An Introduction to Social Media Tools ( And how they can help you )

This presentation will… Introduce you to the basic functions of social media. Explain some of the specific tools you can use to find, organize, and distribute information. Create some order out of all the “Web 2.0” chaos – so that you can start exploring these tools and using them to your benefit.

What is “social media”? The Technological Definition (from Brian Solis) “Social media describes the online tools that people use to share content, profiles, opinions, insights, experiences, perspectives and media itself, thus facilitating conversations and interaction online between groups of people. These tools include blogs, message boards, podcasts, micro blogs, lifestreams, bookmarks, networks, communities, wikis, and vlogs.”

What is “social media”? The Behavioral Definition (from Brian Solis) “Social media is the democratization of content and the understanding of the role people play in the process of not only reading and disseminating information, but also how they share and create content for others to participate. It is the shift from a broadcast mechanism to a many-to-many model, rooted in a conversational format between authors and people.”

Essentially, we’re shifting from a “read only” culture (Web 1 Essentially, we’re shifting from a “read only” culture (Web 1.0) to a “read-write” Internet culture (Web 2.0). Source: Dion Hinchcliffe.

Social media is changing our society. Here’s how.

Social media means… Democratized Media. “Professionals” no longer control the media. Creation and distribution of information are in the hands of many people – essentially, anyone with an Internet connection.

Social media means… The Rise of the Amateur. You don’t need a record deal to make it big on the Internet. YouTube comedians, MySpace musicians, and hobby photographers of the world can gain large audiences through social media.

Social media means… New Ways of Collaborating. Social media encourages participation. Now, instead of paying one person to write an article, one can tap into the collective knowledge and expertise of many individuals – and create 13 million articles for free.

Social media means… Rapid Communication. You can spread a message to your social network with a click of a button. And if others like what you’re saying, they will click, too – and spread the message to their friends. Your message can hop across networks and reach millions.

Social media means… More Ways of Communicating. We now have multiple channels for saying things. And many of these tools allow other people to comment, respond, and spread your message. The challenge is choosing the right channel for who you want to reach and what you want to say.

Social media means… Better and Faster Access to Information. Forget rummaging through pages of junk in order to find what you need. Social media lets you categorize, search, and discover through others’ recommendations. This means more relevant information at a fraction of the time.

How do social media differ from traditional media? Reach – both are global, but social media are more decentralized, less hierarchical, and distinguished by multiple points of production and utility Accessibility - social media tools are generally available to the public at little or no cost Usability - social media production does not require specialized skills and training Immediacy - capable of virtually instantaneous responses Permanence - media can be altered almost instantaneously by comments or editing Reach - both industrial and social media technologies provide scale and are capable of reaching a global audience. Industrial media, however, typically use a centralized framework for organization, production, and dissemination, whereas social media are by their very nature more decentralized, less hierarchical, and distinguished by multiple points of production and utility. Accessibility - the means of production for industrial media are typically government and/or privately owned; social media tools are generally available to the public at little or no cost. Usability - industrial media production typically requires specialized skills and training. Conversely, most social media production does not require specialized skills and training, or requires only modest reinterpretation of existing skills; in theory, anyone with access can operate the means of social media production. Immediacy - the time lag between communications produced by industrial media can be long (days, weeks, or even months) compared to social media (which can be capable of virtually instantaneous responses; only the participants determine any delay in response). However, as industrial media begin adopting aspects of production normally associated with social media tools, this feature may not prove distinctive over time. Permanence - industrial media, once created, cannot be altered (once a magazine article is printed and distributed changes cannot be made to that same article) whereas social media can be altered almost instantaneously by comments or editing.

There are hundreds of tools available: Seem chaotic? Source: Brian Solis, PR 2.0.

The good news: You don’t need to (and shouldn’t) use them all.

Better news: You can choose between public and private messages

The Cloud Free storage Fast access Powerful tools Google Apps CloudApp

Explore a variety of tools, and select the ones that fit your life. Here are some examples of social media tools (besides Facebook) and how they can help you…

1. Stay informed. Google Reader lets you aggregate all of your news sources and access them in one location. Instead of constantly checking different sites, Google Reader will tell you when new stuff is published. Click on a folder and see all content in one place. (e.g. the “Advertising” category aggregates multiple blogs) Share your favorite items with others – and see your friends’ favorites. Categorize your news sources using folders. Start exploring. Create an account at google.com/reader.

1. Stay informed. Twitter lets you access quick 140-character updates from your favorite news outlets, celebrities, bloggers, organizations, brands, and individuals. With this tool, you’ll be the first to receive the latest information. Send your own updates to your “followers” Tags beginning with a hash sign (#) allow you to see all messages pertaining to a specific topic. For example, #sb45 lets us see all the messages the most recent Super Bowl See by-the-second updates from your favorite people and organizations. Start exploring. Create an account at twitter.com.

