22 4 / 2009
Explain what this social media technology is all about…
We often get asked, “What is social media?” and “Why would social media technology matter to me?” We have our answers, and if you asked these same questions to another social media company you’d possibly get a similar answer. But if you were to ask a dozen other players in the industry, you’d probably get 12 pretty different answers. What gives?
The issue with defining this current “it” word is that the term “social media” describes an industry that is too new and changing too quickly to make a concrete definition possible, just yet anyway. A search on Google displays results for social media technology, social media agency, social media communities, social media widgets, and so on. Anyone unfamiliar with the lingo would be hard-pressed to uncover a singular, simple definition for social media.
The market confusion doesn’t really help the consumer understand what social media is, nor does it help the brand manager or business owner understand how to use it to the advantage of their bottom line.
For those who are still struggling to define “social media”, here’s a simple and creative explanation. A colleague of mine recently came across a popular video that does a great job of explaining the concept of social media that is at once both accessible and endearing. Check out the video, “Social Media in Plain English” created by the folks at Common Craft:
