Jonathan Andrews (AlterSage) asked:


The inspiration for this article lies in a fantastic slide presentation I saw fairly recently on slideshare.net. The presentation, aptly named “What the f*** is social media?” was put together by Marta Z Kagan.

Over 74 slides, one is just hit with fact after fascinating fact – initially about the reach and *********** of social media, and then how to converse with audiences. It’s truly inspiring stuff.

Wikipedia broadly defines social media as the use of electronic and Internet tools for the purpose of sharing and discussing information and experiences with other human beings. Kagan sums it up nicely saying “social media is people having conversations online”.

The mechanisms for these conversations include a number of mediums – some are communicative, others collaborative and others include multimedia or a combination of all three. Social media can take many forms, but one element that consistently sets all of its incarnations apart from “traditional” media, is that it is produced to be shared.

There’s more to social media than social networking sites. While extremely popular (Time magazine wrote in October 2007 that social networking sites are officially more popular than ****!), they are not the only way people connect online. Other media include wikis, microblogging (like twitter), blogs, social bookmarking (like del.icio.us and StumbleUpon), photo sharing (like Flickr), video sharing (like YouTube), pod casts and many others.

How big is this phenomenon really?

There are over two and a half million articles in English on Wikipedia. 75% of Americans watch at least one video online a month. YouTube alone has hundreds of millions of videos being viewed daily. There are over 200-million blogs on the internet. Just under 60% of the people online have joined a social network.

And these are just some of the staggering numbers that get thrown around. This just serves to prove just how powerful and wide the reach of social media is.

What’s the difference between social media and traditional media?

The main difference is that social media is not a monologue. It is a dialogue that the brand sometimes does not lead. People are talking online right now – and this is an aspect of social media marketing.

Research has shown that 90% of people who can skip television adverts do just that.

A 2007 Nielsen report entitled “Trust in Advertising” showed that people trust referrals from their friends and other customers far more implicitly than one-way company messaging. Fundamentally, people don’t care what a company or brand thinks, they care what their friends think.

So, how do you harness this?

The short answer is: subtly. You can’t always lead the conversations – and you need to be honest. Don’t bombard the audience with noise and marketing messages – they will just switch off, or you’ll be lost in the din – neither are optimal situations.

Create personas and communicate. You need to allow your customers to feel ownership of the brand. You need to enable, engage and inspire people. A flat one-sided message is not going to get anybody excited about a brand or product, and this is how to start a buzz.

There’s no real “trick” to social media marketing. What it comes down to essentially, is listening to your customers and participating with them.



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Kimberly Bock asked:


What is Social Media, according to Google:

These are the results for “define social media”..(these definitions may vary with time)



A category of sites that is based on user participation and user-generated content. They include social networking sites like LinkedIn or Facebook, social bookmarking sites like Del.icio.us, social news sites like Digg or Reddit, and other sites that are centered on user interaction.

The term social media describes media that is posed by the user and can take many different forms. Some types of social media are forums, message boards, blogs, wikis and podcasts. Social media applications include Google, Facebook and YouTube.

Software tools that allow groups to generate content and engage in peer-to-peer conversations and exchange of content (examples are YouTube, Flickr, Facebook, MySpace etc)



You’ll notice, as you read through each definition, that you’re receiving explanations by examples.

Social Media not new, it’s a buzz term by marketers. It has existed for numerous years.

In fact, the first email ever sent, the first website ever created, the microblogging tools we use, commenting, and every other form of interaction with people on a global scale or in your backyard by way of the internet, has been by the use of what is referred to as Social Media today.

What is Social Media, according to Wikipedia:



Social media is the use of electronic and Internet tools for the purpose of sharing and discussing information and experiences with other human beings. The term most often refers to activities that integrate technology, social interaction, and the construction of words, pictures, videos and audio.

This interaction, and the manner in which information is presented, depends on the varied perspectives and “building” of shared meaning among communities, as people share their stories and experiences.

What is Social Media, according to other ndividuals:

You say, “Certainly the well known authors have provided clear definitions.”

Let’s take a look:

Robert Scoble says, “Compare it to what’s come before.”

Chris Heuer says, “Social Media is redefining how we relate to each other as humans and how we as humans relate to the organizations that serve us. While it is commonly represented by blogs, podcasts, vlogs, wikis, user generated content and social networks, it is not about those specific things as much as it is about what happens around and because of those things.”

Mark Dykeman says, “Social media are the means for any person to:  publish digital creative content; provide and obtain real-time feedback via on-line discussions, commentary, and evaluations; and incorporate changes or corrections to the original content.”

What is Social Media Really?



Social Media is a verb. An action term. Not a noun.

“Media” is and always has been the singular form of “Medium” which means storage and transmission tools used to store and deliver information or data.

Add the word “Social” and it means you & I interacting, communicating, exchanging information..SOCIALIZING.

That being said, the simple and understandable definition of Social Media is..(drumroll please)

“The use of internet platforms and tools which enable interaction and communication between users.”



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