Today begins our fourth month in our 10-month training program for nonfiction writers! Get a quick refresher on “I Know I Can” Write Nonfiction in November’s unique program en route to November’s month-long challenge. For today’s prompt, your job is to define social media.
Social Media Basics, Week #1
If you’ve been following along since January, you’ll notice this heading as something new this month. Usually, the prompts follow a pattern that repeats every Monday, Wednesday, or Friday. Now, we will follow a different pattern each week. This month’s theme is “social media experiments.” In week one, we will focus on social media basics.
The form of writing that is most closely associated with social media is blogging. You are strongly encouraged to complete a blog post in response to this month’s writing prompts.
Creative Idea Gal’s Thoughts
Social media is a huge topic that could potentially drive our 10-month training program. Let’s take a small bite out of that theme by concentrating on social media experiments. For today’s prompt, I’m asking you to define social media. My definition of social media is as follows. Social media is an interconnected infrastructure on the Internet that allows adults to communicate and share data. If I were to create a picture of my definition, I’d draw a series of plumbing pipes, faucets, and connectors to show how the world wide web is one giant apparatus that connects users with data throughout a series of perpetual pipes.
I’m not a fan of children using social media, so I limit my definition of social media to adults. I also limit my definition of social media to those technologies that have been around for the last 10 years, which would automatically discount the old-fashioned web-hosting communities, such as AOL or geocities. I also do not consider e-mail to be any form of social media, despite its very nature of sending communications or data to others.
Helpful Resources
“…social media relates to the technology and platforms that enable the interactive web’s content creation, collaboration and exchange by participants and the public.” – Heidi Cohen, marketing expert.
“Definition: Social Media. Digital systems that enable people, identified by profiles, to share information.” – Mindy McAdams, journalism professor.
Writing Prompt 037
- Step 1: Think about how you use the Internet and how often you use it.
- Step 2: Think about whether it’s important to connect with people online. What would be your reasons for wanting to connect with others online?
- Step 3: Define social media based on your opinion, personal experiences, and research. Back up your answers with specific examples.
Please be sure to leave comments about this writing prompt. We want to hear from you!
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