Taking Social Media 101? Five Things That Will be on the Final
Posted by Beth Hrusch on Thu, Jan 14, 2010
Maybe you've been taking Social Media 101-learning the basics of this new social media revolution. Here are five things that you should know before moving on to upper-level courses.
1. User-generated content. It's a buzzword for a reason. Most of everything you see on social media websites is generated by regular people sitting in front of a computer at home. If you learn one thing in Social Media 101, this should be it.
2. It's more than just Facebook and MySpace. Social media comprises not only dozens or even hundreds of other websites, but is also a way of communicating electronically that doesn't resemble anything ever seen in human history, in terms of speed and volume of information that can be shared.
3. Once it's out there, it's out there for good. Assume that every person in the world, from your mother to your religious adviser to your boss, will see everything you do on social media. It's within the realm of possibility that they will.
4. Success takes hard work. Just like everything else. You can't just create a blog and expect to be the next Perez Hilton. Building an audience with any sort of Internet medium takes a ton of work, mainly because there are a ton of people out there.
5. The technology is ubiquitous and continuously evolving. According to Alexa, a web research company, five of the top 11 websites in the world are social media websites, and none existed before 2004. This is important to remember. The next big thing may be right around the corner.
There are many other things to learn in Social Media 101, but these five main points are very important. Study up for the final, and make sure you are prepared before moving on to a higher level