Andrew Davis' Blog
Glossary
(June 2011)
Blog
A blog aka "web log" is a type of website or part of a website usually maintained by an individual, or team, with regular posts. These can vary from descriptions of events to other material such as graphics or video. Blogs can make you a leader in your particular field and are very important factors in your social media strategy. Examples: Huffington Post, Perez Hilton.
Comments
A comment is generally a verbal or written remark often related to an added piece of information, or an observation or statement. Within social media, comments can be found underneath content like videos, blog posts or images. Examples: http://www.chrisbrogan.com/my-best-advice-about-blogging/.
Content Communities
The community is built around the content on that particular website. Without the content it would be a poor social network. Examples: YouTube, SlideShare, Flickr.
Crowd Sourcing
Crowdsourcing is an act traditionally performed by an organisation to a large group of people or community. A lot of people are using this as their new focus group. Examples: http://www.socialnetworkroadmap.com/index/?p=463.
E commerce
Buying or selling products or services online. The E stands for electric. Examples: Amazon, eBay.
Flashmob
A large group of people who assemble suddenly in a public place to perform unusual and pointless acts for a period of time...then leave. Organisers are using social media a lot more to organise these events. Examples: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8FLiAuNTqs,http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQ3d3KigPQM.
Forums
Forums is a online discussion group, usually based around somebody asking for help and individuals trying to answer. Forums have been around for a number of years and can be seen as an early form of web2.0. Examples: http://www.teacherstalk.co.uk/,http://www.ukteachersforums.co.uk/.
Hashtags
Hashtags are essentially a simple way to catalogue and connect information to specific topics. Twitter made hashtags popular and is an essential part of why they became popular. Examples: #socialmedia, #music.
“Like”
A “Like” is an action that can be made by a Facebook user. Instead of writing a comment for a message or a status update, a Facebook user can click the “Like” button as a quick way to show approval and share the message. Examples: from you.
Meme
A lot of content that goes viral can be described as a meme. A meme is essentially a phenomena. Examples: Old Spice, lolcats, Blendtec - will it blend?.
Micro blogging
Micro blogging is about getting your message heard but in 140 characters or less. The most popular microblogging website is Twitter. Examples: Twitter, Jaiku.
Podcasts
A podcast is a digital audio file. It can be seen as the equivalent to radio. Examples: Podomatic, iTunes, Audioboo.
Real Time Search
Real Time Search is finding what people are saying about a particular subject right now in real time. Examples: search.twitter.com.
Retweet
Retweeting is how twitter users share interesting tweet from the people they are following. It is very similar to forwarding in emails.
SEO
Search is the gateway to the internet and SEO is the process in which you can be found in search engines such as Google and Bing.
Social Bookmarking
Social bookmarking is a method for Internet users to organize, store, manage and search for bookmarks of resources online. Unlike file sharing, the resources themselves aren't shared, merely bookmarks that reference them. Examples: Delicious, Reddit, Digg.
Social Media
Social media is digital two-way communication. It is about building relationships around your content rather than just simply broadcasting. Essentially is it making media social.
Social Networking
Social Networking is a structure made up of individuals which are connected together via a common ground, that could be friendship, relationship, interests, work etc. Social networking has been around since the beginning of time its just now we have technology to expand our network and make it easier to organise. Examples: Facebook, LinkedIn, Mumsnet.
Trending Topics
Trending Topics are usually the top ten keywords that are usually being talked about on various social media sites. Sites like Twitter and Technorati usually display their trending topic throughout the site.
URL
URL is your web address ie www.theworstkeptsecret.com. Stands for: Uniform Resource Locator (URL).
Viral Video
A viral video is one that becomes popular through the process of internet sharing, typically through video sharing websites and email. Examples: Charlie bit my finger, Evolution of dance.
Vlogging
Vlogging is the same as blogging but through video. Examples: Make-up girl - Lauren Luke, Charlie Mcdonnell.
Wiki
Wiki is a website that allows the easy creation and editing of any number of interlinked web pages via a web browser. Examples: Wikipedia, Wikihow, Wikispaces.
Andrew Davis