What is Social Media? Definition, Benefits & Examples

In the business world, social media serves as a key tool for marketing, product promotion, customer service, and engagement. Businesses use these platforms to communicate with customers and gather feedback. The benefits of social media for individuals are vast and varied, enhancing personal, social, and professional aspects of life. From staying connected and informed to expressing creativity and building careers, social media offers endless opportunities for growth and engagement. By leveraging its positive aspects while maintaining mindful and responsible usage, individuals can harness the full potential of social media to enrich their lives and achieve their goals. Businesses use social media to identify and capitalize on consumer trends, engage with customers, collect consumer data, and pay for targeted advertising.

While far from its peak popularity that it once had, MySpace still continues to operate, but on a smaller yet significant user base. It is now a music-focused platform where artists can promote their work and connect with fans. The platform is an important chapter in social media history, and for now, it is doing an excellent job of maintaining music communities alive. Today, Twitch keeps expanding, aside from gaming, also into music, creative content, and “Just Chatting” streams. The platform’s monetization features and live interactive chat system create amazing unique communities.

2 What is Social Media?

Meta, for example, is going all in on AI-driven ad tools and image-to-video tech. Despite a slight decline, Flickr still remains popular among photography pros for sharing high-quality images. It is also the place for organizing photo collections and even for participating in photography communities. The platform maintains a niche due to its serious photography focus rather than casual social sharing. The platform attracts educated users looking for detailed answers to complex questions. The platform offers similar short-video functionality but adapts to local preferences and content styles in different regions.

Communication and connection

• By focusing on quality and genuine expression, you can create meaningful digital experiences.
• They set rules for what was allowable, decided which content to promote and which to ignore.
• Renren, once called the “Facebook of China,” experienced a dramatic decline as newer, alternative platforms started to emerge.
• We recommend reading through that list to see what social media apps might work best for you and your brand.

Its advantage is that it leverages Instagram’s user base for rapid adoption. While still evolving, Threads aims to give a more controlled environment for text-based social networking. At least 19 people were killed Monday when police dispersed young demonstrators in Kathmandu and other parts of Nepal demanding the government lift a social media ban and tackle corruption. Authenticity and transparency in social media interactions foster trust and a positive image.

Starting in primitive form, the first social networks consisted of basic messaging applications that allowed multiple users to type messages to each other over a computer network. Copyblogger published an interesting article several years ago, making the argument that blogs are indeed social media, despite the fact that people tend to put them in a category all on their own these days. In fact, blogs are one of the oldest forms of social media that dominated the web long before we were friending and following everyone on social networks. As mentioned earlier, a lot of people use the terms social media and social networking interchangeably as if they mean the exact same thing.

The First Amendment of the United States Constitution protects freedom of speech and expression against federal, state, and local government censorship. A precursor of the electronic bulletin board system (BBS), known as Community Memory, appeared by 1973. Mainstream BBSs arrived with the Computer Bulletin Board System in Chicago, which launched on February 16, 1978. Before long, most major US cities had more than one BBS, running on TRS-80, Apple II, Atari 8-bit computers, IBM PC, Commodore 64, Sinclair, and others.

WhatsApp has become an almost “de facto standard in communication” in many countries, particularly across Asia, Europe, and Latin America. Plus, its simple, reliable messaging experience has made it the preferred communication method for billions of users worldwide. We didn’t just look at user numbers—we also weighed how relevant each platform is, both globally and within specific regions. We give quick insights into their audiences and features—whether they’re mainstream, niche, or rising fast. Violent protests driven by discontent over inequality and lavish perks for lawmakers have rocked Indonesia in recent weeks. A year ago, a student-led popular uprising over job quotas ousted the longtime leader of Bangladesh.

Live videos and direct messages enable users to communicate instantly, adding a dynamic layer to social media usage. This immediacy fosters a sense of presence and connection, as users Wolf Winner Online Casino can participate in live events, discussions, and personal conversations without delay. Social media dates back to 1844 with the creation of the Morse Code, which is a series of electronic dots and dashes tapped out by hand on a telegraph (Maryville, 2021). This code allowed people to connect and share information even if they were far apart, which is a significant foundation of social media today.

Monday’s rallies against the ban swelled to tens of thousands of people in Kathmandu and crowds surrounded the Parliament building before police opened fire on the demonstrators. What began as a ban on apps has spiraled into a youth-led revolt against corruption and inequality, with deadly consequences. The Oli government may roll back restrictions under pressure, but the anger unleashed signals a deeper crisis of trust between Nepal’s leaders and its restless young citizens.

Furthermore, social media can hold power structures accountable by amplifying voices that challenge corruption, inequality, and abuse. Viral campaigns and public pressure created through platforms like TikTok and Twitter often force corporations and governments to address demands they might otherwise ignore. Some may be used purely for socializing, while others are oriented toward professional network building or job-hunting.