Social Media: The Big Picture

Social Media: Introduction
Although social media is often described as a new term, the reality is that such communities have existed on line for decades. Well, the first e-mail was sent in 1971, the first electronic bulliens board system was developed in 1979. In the 1980's, IRC allowed people to participate in text chats in online rooms. During the 1990's, internet usage became main stream, allowing individual users to go on line to communicate with friends and family. In fact, this is the way that many of us used to talk about the Internet. Well, there's a revolution going on in rec rooms, offices, and classrooms around the world. A revolution in which 15 million people are taking part. They're sharing scientific data, arguing philosophy, or passing on cooking tips and gossip, night and day, through a computer network called internet. For about $200 a year, they log on to personal computers connected to phone lines and communicate across cultures and continents. Bill Cameron has this report on the growing phenomenon of internet. That video is always good for a chuckle, to look back at the way we used to talk about the Internet, particularly how people talked about the internet in main stream media.

Social Media: The Rules and Your Social Story
While social media truly has a language of its own, there're also many rules. The three rules that we want to talk about in the online course are authenticity, bravery, and consistency. These are really important things to remember if you truly want to build and engage online community.