So wait, what exactly is “Social Media?”

July 17, 2008

I’ve already referred to “Social Media” a few times on this blog and as it can sometimes be seen as a pretty vague term, I thought I’d expand on my definition of it.

First, a look at Traditional Media
The best way to get an idea of what Social Media is, is to first take a look at “Media” as a whole. Media can often be thought of, as Wikipedia puts it, the “tools used to store and deliver information or data.” However, what comes to most peoples’ minds is all the books, magazines, newspapers, radio, television, music, and movies that we encounter on a daily basis. These forms of traditional media are usually presented as a finished, mastered and “professional” product for you to consume.

The Web as a Platform
However, as most all of you are well aware, “Media” as as we know it, is actively being re-invented and has been for quite some time by our current Internet Revolution. Most of the traditional media companies are looking at their core businesses today and finding that they are losing ground fast. This is certainly true for television, radio, music, newspapers, and magazines.

It’s a very interesting time to be alive as we are now seeing a fundamental shift in the way that people consume their media and I think it will be very interesting to watch over the next couple of years as many of these traditional forms of media transition and adapt to the new Internet world order.

Social Media Explained
Social Media, on the other hand, is a new type of media that has fully embraced the Internet Revolution and can be found almost exclusively on the Web. The difference is that while traditional media is usually presented as a professional product for you to consume, social media is developed when people collaborate, using technology in order to connect and engage with other “like minds,” to create something with a meaning that can change every time someone else contributes to it.

Today there are all sorts of rich and powerful applications, tools, and platforms that allow anyone to become a legitimate content contributor, letting them easily share pieces of media and distribute it across a very wide audience all over the world. These websites and tools can be thought of as “Social Media Publishers.”

But the crux - or the secret sauce if you will - behind social media is the people. Some have embraced social media heavily, having started a blog, created personal and group websites, launched a podcast, etc. At it’s most basic level though, everyone (yes, including you) is now contributing to social media and can be considered “Social Media Contributors.”

Now, with all of the new sites and platforms that make the sharing of thoughts, opinions, ideas and content (photos, videos, etc) so easy, it’s possible for almost anyone to become a part of the Media.

Every time you’ve uploaded a photo or video to a social networking site, added a comment to a piece of content you have an opinion on, talked with others on a discussion board, or shared a link with friends and family, you’ve contributed to the huge amount of “Social Media” that’s available on the Web.

And the fact of the matter is, whether you like it or not, this new Social Media is occurring with or without you. So I say dive out into it, and embrace the plummet.

Comments

discussion by DISQUS

Add New Comment

blog comments powered by Disqus