Social media is an instrument of communication.  Social media allows people and brands to communicate and share information via the web. Like on the radio or in print, the information shared is needed and necessary. I am speaking through a professional lens, of course.

In Web 2.0 terms, this would be a website that allows others not just to give you information, but interact with you while giving you that information. This interaction can be as simple as asking for your opinions, providing a review, or letting you vote on an article.  Or it can be more complicated as a company recommending their product to you based on the ratings of other people with similar interests. Or, based on previous websites you’ve recently visited. That’s where it gets a little deeper & we’ll save that for another blog post.

Now that we’ve worked through the question, “What is social media,” we can move on to social media websites and what they are all about.

Here are a few examples of social media websites:

YouTube -interact by sharing photos/videos and commenting on user submissions

Facebook – interact by adding friends, commenting on profiles, joining group discussions and creating events

Flickr – interact by sharing photos/videos and commenting on user submissions

Digg – interact by voting for specific articles and leaving comments

Instagram – interact by sharing photos and short videos and leaving comments

LinkedIn – interact with other professionals by connecting, sharing professional links, company information and displaying your experience and digital resume

These websites are not the only social media websites around.  There are dozens more. Any site on the web that invites you to interact with other visitors falls into the definition of social media.