1. Stay informed. FriendFeed aggregates different types of social media content– including blog posts, Facebook status updates, “tweets”, and more. This handy tool lets you access content across platforms in one place. Subscribe to social media content from a specific group Add your own updates to the group (including photos, PDF files, etc.) Respond to updates or forward it to others. Start exploring. Create an account at friendfeed.com.

2. Promote your personal brand. Create a profile on LinkedIn and let others see your professional credentials. Your account essentially acts as an online resume and social networking tool. You can connect with your colleagues and keep in touch with people within your network. Your colleagues can also “introduce” you to new contacts through the website. Post your credentials (professional and education details) Connect with individuals and expand your professional network Get online recommendations from your colleagues Start exploring. Create an account at linkedin.com

2. Promote your personal brand. Google Profiles allows you to post your credentials and links to your online content (e.g. your professional blog, Twitter account, etc.). Google Profiles is more casual than LinkedIn – and better used as a static page than a tool for building online connections. It provides searchable information about you – and you might direct online contacts to this “About Me” page. [Name here] Links to your other social media accounts (so that others can view the content you’ve created) Start exploring. Create an account at google.com/profiles

3. Create and upload content. Wordpress and Blogger allow you to quickly create blogs and publish content. They also provide pre-formatted templates for your website. You can use these tools to create professional or personal blogs that integrate text with multimedia content (videos, photos, etc.). User-friendly platform allows you to quickly write and publish blog entries. Manage your blog comments and block spam. Start exploring. Create an account at wordpress.com or blogger.com

A modest example blogs.cofc.edu/fergusond

3. Create and upload content. Flickr and Picasa are great resources for uploading, organizing, and sharing photos. You can even tag your photos with keywords so that others can easily search for them. Start exploring. Create an account at flickr.com or picasaweb.google.com

3. Create and upload content. SlideShare is great for finding presentations and documents (from conferences, individuals, and organizations) and sharing your own. Scribd is an excellent resource for finding and sharing reports, and PDFs. After a presentation, you may direct others to these websites to access the resources you presented. Search all presentations on SlideShare Share or download the presentation Embed the presentation in a blog entry or website. Find related presentations on SlideShare Start exploring. Create an account at slideshare.com or scribd.com

… And there are many more … And there are many more. The key is to start exploring and experimenting with these tools. The more you explore social media, the more likely you are to find helpful tools.

Types Communication Blogs: Blogger, ExpressionEngine, LiveJournal,  Open Diary, TypePad, Vox, WordPress, Xanga Microblogging: Foursquare, Jaiku, Plurk, Posterous,  Tumblr, Twitter, Qaiku, Identi.ca, Nasza-Klasa.pl Location-based social Networks:  Foursquare, Geoloqi, Gowalla, Facebook places, The Hotlist Social networking: ASmallWorld, Bebo, Cyworld, Diaspora, Facebook, Hi5, Hyves, LinkedIn, MySpace, Ning,  Orkut, Plaxo, Tagged, XING , IRC, Yammer

Types Events: Eventful, The Hotlist, Meetup.com, Upcoming Information Aggregators: Netvibes, Twine (website) Online Advocacy and Fundraising: Causes, Kickstarter Collaboration/authority building Wikis: PBworks, Wetpaint, Wikia, Wikimedia, Wikispaces Social bookmarking (or social tagging):[ CiteULike, Delicious, Diigo, Google Reader, StumbleUpon, folkd

Types Social Media Gaming: Empire Avenue Social news: Digg, Mixx, NowPublic, Reddit, Newsvine Social navigation: Trapster, Waze Content Management Systems: Wordpress, Drupal, Plone Document Managing and Editing Tools: Google Docs, Syncplicity, Docs.com, Dropbox.com Collaboration: Central Desktop

Types Multimedia Photography and art sharing: deviantArt, Flickr, Photobucket, Picasa, SmugMug,  Zooomr Video sharing: sevenload, Viddler, Vimeo, YouTube, Dailymotion,  Metacafe, Nico Nico Douga, Openfilm Livecasting: Justin.tv, Livestream, OpenCU, Skype, Stickam,  Ustream, blip.tv, oovoo Music and audio sharing: ccMixter, Pandora Radio, Spotify, Last.fm, MySpace Music, ReverbNation.com, ShareTheMusic, The Hype Machine, Groove Shark, SoundCloud, Bandcamp, Soundclick, imeem. Presentation sharing: scribd, SlideShare

Types Reviews and opinions Product reviews: epinions.com, MouthShut.com Business reviews: Customer Lobby, Yelp, Inc. Community Q&A: Askville, EHow, Stack Exchange, WikiAnswers, Yahoo! Answers, Quora, ask.com Entertainment Media and entertainment platforms: Cisco Eos Virtual worlds: Active Worlds, Forterra Systems, Second Life, The Sims Online, World of Warcraft, RuneScape Game sharing: Kongregate, Miniclip, Newgrounds, Armor Games

My research Radio (on Twitter) TV (on Twitter and Facebook) Mobile video (iPad)