How Do *You* Define Social Media in 140 Characters or Less?

Photo credit: Stabilo Boss @ Flickr

Jason Falls recently suggested that social media consultants, practitioners, and assorted thinkers of the online world escape the echo chamber and evangelize the benefits of the term to the world at-large.

In this vein, and in accordance with my personal belief that I learn a new thing every day, I step down from my soapbox of providing advice on social media and online marketing. Along the lines of Twitter, where every message must be within 140 characters, I ask you, dear reader, to help me answer the following question:

How do you define social media in 140 characters or less?

Everyone sources Wikipedia as the tell-all for definitions, but the volunteer-driven site currently uses this vague sentence: “Social media are primarily Internet-based tools for sharing and discussing information among human beings.”

Huh?

Turning to other writers and bloggers online, I trace the development of the definition over the past 18 months:

• “…Internet media that has the ability to interact with it in some way.” – Robert Scoble, Feb. 2007
• “Social media is any communications format where the users publish the content.” – Isabel Walcott Hillborn, Oct. 2007
• “Social media are the means for any person to: publish digital creative content; provide and obtain real-time feedback via on-line discussions, commentary, and evaluations; and incorporate changes or corrections to the original content.” – Mark Dykeman at Broadcasting Brain, Feb. 2008
• “Social media are online communications in which individuals shift fluidly and flexibly between the role of audience and author. To do this, they use social software that enables anyone without knowledge of coding, to post, comment on, share or mash up content and to form communities around shared interests.” – Joseph Thornley at Thornley Fallis, Apr. 2008
• “Social media is the online content left by people as a by-product of being social.” – Jim Cuene, May 2008
• “Social media is an alternative to mainstream media powered by public through social participation and interaction to produce content in various traditional & evolving forms and/or formats.” – Santosh Maharshi, May 2008
• “Social media is the use of electronic and Internet tools for the purpose of sharing and discussing information and experiences with other human beings in more efficient ways.” – Ben Parr, Aug. 2008
• “Social media is conversation in print – through blogs, electronic tools like Facebook, Twitter, and a vast array of other online electronic platforms.” – David at Marketing Integrity, Sep. 2008
• “Social media is the use of technology combined with social interaction to create or co-create value.” – John Jantsch at Duct Tape Marketing, Sep. 2008

So, let’s have a contest!

Over the next two weeks, consider sharing your thoughts with me in 140 characters or less. You can either add a comment or write an article on your own blog, providing a link back to here with the below trackback.

Please submit your responses, by comment or blog post (or by Twitter using the #smdef tag), by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, on Saturday, November 8, 2008. That gives you two weeks to think of the best 140 characters to define social media.

Afterward, I’ll incorporate your responses in a new post – and include my own. Thanks!

If you enjoyed reading this article, please continue into the comment section below where the conversation continues! You may follow future tips and strategies by RSS reader, email delivery, or Twitter @ariherzog.

Tagged as: Twitter

Comments: