What is social media?

If you’re feeling lost, wondering what social media is and why it matters, this video is a good primer. It’s part of a great series of YouTube videos that explain complicated systems in plain English and with adorable graphics.

Basically, social media is a way to connect with other people. It’s about sharing. The fundamental notion is that people make sense of the world through their network of friends. Your friends are more likely to trust you than a stranger, say, me. So shared information is powerful information. The more an item is shared, the more influential it is.

Where do I start?

Create a Facebook profile. Facebook is the single biggest network in the word, and it’s still growing rapidly (700,000 people a day). If you need a hand, the Help page will walk you through the process. Or, here’s another video, part of another informative, instructional series.

Twitter is another often-used social networking site. It’s built on the same premise – that friends are the best sources of information – but takes the sharing to a different level. The information comes in short, 140-word chunks, and many users of Twitter send multiple tweets a day. Some users say they use the site as their primary news source. Twitter has posted to YouTube a series of videos explaining how it works.

Also, an artist named Jessica Hische has a beautiful site that explains Twitter in easy-to-understand terms.

More resources will be coming soon. If you have questions, feel free to e-mail me at carli.brosseau@tucsoncitizen.com or send us a message on Twitter @TucsonCitizen.