Sites where users create the content

01-09-2010 | Fiona Clarkson

A good place to start on the issue of social media is: What is it?

Wikipedia, the online encyclopaedia created by the community and itself considered a form of social media, defines it as "media designed to be disseminated through social interaction, created using highly accessible and scalable publishing techniques".

Well, that's as clear as mud, and so is every other definition I can find.

Generally, as best as I can figure out, the term social media best applies to websites and web applications on which the content is created by users and shared with friends and the wider world.

Think Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, or Flickr.

However it is defined, these types of websites are not to be ignored. Did you know 1 million Kiwis have a Facebook account?

In an effort to reach the younger "Gen X" generation, more and more companies, organisations and government departments are heading to such sites to deliver information or interact with online users.

Soon you could be missing out if you haven't joined up, so the following is a quick run-down on the most popular "social media" applications.

Facebook

Facebook is an enormous timewaster or the best thing since sliced bread, depending on whom you talk to. Or, more accurately, how the person commenting uses this website.

It started as a way for university students to keep in touch as they moved away from college and into the world. Today, the fastest-growing segment of the Facebook population is middle-aged women.

Essentially, a Facebook account allows you to send and receive "status updates" to and from friends, letting them in on the minutiae of your day, or to catch up on big events. There are also a large number of potentially addictive (or annoying) games and it has become a hub for social issues where like-minded people can connect.

Twitter

Twitter is life in 140 characters - that's the number you're allowed to use in any posting, making it a short and sweet way to keep friends and family up-to-date if that's the way you use it.

You can follow anyone from your best friend to a famous movie actor, and it can be a place with high art created in 140 characters, or a random collection of everything that ever passed through anyone's mind.

Youtube

A stunning 100-plus hours of video is uploaded from around the world every few minutes.

Youtube has become the place where campaigns are launched, budding pop stars are found, and many, many, many, cute babies are having their 15 minutes of fame.

A recent survey found Youtube was the third most popular search engine in the world, following Google at No 1, so it's also the place where many people are getting their information.

Flickr

An amazing number of people post their photos on this website, which was set up to allow family members and friends to share photos without sending them over email.

Most of the photos posted are now shared openly, so if you're ever looking for an illustration for ... anything ... Flickr's a good place to start.

Social media won't be for everyone, but it's worth keeping an eye on.

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