Social Media

So what is social media?

Social media is the use of web based and mobile technologies which allow the users to turn communication in to an interactive dialogue. This can be a one to one or one to many discourse. It is a forum where anyone can create what is referred to as user generated content and share this. Unlike broadcast communication, which pushes information out to people and is one way, users can engage in conversation through social media tools, thus creating a two way dialogue. Safco (2010) descibes social media as the media we use to be social. 

Web 2.0… The Machine is Us/ing Us

Michael Wesch teaches Digital Ethnography at Kansas University. This video helps to explain what Web 2.0 means and how it is not only a means of linking information, but is enabling people to be linked who can then share and collaborate online.

 

Social Media in Plain English

This video created by Lee Lefever at Commoncraft explains in simple terms what social media is.

The Conversation Prism

This Conversation Prism infographic was created by Brian Solis and Jesse Thomas and is a great way to visually see the huge array of just some of social media tools there are available.