The Spheres of Social Media uses simple illustration to explain the levels of connectedness on social media based on a theory of social apperception.

1. The Spheres of
Social Media
Social
Apperception
By Garth von Buchholz
Social Media Strategy for Networking & Career Building

2. What if an alien from another
planet came to Earth and one of
its first questions was “Can you
please explain what social media
is and how it works?”

3. “Well”, you’d say. “It’s simple
but also very complicated.”

4. “First you go online. Then you register on
a social media website or app. Then you
look at what people are talking about and
sharing there. Even if you don’t know
them. And if you want, you can say things
or share with them, too. It’s…fun.”

5. In fact, we do so much more than that on social media…

6. We post words, share photos and videos, read posts, comment,
reply to comments, browse, listen, watch, use apps, play, meet
people and chat…but there’s more…

7. ?!

8. more than our content…more than what we do online…

9. On social media, we interact in social spheres that in
some ways mirror our social circles in real life…

10. INNOMINATE
INTERPERSONAL
INTERSOCIAL
INFLUENTIAL
INTERSTITIAL
INTERACTIVE
INTERSECTIONAL
SOCIAL
SPHERES
SOCIAL SPHERES are the people around you on social media, some close & some far.

11. INTERPERSONAL are the people you are closest to online, such as “friends” and
“followers”, and they may also know you, personally, in real life.
INTERPERSONAL
SOCIAL
SPHERES

12. INTERSOCIAL are the people you are connected with online for mostly practical
reasons such as work colleagues, members of an organization, your sports team.
INTERPERSONAL
INTERSOCIAL
SOCIAL
SPHERES

13. INFLUENTIAL are the people who are not in your immediate sphere but are friends
of friends—connected to someone who is in your network as well.
INTERPERSONAL
INTERSOCIAL
INFLUENTIAL
SOCIAL
SPHERES

14. INTERACTIVE are the people who are not in your network, nor in your friends’
networks, but interact with you randomly online through publicly shared content.
INTERPERSONAL
INTERSOCIAL
INFLUENTIAL
INTERACTIVE
SOCIAL
SPHERES

15. INTERSECTIONAL are the people who are moving between your networks and
secondary networks, making overlapping connections online that may begin to
reach your inner spheres.
INTERPERSONAL
INTERSOCIAL
INFLUENTIAL
INTERACTIVE
INTERSECTIONAL
SOCIAL
SPHERES

16. INTERSTITIAL are the people forming connections between the non-connected
public you haven’t intersected with yet and those who are intersecting with you.
INTERPERSONAL
INTERSOCIAL
INFLUENTIAL
INTERSTITIAL
INTERACTIVE
INTERSECTIONAL
SOCIAL
SPHERES

17. INNOMINATE are people in the unknown public you haven’t intersected with…yet.
INNOMINATE
INTERPERSONAL
INTERSOCIAL
INFLUENTIAL
INTERSTITIAL
INTERACTIVE
INTERSECTIONAL
SOCIAL
SPHERES

18. INNOMINATE
INTERPERSONAL
INTERSOCIAL
INFLUENTIAL
INTERSTITIAL
INTERACTIVE
INTERSECTIONAL
SOCIAL
SPHERES

19. SOCIAL
SPHERES
We’ve looked at some of the ways we share content on social media. And
we’ve looked at the social spheres around us when we’re online—some close
to us and some seemingly beyond our reach. What’s missing are the dynamics
that connect these spheres and impact the apperception of who we are on
social media…which in turn can impact how successful you are at making the
right career connections online.