Social media has changed the way people communicate and connect in some ways for the better, and in others, some may say, for the worse. Still, the main ones we will focus on in this section of the textbook are the impacts on business through social media marketing, employee recruitment, and mental health. In 2002, LinkedIn was founded as a social media for professionals (Maryville, 2021). Next, in 2003 Myspace was born to attract users from Friendster, which had announced it would be moving to a fee-based membership. This gave Myspace the ability to gain popularity and grow its user base very quickly. Myspace eventually met its demise because of safety issues that were plaguing the site (Boyd & Ellison, 2007).

What are the benefits of social media for personal use?

Whether for connecting with others, sharing creative content, building professional networks, or seeking entertainment, there’s a platform suited for every purpose. Understanding the various types of social media helps individuals and businesses choose the right tools to achieve their goals, fostering meaningful engagement in the digital world. Social media refers to a broad range of online platforms and applications that enable users, creators, and businesses to interact, create communities, exchange ideas, and share content. These platforms are essential for modern communication and marketing strategies, allowing for real-time engagement and content distribution. Among the myriad of social media platforms, several stand out due to their extensive user bases and unique features. Facebook, with over three billion monthly active users, serves as a central hub for social networking and content sharing.

Business

Social media platforms like Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram have made global communication seamless, allowing users to share messages, photos, and videos in real-time. This instant connectivity has strengthened personal relationships, bridged geographical divides, and made long-distance communication more accessible than ever. In 2006, X’s launch included its feed feature, where posts from accounts that a user followed were aggregated onto a single page. More users began posting links to external sites, where news stories, current events, and product pages could be shared with personal updates.

This emphasis on temporary communications and inclusion of various fun filters has made it popular with a younger crowd. Snaps can be pictures or videos, and users can add text, visual effects or drawings to both. While it is possible to take a screenshot of a temporary message and therefore make it permanent, doing so will alert the sender. IRC is a form of text-based instant messaging that was designed for group conversations as opposed to one-to-one connection. While IRC remains in use today on servers such as Libera Chat and OFTC, it requires a client connection to an IRC server.

AI is stepping in to personalize feeds, and smaller, niche platforms are popping up for tighter-knit communities. Individuals catch up with friends or discover news, while businesses promote products and chat with customers. It’s also a go-to for entertainment—scrolling TikTok or watching YouTube feels like second nature to many. Although social media is a vastly helpful technology, there are also many downfalls to social media.

For businesses, it offers cost-effective marketing, enhances brand exposure, facilitates content sharing, enables targeted advertising, and Wolf Winner Facebook improves customer engagement. Works similarly to TikTok with short-video functionality but tailored to Indian users and content preferences. This platform is a good example of how global social media trends adapt (even after bans) to specific regional markets and languages. Explore 2025 social media trends short-form video, AI content, social commerce, niche platforms, and community building shaping the future of engagement.

Quora is a knowledge-sharing platform where users ask questions and receive detailed answers from other community members. The platform attracts professionals and subject matter experts willing to either pose questions or help solve them. This interaction creates valuable repositories of information across countless topics.

• Social media has transformed the way we interact, communicate, and acquire information.
• These boards make it perfect for planning activities and discovering products.
• It’s open-source and designed to give people—not corporations—power over their online experience.
• This activity will introduce you to social media, how it works and why it’s so popular.

Explore benefits, best practices, and future trends for effective influencer marketing. In today’s fast climate, efficiency and convenience are the keys to successful communication technology. Josh, a current senior at Clemson University, began his quest for a job after graduation in 2021.