WHAT IS SOCIAL MEDIA?

So… what is it?

• According to Wikipedia

So… what is it?

• According to Wikipedia

Or a fancy way of describing all the millions of conversations going on 24/7

So… what is it?

• Social media allows people to create content and to share that content with others

• It started out as text then quickly moved to full audio visual

Characteristics of Social Media

• Participation Social media encourages contributions and feedback from everyone who is interested. It blurs the line between media and audience.

Characteristics of Social Media

• Participation Social media encourages contributions and feedback from everyone who is interested. It blurs the line between media and audience.

Think comments on blogs. Ratings & reviews. Forums.

Characteristics of Social Media

• Open Most social media encourages voting, sharing, commenting on information. Password protected content is a no-no!

Importantly, most social media platforms have an open API

Characteristics of Social Media

• Two-Way Conversation Many-to-many. Not one-to-many.

Characteristics of Social Media

• CommunityFacilitates quick formation of communities. Based around common interests, eg. cars, surfing, gadgets, photography, politics, knitting, even a favourite TV show.

Characteristics of Social Media

• CommunityFacilitates quick formation of communities. Based around common interests, eg. cars, surfing, gadgets, photography, politics, knitting, even a favourite TV show.

If YOU are secretly into knitting, check out www.dailyknitter.com or for craft, www.etsy.com

Characteristics of Social Media

• ConnectedMost kinds of social media thrive on their connectedness, making use of links to other sites, resources and people.

Characteristics of Social Media

• ConnectedMost kinds of social media thrive on their connectedness, making use of links to other sites, resources and people.

We now contact more people in our personal life through social networks than we do through other means (telephone, email, face-to-face) – on average we stay in touch with 52 people through these means (source: Universal McCann)

Types of Social Media

1. Blogs

Types of Social Media

2. Social Networking Sites - of which there are quite a few…

Types of Social Media

• But the world’s most famous one is…

Types of Social Media

Types of Social Media

3. Microblogs

Types of Social Media

• But watch out for …

Types of Social Media

• According to their respective blogs

Types of Social Media

And the new wunderkinder…

Types of Social Media

And that other platform…

Types of Social Media

5. Forums – 3.2 million unique users/month

Types of Social Media

6. Wikis

Types of Social Media

7. Podcasts

Popular Social Media 2013

Social Media IS Important

1. Social media is having a fundamental effect on our thoughts, feelings, attitudes and behaviour.

Social Media IS Important

1. Social media is having a fundamental effect on our thoughts, feelings, attitudes and behaviour.

2. Since 2009, visiting social media sites is the 4th most popular activity – ahead of reading personal email (Nielsen, Global Faces & Places, 2009)

Social Media IS Important

1. Social media is having a fundamental effect on our thoughts, feelings, attitudes and behaviour.

2. Since 2009, visiting social media sites is the 4th most popular activity – ahead of reading personal email (Nielsen, Global Faces & Places, 2009)

3. Social media is democratising communications. Ask the Iranian Govt. Or the Egyptians. Or even Rupert Murdoch …

Social Media IS ImportantTechnology is shifting the power away from the editors, publishers, the establishment, the media elite. Now it’s the people who are in control.

Social Media IS Important

1. Social media is having a fundamental effect on our thoughts, feelings, attitudes and behaviour.

2. Since 2009, visiting social media sites is the 4th most popular activity – ahead of reading personal email (Nielsen, Global Faces & Places, 2009)

3. Social media is democratising communications. Ask the Iranian Govt. Or the Egyptians. Or even Rupert Murdoch …

4. The Stats…

Social Media IS Important

So Who Is At It?

All internet users will become active internet users, just as consumers made the transition from occasional to regular TV watching in the 1950’s and 1960’s.

So Who Is At It?

“Resistance to social media is futile. Millions of people are creating content for the social Web. Your competitors are already there. Your customers have been there for a long time. If your business isn't putting itself out there, it ought to be …”

– BusinessWeek, Feb 2009

Let’s Do It!

Next Session ….• Twitter