Social Media

No, it's not media that is sociable per se (HA!), it's media that, in this context of internet computing, "describes the online technologies and practices that people use to share opinions, insights, experiences and perspectives with one another".

Surely, you'd have thought of several ubiquitous examples by now. Friendster, Facebook, MSN, Skype, blogs... Even podcasts are considered part of this ever-evolving aspect of modern living. Most people know how to use these technologies, but how well do you really know them? These that, in a mere decade ago, seemed absurd to even conceive of?

For instance, RSS is a tool that enables users to receive updates from online publishers as and when they choose to, greatly enhancing convenience for the regular visitor, while also ensuring that the publishers get their content fed to all who want to read them as efficiently as possible. It's almost like having a dog that fetches a select piece of newspaper from the newsroom, everytime a new story is published! RSS stands for Rich Site Summary, by the way.

According to some, the prevalence of social media has caused several problems (particularly for adolescents) such as internet addiction, social isolation and invasion of privacy; in my personal opinion, while all these are valid, noteworthy problems, it is just as important to realize that the technology of social media is an incredible power that works both ways- if used the right way, many, if not all, will stand to benefit from its host of advantages. Well, thanks to the online community encyclopedia that is the Wiki, you can find out more about social media... right now.