Monday, 18 January 2010

Defining Social Media: 140 Characters...from 140 Communications Characters...

THE FINAL LIST HAS BEEN DELAYED BY 24 HOURS...AIMING FOR 10.00 pm 26 JAN...YOU WOULDN'T BELIEVE HOW MUCH EDITING IS INVOLVED IN 140 DEFINITIONS...

Thanks for taking the time to click through to this.

I have an idea that requires a little help from the great folk I've met via Social Media in the past 12 months.

Put simply, I'd like to ask 140 people / characters to give me their definition of what Social Media is / means...in 140 characters or less.

This could be very matter-of-fact, abstract, literal, personal...any interpretation you like.

The aim, is to get a collective feel for how Comms Pro's in all corners of the globe feel about it, what it does / can do, and the role it might play as the space matures / evolves.

The plan is to then feature everyone's mini-definition in a compilation post in the next couple of weeks.

As mentioned, I'm really interested in the thoughts / definitions of Comms Pro's in particular, so if you have any contacts within your extended network that might be interested in taking part in this, please feel free to forward on the link.

Delivery

You have a few options:


1. Drop a 140 character comment in the box below

2. Send me an @ or DM

3. Send me an email via my email address.

In addition to being incredibly grateful, I'm more than willing to return the favour in any shape or form :)

Sharing

And, of course, this content can be shared, used, adopted by anyone once compiled...am sure it'll come in handy for a number of you.

Thanks
Adam

63 comments:

  1. Listen, learn, engage .. it's a conversation. Join in as and when it feels right

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  2. Social media is a comms tool that cuts through barriers, offers opportunities that were previsously out of reach and levels the playing field

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  3. SM lets me traverse the globe and meet amazing people from my living room. Its a constant support network full of opportunity & serendipity

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  4. Where friends, fans, & evangelists are your PR team. Where everything is immediate. Where personal opinion is valued over direct marketing.

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  5. A borderless space to consume & share information & opinions- to engage directly with industry minds & develop personally & professionally

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  6. Social media is the consumer's realisation that they have the power to induce institutional change through online behaviour

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  7. An innovative method of strategic communication, allowing participants to brand their product through instant two-way communication.

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  8. Thanks so much for your mini-definitions - really cool to see everyone's interpretation in the one place...will collate the DM's and @'s over the course of the next week and publish the full list.
    Adam

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  9. Social media gives power to the individual by enhancing our ability to listen, learn and share opinions & content with each other

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  10. Great question Adam! I am really curious to hear how others define social media & what it means. Just sent you a DM and look forward to seeing the results!

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  11. SM is connecting not collecting. Listen, share, polite, help, are all key to a valuable SM experience. If you view SM as not about you, the results will be rewarding. It is not about getting it but understanding it.

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  12. A new type of online media without hierarchy that enable people to talk, participate, interact, share and bookmark.

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  13. Social media is a voice for the individual, a voice for the masses, a voice of endorsement & a voice of dissent. The power lies simply in listening.

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  14. Where movements are created through the spread of ideas with a community of like minded individuals.

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  15. Technological tools that help you to personally discover and relate to the world, and the world to discover and and relate to you personally.

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  16. The response this this post has been phenomenal - every corner of the globe represented already and some really insightful definitions sent in via DM and email which I'm really looking forward to sharing - if you know of anyone else who might want to take part, please free to send them the link...places going fast though...75 definitions already submitted.
    Thanks
    Adam

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  17. Social media is PR's biggest opportunity in 20 years

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  18. By removing fear and giving everyone the opportunity to talk, Twitter awakens peoples minds to the true reality that exists around them.

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  19. Where words, photos, videos, & ideas can be created and published by anyone, and shared with, searched for, found by everyone.

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  20. social media is the platforms, tools and content that enable quicker, deeper and more personal connections, communication and collaboration

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  21. Social Media is conversation, is share, is comunication, is flowing ideas, is peoples without walls, without forced roules and all of this is market, is business

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  22. Social Media is quasi borderless communications that connect us with our microcosm.

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  23. Kate the Great21 January 2010 00:06

    Relationship marketing. Communicating respectfully: listening to the consumers (giving them a voice), responding & building their trust.

