Current Electronic Social Networks as Catalysts for Evolution in Research & Education

This paper is constituted by several complimentary dimensions, as follows: The first dimension is a short review of the current applications of electronic social networks and an initial categorization of the international development trends, in tertiary education and research. The second dimension categorizes and evaluates the main tools and systems used for the construction and development of electronic social networks, and it evaluates and proposes the most important current selections, using a series of standard criteria found in the literature.