Social networking is arguably becoming one of the most important and popular marketing tools. Beneficial to both businesses and individuals alike - it has never been easier or cheaper to network or promote yourself, your business, or your product.

With millions of people hopping on the social networking bandwagon, interesting socioeconomic trends are beginning to emerge. New research says that the social networking platform you choose says a lot about your status as an individual and that certain status groups tend to join the same network as others in their status group. It’s becoming a virtual rivalry similar to those in fashion, friendship, or status cliques.

As mentioned in a recent Vancouver Sun article by Misty Harris, My Space users are described as “Geeks, freaks, queers, gangstas and emos and typically come from lower income families and are expected to get jobs right after graduating from grade 12.” Interestingly, users of Facebook are classified very differently. Those that use Facebook are “Goodie-two-shoes, jocks, and cool kids.” Statistics show that Facebook users typically come from “families who emphasize education and going to college.”

These trends also reflect annual family income levels. According to Comscore, “Nearly 50 percent of Facebook users live in households in which the annual income is higher than $75,000 US. Less than one-third of My Space users fall into the same income bracket.”

You know the Internet is going crazy when social networking sites begin to create class divides! John Craft, a professor of mass communication at Arizona State University says: “People tend to self-reflect. While everybody wants to move to a better neighborhood, you still tend to associate people who share common traits.”

In conclusion, it seems that the wealthy prefer simple and clean aesthetics, while those of the lower income strata prefer the flashy and highly customizable elements of MySpace.

Whatever your opinion may be, social divides such as these create interesting ways to dig deep and further segment market research data.