{"id":158,"date":"2009-08-01T07:00:47","date_gmt":"2009-08-01T11:00:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/awgentry.com\/blog\/?p=158"},"modified":"2009-08-01T07:00:47","modified_gmt":"2009-08-01T11:00:47","slug":"social-media-like-befriending-a-reporter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/awgentry.com\/weblog\/social-media-like-befriending-a-reporter\/","title":{"rendered":"Social Media? Like, Befriending a Reporter?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"Social<\/a>

Image via Wikipedia<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

As you’ve probably heard, social media<\/a> (SM) is the newest rage<\/strong> in this Web 2.0<\/a> world. While the Web has long been more related to newspapers than conferences, countless social network services<\/a> have revolutionized it. The Internet has moved from a broadcast medium to a social, community-driven one<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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\"This<\/a>

Image via Wikipedia<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Control of website content has largely been transferred from programming geeks to everyday people. Services such as Youtube<\/a>, Facebook<\/a>, and Twitter<\/a> allow easy posting of user-generated content<\/a><\/strong>: text, videos, life updates, self- and business promotion, and more, all without touching a line of code.<\/p>\n

The most exciting innovation, though, is the network itself. Through social networking, you form communities around your content and interact<\/strong> with other users and businesses. You join other users’ networks by becoming their follower\/friend\/fan, and others join yours, in turn, when they’re interested in your updates. They get notified each time you post something new in designated areas.<\/p>\n

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\"Image<\/a><\/dt>\n
Image via CrunchBase<\/a><\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Social networks can be used for both one-on-one talks and well-executed broadcast messages, pushing your updates<\/strong> to those on your friend\/follower\/channel list without your needing to do any extra work. There are even social profile aggregators and syndicators<\/strong> such as Friendfeed<\/a>, which import or export your updates from several social media services automatically.<\/p>\n

How does a business make use of these powerful communities? Here are a few ideas:<\/p>\n