Social Media describes the technologies, platforms and methods in which users share content online. It is an umbrella term that defines the various activities that integrate technology, social interaction, and the construction of words, pictures, videos, and audio.
Social Media relies on user-generated content and allows users to share, discuss and participate in the conversation. It also allows people or businesses to become both readers and publishers of content, express themselves and connect with millions of like-minded others. This leads to a democratisation of communications and information. Big time.
Blog-posts, photo-uploads, forum-posts, chat-room conversations and user-generated reviews are just some examples of the millions of conversations and exchanges expressed on thousands of websites.
Over 28 million people a month network socially on the web. That’s over half the UK population. These websites and conversations carry the weight of millions of personal recommendations, opinions and grievances. All these conversations present a huge opportunity for brands to understand and get closer to their customers. This results in a new and different marketing approach as opposed to traditional marketing -it’s a not a one way but rather a two way conversations lead in real time.
This is a list of Social Media types:
- Social Networks – Social Networks are platforms designed for users to interact with one another and allow people to create personal profiles in which they can communicate with fellow users –most often friends, family or business associates. Social Networks allow users to chat and share content – be it through text, photo or video. Currently, the most popular social networking sites include Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn and Bebo.
- Video Sharing – Video is a content medium that can be uploaded and shared online. A prime example would be YouTube. Users can comment on posted videos and increase viewer numbers through links, word of mouth and by uploading the video to other online portals/sites.
- Photo sharing – Photo sharing sites are becoming increasingly popular and allow users to upload and share their photographs or images online. These photos can then be shared across the web. A good example of a photo sharing website would be Flickr.
- Blogging/Forums – Blogs and forums are types of websites usually maintained by an individual, a business or an online community. The way in which a blog differs from a standard static website is in the regular updates or entries made. These can be made up of a multitude of things be it a running commentary, event updates, latest news or rich media. Blogs are also highly interactive and most blogs allow for readers to post comments or add to an article. Micro blogging is a more recent phenomenon allowing users to post very short text posts on a regular basis – Twitter is the best example of this.
- Social Bookmarking – Social bookmarking sites allow users to share their thoughts on content across the web. They can comment of all types of content whether it is an overall website, a blog post, a news article or even a photo or video. By publicly bookmarking this content it becomes suggested to other relevant users who in turn read and can also bookmark the item spreading it across the internet. Popular social bookmarking sites include: Digg, StumbleUpon, Reddit and del.icio.us.
A more complete list can be found here
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