41. Social Media is … the democratization of information, transforming people from content readers into content publishers. It is the shift from a broadcast mechanism to a many-to-many model, rooted in conversations between authors, people, and peers. “ The key to becoming transparent is developing a culture that’s dedicated to the thing you do.”
42. Social Media is … Social media uses the “wisdom of crowds” to connect information in a collaborative manner. Social media can take many different forms, including Internet forums, message boards, weblogs, wikis, podcasts, pictures and video. Technologies such as blogs, picture-sharing, vlogs, wall-postings, email, instant messaging, music-sharing, group creation and voice over IP, to name a few. Examples of social media applications are Wikis (reference), Myspace and Facebook (social networking), Last.fm (personal music), YouTube (social networking and video sharing), Second Life (virtual reality), and Flickr (photo sharing)., Ning and CollectiveX (personal social networking)
43.
44. Social Media is … When we set out on a social media campaign or incorporate its tools, we have to take into account the care and feeding of the social media system. You need to participate. Your staff needs to be visible on the site. Members need to know your little web site is an integral part of your association and not a state or local play-pen. Most of the benefits you will get from social media are likely going to stem from ongoing relationships and conversations that develop - not from someone sending you a note saying “fix my local.” Because fix my local has no context. And context is the foundation for all social media benefits. How are people benefiting from your BRAND? How do they talk about it? Is it as you anticipated? Are they upset? At what? Is it valid? Can they be calmed easily? Is the problem systemic? What makes them happy?
46. Social Media is … “ People get fired up about Jones because it’s theirs.” Allowing the consumer to own your brand is not predictive marketing. As anyone who has truly turned over their marketing to their audience in a social campaign knows, the results are often not predictable, not controllable, and certainly not tidy.