What is social media?

[Jody]

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, and that allow the creation and exchange of user-generated content.

Businesses also refer to social media as user generated content (UGC)
or consumer-generated media (CGM).

Social media is believed to be a driving force in defining this current 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.

Social media have become the new tool for effective business marketing and sales. Popular sites include Twitter, Facebook and Myspace, and they are the social media most commonly used for socialization and connecting friends, relatives and employees.

Common forms of social media;

concepts, slogans and statements with ahigh memory retention quotient, that excite others to repeat

Grass-Roots direct action information dissemination such as public speaking, installations, performance, and demonstrations.

Electronic media with 'sharing,' syndication, or search algorithm technologies (includes internet and mobile devices).

Print media, designed to be re-distributed.