What is Social Media?

It's difficult to watch the news or read the papers or magazines nowadays without coming across the odd phrase "Social Media". We know what "social" means; To me it conjures up memories of ice cream and talking with friends. "Media" is usually used to refer to the TV networks, newspapers and other things we read and watch. At first it would seem odd that media could be social in and of itself. Yes, we talk about media, but actually interacting with your media is something new born from the Internet. Well, sort of.

Most kids nowadays only vaguly remember the time of pen pals. You would receive a letter in the mail (yes, REAL MAIL!), you'd read it, and you'd write a letter back (yes, with pen and paper!) to the person and have a conversation that way. If you take that concept and make it electronic, it becomes email. ("Email" literally means "electronic mail". See the post last week for a refresher on email.) Social media takes that concept and amplifies it.

Social media mixes messages sent between two people to messages sent to whole groups of people. If I want to share a picture of my daughter, instead of printing it out and paying postage to mail it to everyone, or sending it in an email that has everyone's email addresses in it, I can post it to a social media outlet like Facebook. (In this post I'll be using Facebook as the main example since it's the most commonly used method at this point in time.) By posting it in one place, all my friends and family can see the photo, and even talk about it.

Social media isn't for everyone. If you're a private person, you might not want to join a social site like Facebook since it involves sharing a lot of personal information just to get in, and then makes it very easy to share too much with too many people. Ever say something you regretted? Ever say something you regetted to every friend and family member you know? Quite a difference!

That being said, being able to see what your old friend from high school is doing in their daily life makes it easier to catch up with them and stay connected with them in ways that a telephone conversation, letter, or even a coffee date never could. Your friends and family can post whatever they want, and it will show up for you to see and comment on if you want. In short, social media is a very easy way to stay connected with a lot of people very easily.

Practical Tip of the Day:
When talking over the internet, whether it's via email, Facebook, blogs, or anything else, make sure you only say and share things you want the whole world to know about you. Don't just think of the whole world, though. Think of your kids, boss, pastor, parents, coworkers, etc. Some of the biggest scandals nowadays come from people in high positions violating this rule and having conversations or pictures they thought were private shared with the world!