What is Social Media?
Essentially, social media is Web 2.0 comprising of blogs, wikis, long tail keywords, RSS and other tools that changed the way we use the internet today, making the web more interactive than ever.
It used to be that websites are just static pages where users put up a site in hopes that visitors will read and be interested with the products or services they offer. In short, websites were just regarded as online brochures. However, in 2004, Amazon.com started adding user comments on their pages. This paved the way for potential customers to rely more on user comments instead of product reviews written by the manufacturers or Amazon before purchasing certain products.
On eBay, a seller gets a rating from previous buyers each time he or she sells something. These ratings will gauge the trustworthiness of a seller, which influences the sales as well as how sellers generally conduct their business.
Web 2.0 key elements: Participation
Through various social media platforms, users are able to give their insights and actively participate in any conversations online. These insights are made public so that other users can read and even share them.
Web 2.0 key elements: Easy access
Users can easily access webpages, plugins, mobile phones and other Web 2.0 online.
Web 2.0 key elements: Customization
Social media provides the ability to customize information the way users want it published. The perfect example would be Google Mapping, where one can plot members of a certain community on a map and show the location of each one.
Web 2.0 key elements: Conversation
Social media made it possible for two-way communication in real time. Instant messaging through Skype or Yahoo! Messengers made it possible for people all over the world to converse in real time no matter how far they are from one another.
Web 2.0 key elements: Network building
If have been unable to find old friends and you want to get in touch with them, social media makes it possible to do so. Additionally, you can meet new people and widen your network online.
Social media allows you to find old friends that you have not been in touch with, make new friends, and build a network that can be influenced by the things that you do and visa versa.
Web 2.0 key elements: Sharing and Openness
Social media made it possible for people to post videos, podcasts, articles and share them to a wider audience instantly. Social media leveled the playing field and allowed for creating and posting what used to be classified documents.
Web 2.0 key elements: User-generated Content
Various social media channels allow virtually anyone to create and distribute user-generated content where millions of people can access them quickly and easily. There is no need to build your own webpage as well as other tools needed to put your content out.
Comments on this entry are closed.