Social Media 101

Description

Humans are social animals. We don’t need science to tell us that because we know it instinctively—we look to make friends even in our youngest years and feel safer and happier when we’re connected to others. In fact, neuroscientific research has shown that our desire for social connection is no less biologically based than our need for food or sleep. The human brain is, quite literally, wired for social connection, and our current technology taps into that need for connection through social media.

Throughout history, however, the technologies we’ve developed to bring us closer together and make our ideas more accessible have not always been welcomed. Fear of social change has been a common response to the development of life-altering technologies like the printing press and the telegraph, for example, and many people have similar concerns about social media today. Nevertheless, with more than 100 websites and apps to help us meet one of our most basic human communication needs, social media is here to stay.

In Social Media 101, educator and photographer Pei Ketron will teach you how to utilize social media to your best advantage, with a step-by-step guide to a curated group of 16 exciting and commonly used social media platforms. She shares her knowledge—and her screen—to teach you how to get started, build your network, and use the most powerful options each platform has to offer. While Social Media 101 includes many of the most popular platforms worldwide—some of which you might already be using—it also includes some lesser-known websites and apps that might be just right for your specific needs. In addition, Pei teaches you the best ways to use one of the most powerful aspects of any social-media exchange: photography.

Even if you are not an avid social media user, understanding this increasingly influential and far-reaching tool can help you decide if there is a form out there that could work for you. Whether social media is an active part of your life or just something you often hear about in the news, no one can deny how powerful it is and how helpful it can be to know its reach and how it works.

The Social Media Lexicon

Like every new technology, social media has its own vocabulary as we need new ways to talk about concepts and objects we’ve never before encountered. While tweets, pins, influencers, and avatars are not new words, they certainly have taken on new meanings in the age of social media. Other words, such as clickbait and hashtag, were developed to meet a specific need as the use of these new tools spread. In Social Media 101, you’ll not only learn how to use specific platforms, but you’ll also develop an understanding of generalized social media culture as you learn the meanings of these words and more:

• Hashtag: The hash mark or number sign has been used for centuries, but it only became the hashtag about 15 years ago when social media users needed a way to identify, tag, and organize keywords. Now, when you add a hashtag in front of a word, you’re identifying your content, adding it into an ongoing stream of similar topics, and making your posts more discoverable.
• Influencers: People often wonder how social media companies make money, and influencers are part of that answer. Influencers are social media users who have grown a large following, anywhere from 10,000 followers to more than 1 million, depending on the platform. Those followers represent a powerful niche audience to businesses, who pay influencers to push their product or brand.
• Lurkers: The concept of lurking around might have a negative connotation, but not necessarily in the world of social media. A lurker is simply a person who looks at posts, increasing the posts’ visibility, but doesn’t engage in the platform directly.

Commonly Used Resources That Are Actually Social Media Platforms

In this course, you’ll learn about platforms you might already be using but had perhaps not associated with social media. If that’s the case, you probably haven’t yet understood the full functionality of the website or app. These might include:

• Goodreads: You probably know Goodreads as a great place to keep track of the books you’ve read and those you’re planning to get to. In this course, you’ll learn how to connect with other readers of similar interests and join groups that can work as virtual book clubs.
• Pinterest: Want to get some great ideas for bridal shower decorations or a kitchen remodel? There’s a good chance you’ll head over to Pinterest to look around and borrow some ideas. You can also connect with people by leaving a text or photo comment on their pins and even invite collaboration.
• YouTube: Where do you go to find videos on the internet? You go to YouTube. And with approximately 500 hours of new content uploaded every minute, according to some researchers, you can certainly find video on just about any topic you can imagine. But the platform is also a great place to create community as you get to know those who follow your favorite YouTubers and/or build your channel.

As social media continues to grow, you will likely see more and more sites and apps that enhance their specialized tools and technologies with the social elements that define being on the internet in the 21st century.

A Curated Group of Platforms

In Social Media 101, you’ll learn the ins and outs of the major players in the field of social media. Consider the online juggernaut Facebook, the first platform to register more than 1 billion user accounts. With more than 2.6 billion monthly active users, with more than 70 percent logging in daily, you’ll definitely want to learn the most effective ways to promote yourself or your business on Facebook. Instagram, one of the fastest-growing platforms today and owned by Facebook since 2012, has about 1 billion monthly active users. Twitter, with more than 350 million monthly active users, also provides enormous opportunity to share opinions and connect with others. For those looking to make business connections, there’s LinkedIn, where users can grow their professional networks beyond their immediate contacts. And then there are the newest social media phenomena, such as TikTok, a video-sharing service that is starting to gain immense traction among the youngest internet users.

Chances are you’ve heard of those behemoth platforms. But in this course, you’ll also learn about several social media websites and apps that, while they do have a smaller user base, can provide you wide-ranging access to just the groups you’d like to connect with. These include:

• Discord: Originally created for gamers, Discord has evolved to include anyone who wants to connect and build community with like-minded individuals. Its 100 million monthly active users can communicate via text, voice, or video, either individually or in groups.
• Nextdoor: With 27 million monthly active users, Nextdoor has a very narrow geographic focus and a goal of helping people communicate easily with their neighbors. Nextdoor can take the place of the old town square or bulletin board, connecting people who are part of a community but who may not always meet their neighbors face to face.
• Bēhance: Owned by Adobe, Bēhance helps creatives communicate with other creatives and share visual work. This is not a platform to share the single photo your friend took of his cat. But with about 12 million registered users, if you have a portfolio to share or if you’re looking for a designer to hire, Bēhance could be the perfect platform.

No matter which social media platform you decide to try, Social Media 101 will guide you through it step by step. As your course instructor says, give it a try—learn how the various parts of each site work by testing them out and noticing what happens. You’ll soon see why nearly half the world now uses social media to stay connected.

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