The Complete Guide To Social Media [devdakilla].pdf

The Complete Guide to Social Media From The Social Media Guys

Page 1 excerpt:

Social media are media for social interaction, using highly accessible and scalable publishing techniques. Social
media uses web-based technologies to turn communication into interactive dialogues. Andreas Kaplan and Michael
Haenlein define social media as "a group of Internet-based applications that build on the ideological and
technological foundations of Web 2.0, which allows the creation and exchange of user-generated content."[1]
Businesses also refer to social media as consumer-generated media (CGM). Social media utilization is believed to be
a driving force in defining the current time period as the Attention Age. A common thread running through all
definitions of social media is a blending of technology and social interaction for the co-creation of value.
Distinction from industrial media
People gain information, education, news, etc., by electronic media and print media. Social media are distinct from
industrial or traditional media, such as newspapers, television, and film. They are relatively inexpensive and
accessible to enable anyone (even private individuals) to publish or access information, compared to industrial
media, which generally require significant resources to publish information.
One characteristic shared by both social media and industrial media is the capability to reach small or large
audiences; for example, either a blog post or a television show may reach zero people or millions of people. The
properties that help describe the differences between social media and industrial media depend on the study. Some of
these properties are:
1. Reach - both industrial and social media technologies provide scale and enable anyone to reach a global audience.
2. Accessibility - the means of production for industrial media are typically owned privately or by government;
social media tools are generally available to anyone at little or no cost.
3. Usability - industrial media production typically requires specialized skills and training. Most social media does
not, or in some cases reinvent skills, so anyone can operate the means of production.
4. Recency - the time lag between communications produced by industrial media can be long (days, weeks, or even
months) compared to social media (which can be capable of virtually instantaneous responses; only the
participants determine any delay in response). As industrial media are currently adopting social media tools, this
feature may well not be distinctive anymore in some time.
5. Permanence - industrial media, once created, cannot be altered (once a magazine article is printed and distributed
changes cannot be made to that same article) whereas social media can be altered almost instantaneously by
comments or editing.
Community media constitute an interesting hybrid of industrial and social media. Though community-owned, some
community radios, TV and newspapers are run by professionals and some by amateurs. They use both social and
industrial media frameworks.
In his 2006 book, The Wealth of Networks: How Social Production Transforms Markets and Freedom, Yochai
Benkler analyzed many of these distinctions and their implications in terms of both economics and political liberty.
However, Benkler, like many academics, uses the neologism network economy or "network information economy"
to describe the underlying economic, social, and technological characteristics of what has come to be known as
"social media".
Andrew Keen criticizes social media in his book The Cult of the Amateur, writing, "Out of this anarchy, it suddenly
became clear that what was governing the infinite monkeys now inputting away on the Internet was the law of digital
Darwinism, the survival of the loudest and most opinionated. Under these rules, the only way to intellectually prevail
is by infinite filibustering."[2]
There are various statistics that account for social media usage and effectiveness for individuals worldwide.