What is social media and social networks

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A device to read this article

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Beginner

What is Social Media?

Social Media is a term used to describe online platforms that allow users to communicate, to share ideas and knowledge, to create groups and communities, and to build relationships.

What is a Social Network?

Social Network is a term that is used when talking about a particular online platform that allows you to “network” with people online, networking may include posting information, commenting, or messaging other users. An example of a Social Network is Facebook.

So what can I do with a social network?

Social media can be quite powerful and there are a lot of different types of Social Networks available online for a variety of different uses including:

• Networking with employers
• Watching online videos
• Finding or creating events
• Sharing photos
• Reviewing restaurants

So it all depends on what you want to do online as to which Social Network you use, If you want to communicate with friends and family there’s Facebook, if you want to start a video call with someone there’s Skype, if you want to look up restaurant reviews there’s Yelp, and if you want to watch online videos there’s YouTube.

Social Networks can let you do many things, and the following are some real-world examples to show just how powerful Social Networks can be:

• Communicate with friends and family overseas from anywhere in the world
• Start a knitting group in your area
• Join a gardening community of expert gardeners where you can ask all the gardening questions you like
• Create a page for your business to keep your customers informed of the latest specials

There is no definitive list of which social network to use as there are literally hundreds of different platforms to choose from, but defining what your needs are will help in finding the social network that is right for you.

Attributions

Icons made by Madebyoliver from www.flaticon.com is licensed by CC 3.0 BY