What Is Social Media

You may be a bit behind times if you're asking the question: "What is social media?" Today, social media is a very popular and powerful entity on the internet. Follow along to learn what social media is and how it is used.

Definition. You may not be surprised to learn that social media is defined as "media used for interaction." What does this mean? Simply put, social media uses a wide variety of technologies to support interaction, often on internet-based and mobile technologies.

Examples of social media. You will most commonly find social media in many people's lives. Facebook is extremely popular for connecting to friends and family, as is the popular Myspace. Twitter is a popular status-based social network, while YouTube represents the most popular social network based on videos. A social media website can be based on a number of things, such as connecting to friends/family (Facebook/Myspace), videos (YouTube), reviews(epinion), niche topics (forums), and others. 

Business uses. Social media networks are not exclusively used by casual users, such as for just checking in with others and looking at media. You will find many of your favorite companies on these sites, where they use the connectivity to their advantage. This makes social media very popular for connecting to a wider audience, as many people are active on social media sites (Facebook has 600 million plus active users). It is possible to, for instance, build a large following and utilize free marketing on social media networks.

Social media is everywhere. Not just on your computer, social media technologies are becoming more and more common. If you have a smartphone and an app where you can interact in a network on some basis, you likely have experienced social media.