Social Media Tools

What Is Social Media & What Tools Are Available to Me?

From the User-Generated Content, Social Media and Advertising Report published in April 2008 by the Interactive Advertising Bureau:

UGC (user-generated content) and Social Networks are transforming the media ecosystem. Gone are the days when power rested in the hands of a few content creators and media distributors. Gone are the days when marketers controlled the communication and path between adavertisement and consumer. Today's model is collaborative, collective, customized and shared. It's a world in which the consumer is the creator, consumer and distributor of content.

Social Media: Social media is the convergence of all types of UGC - including video, photos, and commentary. Social media is usually organized within a social media network, like Facebook. The strength of a social media network is dependent on two elements - the number of users participating in the network and the amount of activity they generate.

Blogs: Short for weblog, a blog is a personal journal maintained on the web - updated frequently, appearing in reverse chronological order, and available to the public (best example - the site you're on now!).

Wikis: A wiki is a collaborative website built through the contributions of many writers and editors. The idea is open collaboration, although many wikis are restricted to members only (Wikipedia).

Widgets: Widgets are small programs that users can download onto their desktops or embed in their blogs or profile pages that import live information (such as the weather, flight prices, etc.)