Sunday, May 11, 2014

Social  Media Tools

Writers in the new media environment must continue to learn and adapt to publishing content in a variety of formats.  A similar message must be altered and changed depending on the platform.  People often utilize one or more of these formats, sometimes simultaneously, to feel connected to the world.  Social media tools have proven to be effective in sharing information, receiving and sharing news, and shaping opinions.  Various delivery methods such as blogging, microblogging (Twitter) and social network sites effectively offer content to large audiences but each tool presents unique challenges. 

Blogs

Blogs are websites that can be started by any user and offer freedom regarding design, content formatting, and content publishing. Audiences can select blogs to follow, check, and subscribe to based on individual interests which give writers the freedom to explore topics of their choice.  The impact of blogs where people can share ideas and information in frequent posts is continuing to grow in popularity and advances in communication technology.  In 2011, there were an estimated 181 million blogs, a significant increase from 36 million in 2006. 



Twitter

Twitter is a micro blogging website where people can receive updates from followers and other Twitter users based on generated hashtags and trending topics.  Content is limited to 140 characters, making the messages short yet effective in reaching an audience.  Users can instantly share links, news, and opinions via the website, mobile site or app, or text message.



Social Networking Sites

Social networking sites vary in nature but have generally proven to be crucial in the dispersal of information in a timely manner.  A particular social networking site can be viewed as a community, where users can share information about themselves through the creation of a profile and posts featuring videos, links to websites, and photos.  These sites are extremely popular and extremely different in terms of their objectives; for example, Facebook is an all-encompassing social network that allows people to “friend” each other and share information based on attending the same schools, being from the same cities, being members of the same family, or having the same interests, LinkedIn, on the other hand, is a professional networking site geared toward career development and networking.  Within a short amount of time, the use of these sites has become widely popular with estimates that 67% of online adults use social networking sites.  With such a large presence on social networking sites, writers and users can connect to a varied audience.
 

https://www.facebook.com/ashley.harrigan.9


References

New Media Tools. (2014). aids. gov. Retrieved from http://aids.gov/using-new-media/tools/index.html#tool-bookmarkingNew

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