What is social media? The blurring of author and audience.

Late last week, I found myself in a meeting that began with a question that's always surprisingly difficult to answer: "What is social media?"

I've long since settled on my own preferred definition -- "any tool that lets you share information and network with others" -- so I was intrigued to hear the various definitions that other attendees had scoured from the Web.

One of those definitions included a line that's been echoing around in my head for days now. It said that social media is a form of online communication "in which individuals shift fluidly and flexibly between the role of audience and author."

That is dead-on perfect. And I'm not just saying that because it's the definition my boss brought to the meeting.

Turns out it's just part of a summary written by Joseph Thornley, CEO of Thornley Fallis, back in April 2008. Here's the full thing:

"Social media are online communications in which individuals shift fluidly and flexibly between the role of audience and author. To do this, they use social software that enables anyone without knowledge of coding, to post, comment on, share or mash up content and to form communities around shared interests."

It's a bit long to spout off whenever a friend or relative asks me to explain what I do as a "social media strategist," but it's a really spectacular summary. Joseph covers millions upon millions of diverse conversations in just two sentences.

Do you have a preferred definition that you've stumbled across or just cobbled together on your own?

Comments

[Scott Hepburn]

I absolutely LOVE that definition. Thanks so much for sharing it, David.

I would add only one thing, and it's embodied in the second half of Thornley's defintion. The "sharing" element is an important piece here. I'd expand it:

Social media is a form of online communication "in which individuals shift fluidly and flexibly between the role of audience and author" and in which audience-authors can easily interact with each other and with content.

[Herpes Remedies]

Only if you are completely sure that your sexual partner is free of any sexually transmitted disease, then, you could choose to have sex without the need of wearing a condom.

[Online pharmacy]

I would add only one thing, and it's embodied in the second half of Thornley's defintion.

[Sandeep Singh]

US Online Pharmacy,cheap drugs and best quality no prescription drugs online. http://www.8pills.com/

[Fabiola Sutton]

That's the prefect definition. When I first heard of social media, one word came to my mind. "networking"

[pharmacy viagra]

Social media describes websites that allow users to share content, media, etc. Common examples are the popular social networking sites like Friendster, Facebook, MySpace, etc.