Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Social Media Discoveries

Social Media ...  what is it, and why should we care?

Definition of Social Media has not yet achieved a clear, concise and easily understandable agreed on statement.

Here is the current definition on Wikipedia:
Social media describes the online technologies and practices that people use to share opinions, insights, experiences, and perspectives.Social media can take many different forms, including text, images, audio, and video. These sites typically use technologies such as blogs, message boards, podcasts, wikis, and vlogs to allow users to interact. A few prominent examples of social media applications are Wikipedia (reference), MySpace (social networking), Gather.com (social networking),YouTube (video sharing), Second Life (virtual reality), Digg (news sharing), Flickr (photo sharing) and Miniclip (game sharing).


And an improved definition that is discussed on several sites -

Social Media is the democratization of content and the understanding of the role people play in the process of not only reading and disseminating information, but also how they share and create content for others to participate. It is the shift from a broadcast mechanism to a many-to-many model, rooted in a conversational format between authors and people.


OR as on  Ari Writer  challenges

How Do *You* Define Social Media in 140 Characters or Less?

I have not yet found the best definition that is acceptable to myself or easy for me to communicate to others. 


My understanding - it is a collaborative communication that  is many-to-many.


Social Media Marketing  explanation  by Josh Weinberger 
"The Purpose of a Business is to SERVE a Customer…who creates customers”

Why do we care?
With new advances in technology communication tools are here to stay.


I have just read that studies indicate that 72 % and others are stating 85% of people prefer to be communicated via social media by businesses. Is this true? And how to we manage the tremendous overload of communication?


Myself I am 55 years old and have been involved with the internet since 1991, and an avid software and internet junkie. I immediately bought the first Blackberry on the market and have the Bold 9700 now, and it is an extension of my arm. I long for an iPad, work on both MAC and Windows platforms. It is natural for me to 'jump' onto the lasted fad and hype.

My parents are 75, and also avid users of the internet. They live on Facebook, as it allows them to keep up with family, view pictures, and feel involved. My mother recently stated she wished her mailing lists were available via Facebook, as would be so much easier.

My children are in their 20s and use Facebook, Skype, and view YouTube. They are not using Twitter or posting YouTube videos and are into using for social interaction, ignoring marketing and even shutoff ads.

I have many friends in my age bracket 50+ and above that do not use any form of Social Media at this time. They have cell phones, and many refuse to even text, let alone twitter. 

I am a blogger - this blog is now my 5th blog. Currently I am unemployed, and therefore will require to reinvent myself. In transition phase within the technical internet field, it is important to be able to demonstrate understanding of the 'latest and greatest technological opportunities and leading edge applications'. Collaboration tools and methods are important and finding their way into interview questions and discussions. What are the best ways to collaborate internally and externally for businesses?


Myself - I question as to how to build a blogosphere following that also can provide a source of income. Others have done it. There are many thousands of ads for courses being sold - 'how to make money blogging'. It takes talent, diligence, persistence as well as luck to achieve - I believe.@dooce - Heather Armstrong has done so, as well as some others. Most have been blogging since at least 2002.   Blogging is not a job that involves only a few hours a day, and then we can escape to the Caribbean - yes we can eventually have guest bloggers and such - but the blog must be maintained. It is hard work. Many go on to write books as well, do cooking shows, and become celebrities on tv. But yes it all depends what you want to get out of it.

My POINT with this first post for Social Tweep

I will be discussing my own experiences and if positive or negative.
-  using Social Media, starting with Twitter, Facebook and Blogging.


In the past month I have concentrated on growing my 'tribe', by adding followers to my blog and Twitter. So far I have 106 followers on Twitter that I then link to Facebook - and increase from 40 in June, since joining in November 2009. I will explain how I have grown my list of followers, and if it is just numbers or valid connections with other humans and businesses.


I have just discovered I can only link one website/blog to a twitter account - unless I just have not found a way yet. I will have to sort that out - as I certainly do not want 5 twitter accounts.

Let's get started!

...darleen

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