What is social media

I keep hearing about it, can you explain what is it?

Social Media, What is it?

Social Media allows people to communicate instantly with one another while creating and sharing information in real time while online. Social media facilitates instant social networking while removing all geographical boundaries.

Popular Social Media Platforms:

Facebook – probably the most popular of all social networking sites. Users can create profiles, send messages, upload and tag family and friends in videos and photos while instantly connecting with family and friends worldwide.  Facebook is available in 37 languages and includes easily accessible features such as:

Groups –  users can create groups which are open, closed or shared. In these groups, users can share information, chat to one another and invite other members to join the group.
• Events – is a calender based tool whic hallows friends to share upcoming events with one another. 
Pages – are for businesses, charities, brands and people to share their stories while growing and connecting with their fan base..
Presence technology – allows members to see  when their friends have logged onto Facebook 

Twitter – Is a social media platform which allows signed-up members to connect and speak to one another through a “Tweet”.  A Tweet consists of 140 characters or less. These Tweet messages can be sent to a member’s followers or sent as a private message. The use of hashtags allows messages to be searchable on Twitter search and can result in the emergence of a “Twitter Trend”

LinkedIn – LinkedIn is a social networking site designed specifically for the professional networking. Posting and finding a job, generating new sales leads, connecting with similar professionals and business are just some of the advantages of LinkedIn when compared to other social networking sites.

Google + – Developed by Google and quickly becoming ever more important for SEO purposes, Google+ has a focus on targeted sharing within subsets of a member’s social’s group or Circles. Circles can consist of family, friends, colleagues, etc.