This website was created by the co-founders of Netscape and Mosaic, banking on the idea to let the Average Joe or Jane 'create their own social network.' Instead of branching out and networking within a service, you're almost beginning your own social networking site!

• Ability to create forums, discussions, and blogs in your social network
• Between 80,000 and 100,000 social networks to choose from

Star Reviews loves an innovative idea, and we definitely see potential for the Ning social networking site. Members who begin their own social networks can even use 'network badges' to advertise and drive traffic back to their sites! How unique! Their service is totally free, but you'll have to overlook the advertisements. If you run a business, you may pay $4.95 a month to use your own domain name or $19.95 a month to run ads on your network. While we like the concept, we think the search functions could use improvement, as could the customer support improve its email speed times. Overall, they get 4.5 Stars!

When we came across the Bebo social networking site, we thought it looked alot like MySpace..minus the conglomeration of ads we were used to seeing.

There are advertisements here, don't get us wrong, but they don't litter the page as much as we've seen on other social networking sites. We liked the 'New Music Only on Bebo' which lets avid music fans connect with their favorite artists, similar to the Music feature on MySpace.

• Bebo Groups – A module that lets you view different school groups or other organizations
• White boards -friends and family can leave each other messages

Star Reviews thought that Bebo did a pretty good job of designing a functional social networking site. However, you are limited in your ability to connect with friends, which is a major drawback. You can find others who share your interests, though, which is a plus. The site is completely free, but you will see some ads. Customer support is available via email, but the response we got was irrelevant to the question we asked...not impressive. Overall, they receive 4.0 Stars!