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  24. Social media is very popular, people to talk, participate, interact, share and bookmark.
    Web Marketing search Engine Optimization

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  25. Social media became very popular where people can interact and share with others

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  26. Conversation, collaboration, investigation, characterization, simplification, product-creation, optimization, mobilization, monetization.

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  27. New communities brought about by sharing without physical or social constraint, characterised by technology, liberty, wealth & openness.

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  28. Engagement & collaboration across many levels. individuals,companies,charity;anyone with a voice and who can listen.

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  29. Social media is like offline, traditional word of mouth but on steriods.

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  30. Mix with new people, observe their thinking, learn different topics - motivation for innovation at your fingertips!

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  31. Social Media is a web 2.0 vehicle that enhances user engagement and participation through the promotion and evolution of influential ideas.

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  32. People connecting where they work and play.

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  33. Opportunity to know your customers better and improve your business by improving relationships.

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  34. Patti Schom-Moffatt22 January 2010 05:29

    Social Media is a tool for engaging with audiences comprised of people you would be unlikely to come across on your own.

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  35. 'Social' can be frivolous, it can be a disraction or about procrastination. I prefer 'Network Media', a tool that builds connections.

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  36. For brands, it's an opportunity to be invited in, rather than knocking down the door.

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  37. Social media is talking to people using technology. You may see and hear them but can't touch. And usually you want others to join in.

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  38. Redefining why, where and how conversation takes place.

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  39. Social media is community, conversation and discovery. Online interaction with the people, products, and companies who matter most to you.

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  40. Vehicles that help people interact with each other online. Also: A field filled w/people of limited experience who insist they are gurus. :)

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  41. Social media is a catalyst for change- change in the way we connect with each other, change in the way businesses communicate with the world

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  42. A way to seek and share information, friendship, loyalties and business support without losing independence or our own unique take on life.

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  43. Big thanks to everyone who has left their definitions in the last 24 hours...aiming to publish the final list (including stuff sent via email, DM and @'s) on Mon 25 Jan.
    A

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  44. Social media is online content & communication that is interactive & dynamic, not controlled by any one person or entity.

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  45. Social Media is a stroll through a garden of internet delight, and an open door to connect with geniuses and jokers, friends and foes.

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  46. Social media = tools for listening, sharing, meeting, debating, connecting, asking, helping, selling, community-building, recommending

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  47. For me social media is about two things: friendship and learning. Frequently (and fortuitously) the two overlap.

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  48. Social Media shrinks time and place; it imposes a stark brevity; it leads strangers to each other; gives booming voice to a whisper; turns two legs into an army.

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  49. Social media epitomizes cyber self-expression for people and brands. It allows us to personalize communication and engage across the globe.

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  50. Social media=tools for listening, learning, interacting, helping - telling people what they want to know vs only what you want to tell them

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  51. Social media is the fun way to develop communities and become involved in activities you may have never done so before. As it is the fun way, it has become the best way.

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  52. a revolution, a shift, the changing of the guard, the return of communication to it's native form -> conversation <- the beginning

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  53. Social media is one of the biggest opportunities to brands online in recent history. It's the real time web in motion.

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  54. A giant virtual newsroom in which questions & opinions are shouted out & quickly answered, with frequently spectacular & surprising results

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  55. To me, social media means learning, sharing, conversing and engaging. It's about communicating and relationship building in real time.

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  56. Jennifer Sherlock25 January 2010 02:53

    To share your thoughts, passions, love of life and most of all to network, and bond in ways that were never thought of just a few years ago.

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  57. Great idea, Adam. Really looking forward to seeing the final list...

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  58. Hi Adam

    Great idea - what about:

    "Is real-time multi-directional conversations taking place btwn stakeholders across multiple social platforms. This interaction is now key."

    It's really hard to get this into 140 characters, as could talk forever, but I hope this is ok.

    thanks
    Katie:)

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  59. Communication. Community. Corresponding. Connections. Crowd Sourcing. Contributing. Still not *truly* social.

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  60. MarianneMorgan27 January 2010 10:11

    Widely misunderstood. It signals a shift towards openness, conversation and engagement and a huge opportunity for brands that get it right.

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  61. Social Media is a unnecessary burden.

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  62. The global platform for open collaboration; a hotbed of #innovation and #creativity!

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