Published On: Sat, Nov 27th, 2010

What is Social Media?

I’ve been inspired by my former lecturer, Richard Bailey to pen this post simply asking ‘what is social media?’ There are literally hundreds, if not thousands of credible explanations and below is Wikipedia’s definition which is as good a place to start as any:

‘Social media are media for social interaction, using highly accessible and scalable publishing techniques. Social media uses web-based technologies to turn communication into interactive dialogues.’ (Wikipedia)

This definition is all well and good, but in order to try and move beyond this and actually discover what social media means to individuals, I put out a Tweet asking my network for their definitions – and in the interests of being social, here they are:

Social media is…

‘The ability to converse, get to know people and share experiences and feelings with friends whilst in a suit or pj’s, not that I wear pj’s’ (SimonApps)

‘It’s our most primitive form of communication. And arguably, forums were social before the term and trend itself.’ (GrahamCreative)

‘SM = coming out from behind the spin and standing naked, flaws and all; listening, learning, understanding and earning respect.’ (JonClements)

‘networking, sharing, interaction, sociable :)’ (mylifeinleeds)

‘definition of #socialmedia? Conversation not broadcast :)’ (altepper)

‘new media in which businesses/brands and individuals communicate online to publicise and inform. Taking over traditional media.’ (erin_croly)

#socialmedia incorporates online technologies supporting user generated content that allow people to interact & share content.’ (ashton99)

‘using technology to mimic the natural flow of information between human beings and groups of them?’ (Mcmoop)

‘a term which is tossed around here and there, where no one could really give a fixed definition for it. I would say its media where it uses web based technologies for users to make a social interaction through sharing content, video, comments, ideas, etc. A place where two way communciation is involved.’ (Sophia A Fantis)

 

 

 

 

Image from omgzam.com under Creative Commons

 

 

 

 

 

Again, more great definitions. But one thing is clear – it is problematic to try and tie social media down to a simple definition. As soon as a comprehensive definition is agreed upon, there is a very real chance that it will have already become outdated.

For what it’s worth, I think I we need to accept that we have reached a point where the continual evolution of online technologies means users will fluidly migrate from one service to another. Subsequently, the one constant in social media is human behaviour and movement of ideas, conversation and other such intangibles.

I’m of the opinion we should move towards a definition that emphasises more on the how and why people communicate, interact and share on social media, rather than the platforms, techniques or technologies used.

Social media is defined just as much by how people use it, rather than what platforms they are using.

So, what is social media?

About the Author

- Marketing Manager with a passion for inbound at HubSpot, Founder of Growth Hack Talks, Blogger at Ben-Cotton.com and Chief Quaffer at CraftySwine.org .

Displaying 18 Comments
Have Your Say
  1. Beth Hallam says:

    A very well written and interesting post Ben – well done 🙂

  2. […] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Ben Cotton and Ben Cotton, AG Social Media. AG Social Media said: Interesting update: What is Social Media? « Social Web Thing: Subsequently, the one constant in social media is … http://bit.ly/dZWl6F […]

  3. Well, social media might mean a lot in so much different ways but all I can say is that it helps in any businesses’ marketing strategies..

    • Ben Cotton says:

      Thanks for the comment.

      You’re right – social media can enhance the vast majority of business strategies, particularly those with consumer clients.

      Indeed, this acceptance is beginning to be reflected in my day to day role and we’re increasingly having to spend less time justifying social media activity and more time executing it.

      Thanks,

      Ben

  4. One perspective is to acknowledge that media, throughout human history, has been social – with just one exceptional era.

    The modern era introduced forms of media that were private, even anti-social. This is true of reading (compared to the oral tradition). It’s been largely true of television and radio too.

    But nothing stays still. Look how prime time television has become social again (witness the backchannel discussions of Xfactor).

    What we call social media may be new in one sense, but it’s not as novel as people make out.

    You’re right not to emphasise technology; it’s human behaviour that’s interesting.

    • Ben Cotton says:

      Hi Richard,

      It’s great to hear from you and you make several interesting points.

      I think you’re right about social media not being as novel or ground breaking as people make out.

      Indeed, the vast majority of our time is now spend on execution, rather than justification of social media activity as greater numbers of people begin to ‘get’ its business benefit.

      In addition, many industry leaders are now talking about the end of ‘Social Media’s honeymoon period”.
      http://tpemurphy.com/blog/?p=876

      Thanks,

      Ben

  5. wordmixer says:

    Thanks Ben,

    Really enjoyed your post – agree social media’s interesting because it’s all about human behaviour!

    I think Jon Clement’s definition sums up how I feel about social media at the moment and what makes it so powerful:

    ‘SM = coming out from behind the spin and standing naked, flaws and all; listening, learning, understanding and earning respect’.

    I think this is why iit’s going to become even more interesting as more clients pay for PRs to use social media as they influence and shape other people’s thoughts – perhaps it will become less ‘naked’. For now though social media’s honesty is it’s most compelling feature…

    Phoebe

    • Ben Cotton says:

      Thanks for the comment Phoebe.

      I agree about honesty being a compelling the feature of social media.

      For me the most significant part of social media is that it enables people to easily congregate and mobilise around a passion or cause. This can be incredibly powerful, especially when people congregate or mobilise to hold organisations or as we’ve seen recently governments to account.

  6. Thanks for the comment. You’re right – social media can enhance the vast majority of business strategies, particularly those with consumer clients. Indeed, this acceptance is beginning to be reflected in my day to day role and we’re increasingly having to spend less time justifying social media activity and more time executing it. Thanks, Ben

  7. Lacey Small says:

    Thanks for the comment. You’re right – social media can enhance the vast majority of business strategies, particularly those with consumer clients. Indeed, this acceptance is beginning to be reflected in my day to day role and we’re increasingly having to spend less time justifying social media activity and more time executing it. Thanks, Ben

    • Ben Cotton says:

      Thanks for commenting Lacey.

      In my daily role we’ve noticed the same trend – clients no longer need to be won over by social media, they see its value and just want us to execute activity.

  8. Iain says:

    I believe the term “social media” was first used to describe digg in 2005.

  9. Ellie Parker says:

    Hi, I know this post is not one of your most recent but it was interesting and somewhat inspiring to me as I am in my first year of university, currently studying PR and I am in the process of producing a portfolio based on social media. All of the above information is very useful to me and has given me a broader understanding of the term ‘social media.’ Great post!

  10. Christian says:

    Great post Ben!

    I’d say…..
    Social Media are any digital channels through which real-time two-way communication takes place.

  11. Ben Cotton says:

    Hey Christian,

    Thanks for posting, a very interesting perspective.

    I’m currently researching definitions of social media for a project and its been hard to nail down one definition. However, it’s clear that the two-way symmetrical nature of social is what makes it so engaging for fans and important for brands.

    I’d also be interested to hear your thoughts on my first six months in Dublin 🙂
    http://socialwebthing.com/2011/09/six-things-ive-learnt-from-six-months-in-dublin/

    Thanks,

    Ben

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