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Social Media - One Man's Definition!

Guest post by: Daniel Lacey

Article Overview: The definition of social media is that these are the foremost internet based tools to disseminate and exchange information among people. It is the term used to describe social interaction activities using computer, web and telecommunications technology. It differentiates itself from industrial media by virtue of the fact that the cost of the tools necessary to participate is fairly low and allows all who want to access information or disseminate it, to do so relatively cheaply. On the other hand, examples of industrial media are printing presses, radio and television. Industrial media can be considered funnels that facilitate access to, and movement of huge quantities of information, whereas a website is the information container. Narrowly focused websites can be seen as exits from the vast space of industrial media channels. Further....

Social Media - One Man's Definition!

The definition of social media is that these are the foremost internet based tools to disseminate and exchange information among people. It is the term used to describe social interaction activities using computer, web and telecommunications technology. It differentiates itself from industrial media by virtue of the fact that the cost of the tools necessary to participate is fairly low and allows all who want to access information or disseminate it, to do so relatively cheaply. On the other hand, examples of industrial media are printing presses, radio and television. Industrial media can be considered funnels that facilitate access to, and movement of huge quantities of information, whereas a website is the information container. Narrowly focused websites can be seen as exits from the vast space of industrial media channels. Further, those websites that are community focused also facilitate internet marketing activities such as lead acquisition and permission marketing.

The principal properties possessed by social media are range, accessibility and usability. Let me expand on each of these below:

1. Range - This is the ability to communicate with the global audience now available on the World Wide Web.
2. Accessibility - Social media tools are available to most everyone with a good internet connection and access to a computer and the cost to have this access is very reasonable. There are also many free tools available on the internet which facilitates involvement of the masses.
3. Usability - Social media does not require any really specialized skills and/or training. Any skills that have to be acquired are simple to learn and you can be good to go virtually instantaneously.

Examples of social media come in many forms such as internet forums, weblogs, wikis, and others. The technologies involved include email, instant messaging, music and picture sharing. Currently, the major social media applications are Facebook, MySpace, Google groups, Wikipedia and many others, with the number and variety of these groups growing daily. In addition to these media applications there are related clubs which have sprung up.

It is interesting to note that various groups on the internet involved with social media have developed their own sets of disclosure policies which are designed to govern the conduct of their participants. The principal groups concerned in this movement are the Blog council, IBM Social Computing Guidelines, HP Code of Conduct, and The Greteman Group.

There is no doubt that social media will continue to evolve as more people join in this activity, the technology is advanced and, entrepreneurs find more ways to profit from it.

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Article Tags: internet marketing, sales funnels, social interaction, social media



Related Forum Posts
Re: Kevin needs "social glue" ideas - Hi, I like the idea of "10 items that could act as "social glue" because I am an internet marketer. But I agree with the rest that the 10 recent post is nice. Maybe we should open up a new section in the forums on Social Media...or Social Media Marketing. I will tell you that the world is about 1 1/2 behind when it comes to understanding social media. Building a section now will put EvanCarmichael.com is a great position a year down the road when people realize Social Media can produce more traffic than SEO. Jeff
Re: Kevin needs "social glue" ideas - [quote="WebBizIdeas.com":gvtxsu7g]Hi, I like the idea of "10 items that could act as "social glue" because I am an internet marketer. But I agree with the rest that the 10 recent post is nice. Maybe we should open up a new section in the forums on Social Media...or Social Media Marketing. I will tell you that the world is about 1 1/2 behind when it comes to understanding social media. Building a section now will put EvanCarmichael.com is a great position a year down the road when people realize Social Media can produce more traffic than SEO. Jeff[/quote:gvtxsu7g] Hi Jeff, Thanks for the suggestion. Why don't you start a new post (with a poll) to see if there's enough interest in your idea for a social media section?
Re: UPDATES: New Campaign! New Layout! New Ideas! - GT - thanks for the FYI - I'm not sure if we'll put a link back. Something to consider though! Trent - the new category is "Social Network and Media" which was put in to compliment the Online Businesses category that currently exists. Overall the new categories are: - Looking For, Networking and Events - Review My... - Social Network and Media - Brags and Rants These came as a result of Ringo doing research on other forums and thinking about what could be improved on ours to give a better experience for everyone. I hope you enjoy them! David, I'm looking forward to reading your Brag / Rant!
Re: Marketing 2.0 - What Are Your Thoughts - Hi Shri, Thanks for posting this. I also read it and I believe Social Media is here to stay, until the next best thing comes up. Social media proved to be useful for me many times and I think everyone should use it for their business.
Re: Social Media Marketing Ignorance - [quote="vbn411":7qciluxl]Social Media is space that you have to be in to succeed in our current climate. People are going to be discussing your brand / product whether you like it or not, so you might as well join the conversation and add value. [/quote:7qciluxl] I think that's probably one of the most realistic way to think about it. There's no real textbook way of understanding Social Media, it's the networks of people and their interactions that will exist with or without your input. As for Jennifer, You can always have 2 Facebook pages. Many people do. There is also LinkedIn, which is like a professional networking version of Facebook. The only way to know is to try it.


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