Social Media

Social media is a way of interaction through the internet with family, friends, professional personal or political people.  It allows you to communicate and collaborate through the internet, enabling people to share their thoughts through blogging, where others can read and respond.   It also allows you to post videos and photos on other pages.  You can also read and edit others people blogs and reviews.  In the 1980's, newsgroups online became popular and that brought about the online bulletin boards.  You don't have to go to you local supermarket or landromat to view bulletins, you can view them online using the Usenet Network.  That's several servers that make use of network news transfer protocol (NNTP), that sends out news group messages.   There are other social media's that young and old take part of daily.

Below is an example of how teachers are using social media to reach their students! Enjoy!!.

Text Messaging and Chat

Text messaging, also called short message service (SMS), allows users to send short messages via a cellular device.  It also allows you to send audio and video in addition to text.  You can also send messages and multimedia messages from a cell phone to a webpage.  Since there are some limits to the amount you can send or text, companies now offer unlimited messaging plans.  They have short abbreviations to save space. (ie, c u 2 morrow means see you tomorrow.)  This is something I have yet to master.  By the time I'm finishing sending the message in regular english, the person on the other end has sent several messages back. I'm much faster than I was a year ago.  Then there's chat.  It is more than one user, exchanging text or multimedia messages using special client or web interface.  The users need a special kind of internet relay chat (IRC) and the receiving users has to have the same server to chat.  You may also use a chatroom, where you can have the privilege to go to private channels, where to get in you have to be invited.
Web based chat is using a web browser instead of a chat client, that's the difference from a chat room.  You can also text and have multimedia messages.

Chat is very popular and there are certain rules that has to be followed. Abbreviations are also used and users should never give their real names, addresses or private information.  A very popular chat is instant messaging (IM).  It can be with general people on the internet. 

http://news.cnet.com/8301-17939_109-10078997-2.html
http://www.netlingo.com/acronyms.php

GoAnimate.com: Text and Chat Messaging by BettyAllen

Like it? Create your own at GoAnimate.com. It's free and fun!

Social Networking

Users connect with people, friends, family, coworkers and share information, pictures, videos, even invitations.  There are also social groups that are formed. In social networking, you are able to market products, parties and even exchanging information for ultimate networking.  Some of the most interesting discussions are conducted on social networking sites, to where a single-thread may extend for days, because the discussion is interesting. Sites such as MySpace, Eons, Beho, hi5, and of course Facebook, are prime examples of the social networking sites that may of us have become addicted to.  There are around 151 millions user of facebook, which equals 51% of the population of the USA.  Through these sites, other services such as instant messaging and real-time chat are offered. 

To get onto one of these social networks, you have to create a profile and begin requesting and confirming friends.   When Facebook first started, users had to have a college email address in order to sign up for it.  Now, anyone can have a facebook account.  As you begin to confirm and deny friends, you network expands - spanning from continent to continent, sea to sea.  I am a member of facebook and I have about 1800 friends, more than one of my daughters!  Most of my friends are people I don't know, but met on facebook, or through one of the gaming networks facebook offers. What I like most about facebook is the status updates and the games. The ability to be encouraging or encouraged is also a great plus!

http://www.facebook.com/

/http://www.myspace.com/