Social Media has become one of those buzzwords that everybody assumes everybody knows about. However, the truth is that not everyone knows what social media is, or at least not all the different varieties of it. So, here’s a basic rundown of what social media is and what it means.
First, we should cover what Web 2.0 is. Web 2.0 is a term for web applications that contain aspects of collaboration and information sharing. If you remember the way websites used to be back in the 1990′s, they were generally static pages without much opportunity for interaction. Nowadays you are able to comment on and even create content on websites, which is obviously a great step forward for the medium. This is why it’s called Web 2.0; it’s the next step in the development of the web. Despite the name, it does not actually mean there was some big update to websites at the time; it’s just a slang term.
Social media is perhaps the cutting edge of the Web 2.0 ideal. In social media people can have complicated conversations with hundreds of people in both real time and at their leisure. If you remember Marshall McLuhan back in the sixties, he said that new media will eradicate both time and distance. It seems that Facebook is actually bringing his ideas to life.
Social media is more than just Facebook and Twitter, however. Here are a bunch of different social media types you should become familiar with.
Social News: This includes websites like Reddit, Propeller, and Digg. Here people vote on articles and comment on them. It’s a really good way to keep in touch with the newest trends. Social Slideshow Sharing: This is Slideshare. This lets you share your PowerPoint files and is a great way to share you presentations.
Social Bookmarking: This includes sites like Del.icio.us, Simpy, and Blinklist. Here users interact by searching through websites bookmarked by other people as well as bookmarking their own websites for other people to share.
Social Video and Photo Sharing: This includes sites like YouTube, Google Video, and Flickr. Here people upload and comment on videos or photos. This is especially great for creating videos to share with friends.
Social Networking: The biggest one in the US is Facebook, but there really are dozens. Chances are if you think “social media” you will be thinking of social networking.
Wikis: A lot of people have heard of Wikipedia, but not too many think of it as a social media site. Since it involves user generated content and a collaborative community, it really does fit the bill.
Don’t worry if you do not know or understand everything listed here. You should focus on the ones that look the most interesting to you and try to master it.
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