What You Need to Know about Social Media (or "Web 2.0")

The buzz about social media has made its way into everyday conversations. Yet ask someone to define it and the answer will likely be unclear. Ask them how it might benefit your business and the answer gets even more confusing.

Simply put, the first fifteen years of the web were dominated by companies providing information and services for consumers to view - websites were essentially online brochures offering one-way communication. Today the web is becoming more of a "social medium," with users creating two-way conversations through tagging content, contributing to a wiki, podcasting, or blogging, for example. The web is transforming from a child into a rowdy teenager, or as some call it, Web version 2.0.