Image by Brian Solis of FutureWorks
At first glance, there seems to be a fairly obvious distinction between Social Media and Social Networking. And given that I consider myself fairly web savvy - I blog, I tweet, I 'friend', etc. - I didn't think I'd have a hard time nailing down the definitive characteristics of each term. But like many things in the rapidly evolving online world, sometimes the apparently obvious can be the most complex.
Lon S. Cohen attempts to provide an explanation in a recent post on the cohcom blog:
Social Media can be called a strategy and an outlet for broadcasting, while Social Networking is a tool and a utility for connecting with others.
The difference is not just semantics but in the features and functions put into these websites by their creators which dictates the way they are to be used. There’s also a kind of, which came first, the chicken or the egg kind of argument to be made here. I suspect that Social Networking came first which evolved into Social Media."
Lon further distinguishes which sites/tools fall into which category. LinkedIn? He calls that social networking. YouTube? It's social media. And what about Twitter and Facebook?
Twitter and Facebook are Web 2.0 sites with the whole package. They straddle the Social Media and Social Networking divide perfectly."
Still confused? Well here's perhaps a simpler way to process the divide. Social Media are tools for sharing and discussing information. Social Networking is the use of communities of interest to connect to others. You can use Social Media to facilitate Social Networking. Or, your can network by leveraging Social Media. If you're still scratching your head, be sure to watch a terrific Social Networking 101 video below. Don't be daunted, because knowing the web, I'm certain we'll be wrestling with new terminology soon.
Comments
Nice overview. This will come in handy over cocktails with the disconnected.
Could you summarize it, then, to say that social media is connecting with information and social networking is connecting with people? Or is that making it too simple?
A great issue to flag, but I'm not convinced the distinction itself is useful. Social media facilitate networking and social networks share and discuss information. You say tomato, I say tomato. And I think that observation is even more salient when it is written rather than spoken.
This is a great article and re-cap, thanks!
There are specific differences between the two, as there are several social media outlets or channels that one couldn't really network in the same regard with like twitter vs. facebook.
It's just a different tool, and a different communication pattern, that's for sure.
With social networking sites, someone could examine the psychographics of an individual, whereas twitter, it's plain and simple, not even basic demographics are listed. Merel
I'd simply say that social media, by default, let's anyone see your content — or at least, assumes someone you are not friends with might be interested in it; the focus is on voting up the most relevant content beyond the creator's neighborhood. Social network(ing) prefers to limit interaction and control to that first degree sphere; you might have some content visible to anyone, but mostly to identify people as relevant members of your close circle.
I think Social Media is 2 way digital communication and that includes Networking, bookmarking, content communities, Wikis, Microblogging and blogging.
Social Networking is just a part of the overall picture...In my opinion :-)
@Dr. Nik - Yes, the poor "disconnected". :)
@Sheyna - That's a good way of looking at it (in my opinion), although sometimes social networking is a means of connecting with information as well. Now I've confused myself...*grin*
@Sterling Lynch - I tend to agree with you there Sterling. The bottom line may be that they are both important regardless of their possible differentiating characteristics.
@Amber Sims Hinterplattner - Oooh. Psychographics of the individual sounds like another great
The way I see it...
Social Networking is a verb. It depicts the activity of socializing or interacting with people or content within any online community, from LinkedIN and Facebook to YouTube and Flickr.
I've always defined Social Media as:
Any tool or service that uses the internet to facilitate conversations.
The longer version:
Social Media is the democratization of information, transforming people from content readers into publishers. It is the shift from a broadcast mechanism, o
@Brian Solis - Excellent graphic and distinction Brian, thank you!
@Andrew Davis - Yes, I do believe you are correct, thanks.
@Bertil Hatt - Interesting focus on content's role here Bertil, thank you.
Great Question & explanation. I really don't know if there is a single answer / way to pinpoint what the difference is. What we must remember, is that behind all these Social Networks like Facebook, Twitter and Linked in are people...So it is people who are really driving the growth!
Thoughts?
www.twitter.com/brettkopf
Thank you for this! I needed to reference this information for an article, and was glad to find information from a fellow Examiner!
Thanks for the short and easy to understand explanation.
Helpful post, thank you!
Can anybody help me with these questions Please
1-Can social media and social networking
serve as a strategic competitive
differentiator for business? If so, how?
2-What potential benefits could social media
and social networking sites offer a business?
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Hey Mark, thanks for the detailed explanation, however, I would like to show your graphic to my students, but it seems we can´t enlarge it to see it properly, could you please take a view on that?
Thanks
Carrol Alton
http://www.retirementlifecommunities.com
I didn't think I'd have a hard time nailing down the definitive characteristics of each term.
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