Definintions: What do I Mean By...

In a world of social media and new terms I think it is important to define to the reader what is meant by certain words. The following words/sites will be used throughout each of the articles and in order to follow along I wanted to make sure everyone who reads would be on the same page. Although this is less of an article and more of a glossary, I think it will be an important tool for me and anyone reading. Some of these words are used in conjunction with practices done on the internet/social media and others are some are a history/working knowledge of the more popular social media sites.

Blog:

According to Guillaume Thevenot, blogging is a popular form of social media, “where people are engaged through being part of a conversation. The conversation begins with one person publishing an article, in which readers give the comments” (287).The conversation becomes an important part of the blogging process. Thevenot also mentions that blog content is generally a combination of the blogger’s personal life and a subject they are interested in (287). Blogs can have a range of authors, from individuals to corporations.

Facebook:
Facebook is a website that enables users to connect with other people. It is a customizable website that users can add photos, personal information, videos and more. Users can also play games and add other applications to their page. They are able to post updates to their friends, share other posts their friends have added and like their friends’ posts/pictures/videos.

Facebook was launched in 2004 and started out as a Harvard only website that digitized the school’s freshman year “facebook” (Hirshorn, 148). Eventually Facebook opened up their services to universities, then to corporations, and finally in 2006 they opened up to everyone.

Instagram:
According to the Instagram website, “Instagram is a fun and quirky was to share your life with friends through a series of pictures” (Instagram). The application allows you to take a photo with a mobile phone, choose a filter for the image and post it to Instagram. All photos are public until privacy settings are set up by the user. The photos are printable if you sync your account to the computer. Users can caption the photos they post.

Microblogging:
Dictionary.com defines microblogging as “to post very short entries, as a brief update or a photo, on a blog or social networking website”. Microblogging is a way to broadcast information about the user’s activities, opinions and status. The tool is considered to be somewhere between text messages, instant message status message, blogs, and social networking (Grace ,4518).

MySpace:
MySpace was launched in 2003 has gave users the ability to create pages that were customizable with text, photos, and graphics (Andresen). According to MySpace, it is “a leading social entertainment destination powered by the passions of fans”. They provide a personalized experience that is centered on entertainment and they connect users to music, celebrities, TV, movies, and games. These features can be accessed through web, mobile and offline events. MySpace is also home to MySpace Music, which allows users to stream audio and video for free.

Pinterest:
Pinterest is a “virtual pinboard” that provides “a venue to showcase neat found-items from around the web.” (Carpenter, 4). Carpenter also discusses the move Pinterest takes away from the blog format and the increased importance of photos, videos and other found items, rather than originally created content (4). In the most basic sense, Pinterest allows users to organize online content into a manageable format for future use. Popular content/boards include recipes, fashion, home décor, travel and many others. Pinterest is still evolving and adding new features. Recently, the “secret board” was added to allow users to pin without their followers being able to see. This is useful for surprise parties and life events that the user isn’t quite ready to share with the world (example: pregnancies).

Social media:
Dictionary.com defines social media as “web sites and other online means of communication that are used by large groups of people to share information and to develop social and professional contacts.” Along the same lines, Michael Hirschorn defines social media as, “web applications that allow individuals to create their own pages – filled with postings, photos, video and portable applications generally called “widgets” – and interact with other uses” (150).

I believe the most important aspects of these definitions are the focus on sharing information and the interaction between users. Although social media is web based, I believe it is important to mention that there are other means of access in today’s world of mobile and wireless technologies. Applications on smart phones and tablets give access to these social media sites without having to use the actual browser based site.

Tumblr:
According to Tumblr.com, Tumblr allows users to share anything effortlessly with a fully customizable page. Users can post text, photos, quotes, links, music and videos from a web browser, phone, desktop, or email. Tumblr was launched in 2007 and has over 17 billion monthly pageviews. Tumblr allows the user to share this content on other social media websites as well.

Twitter:
Twitter is a microblogging site that lets people post quick 140-character updates, or “tweets”, to a network of followers (Marwick & Boyd). It is a real-time informational network that allows users to connect to stories, ideas, opinions and news about their interests by finding, then following, accounts they find interesting (Twitter). Users also have the ability to tweet about anything they wish to share. Tweets can be favorite and shared by other users.

Visual social media:
Visual social media is an evolution of social media from the lengthy/wordy posts to pictures and videos posts with minimal, if any, words. Pinterest, Instagram and Tumblr are the most used visual social media sites, according to Pew Research.

Sources

• Andresen, Katheryn. “Marketing Through Social Networks: Business Consideration – From Brand to Privacy.” William Mitchell Law Review 38.1 (2011): 290-327. Web. 30 October 2012.
• Carpenter, Craig. “Copyright Infringement and the Second Generation of Social Media Websites: Why Pinterest users should be Protected from Copyright infringement by the Fair use Defense.” Social Electronic Publishing, Inc. 2012. Web. 19 November 2012.
• Grace, Julia, Dejin Zhao & Danah Boyd. “Microblogging: What and How Can we Learn from it?”. Conferencec on Human Factors in Computing Systems April 10-15, 2010 Atlanta, GA. 4517-4520. New York, 2010. Web. 21 November 2012.
• Hirschorn, Michael. “About Facebook.” The Atlantic Monthly 300.3 (2007): 148, 150,152,154- 155. Web. 14 November 2012.
• Instagram. FAQ, 2012. Web. 21 November 2012.
• Marwick, A. & Boyd, D. To See and Be Seen: Celebrity Practice on Twitter. Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies, 17(2), 139-58 (2011). Web. 19 April 2012.
• “Microblogging.” Dictionary.com LLC. 2012. Web.
• MySpace LLC. About Us, 2003-2011. Web. 21 November 2012.
• Brenner, Joanna. “Pew Internet: Social Networking (full detail)”. Pew Internet & American Life Project (2012). Web. 21 November 2012.
• “Social media.” Dictionary.com, LLC. 2012. Web.
• Thevenot, Guillaume. “Blogging as a Social Media”. Tourism and Hospitality Research.. 7.3/4 (2007): 287-289. Web. 21 November 2012.
• Tumblr, Inc. “About” Web. 21 November 2012.