Some would say that this is a subject not worth explaining – being nearly a decade old now (blogs first started gaining popularity in 1999 and one of the first social network sites (Friendster) was founded in 2002). But I find that while some apply the convenient label onto it, very few perhaps understand what it is or what it is about. So here’s the first in a series of the very basics about what social media is. But for today, an introduction.

The web is social. There is no getting around that fact. And social media is just the convenient label that’s been slapped onto a constellation of blog posts, status messages, tweets, rss feeds and what-have-yous broadcasting every individual opinion into the ether.

So what is social media? If you’ve ever added a friend to Facebook, written or read an Amazon review, watched aYoutube video or even more recently ‘tweeted‘, then congratulations, you’ve participated in social media and are now part of the phenomenon.

The ‘traditional’ internet (circa 1995) worked much like traditional advertising (approximately) – your webpage was your brochure, your shopping cart was your mail order service. You chatted with your friends about your latest find via email. Web development tools were still in their infancy and the general public wasn’t quite connected yet. That said, the traditional forms of advertising worked well; display an ad, watch the money roll in.

That ‘traditional’ internet is dead.

And in its place we have the social web. In a lot of ways, the social web is like your traditional web – your webpage is your brochure, shopping cart is your mail-order service. You chatted with your friends about your latest find via email. Scratch that, the social web is nothing like your ‘traditional’ web.

These days, if Facebook news streams are any measure of relevance, then your latest finds are more likely to end up as a status update than an email. And if my younger sister is any measure of relevance, she’s just told 450 of her closest friends about the shitty time that she’s had at your store. The evolution of sophisticated publishing tools has made it easier than ever to broadcast your experiences, actions and even thoughts to an audience of hundreds, if not thousands.

And this data is out there, on Facebook, on Twitter, on Youtube, on blogs and a host of other social media. And this data is available to be stored, aggregated and redistributed in an endless array of ways; as demonstrated by the recent ‘100 Mentioned Brands on Twitter‘ or even the far less useful, but no less amusing Cursebird (a ‘real-time feed of people swearing on Twitter‘). And with Facebook opening up user newsfeeds to developers – we’re only beginning to see the beginnings of the deluge.

Which brings us to a case study. Just recently, Domino’s (US) was hit by a series of prank videos shot in their own kitchens by their own employees (since taken down). Almost an urban legend reenacted, one showed a male worker putting cheese into his nostrils before reusing said cheese to make a sandwich for a customer. Another still graphically showed said worker wiping his rear off with a sponge before using it to clean a pan. It wasn’t long before the internet community (i.e. everyone) was in uproar and Domino’s was beginning to feel the backlash.

This was however, an isolated incident. And when it began, with a mere 180,000 views on Youtube, it didn’t bear bringing to the wider attention of the general public. So Domino’s reached out, first to Youtube (to obviously have the videos taken down), then to the public, not via an unfeeling announcement, but via employee and official Twitter accounts and blog comments, answering questions and assuring the concerned. The internet reached out in return, figuring out who the culprits were and passing on that information back to Domino’s.

Domino’s ultimately released a public apology (once the numbers hit a very credible 2 million views). And, execution criticisms aside (wooden, canned), they chose the most appropriate path: a direct apology on the site of origin: Youtube. It was appropriate, it was targeted and more importantly, it gave consumers a face to relate to. The buzz soon turned positive (though not before skyrocketing as industrial media outlets picked up on it).

And while this was a fairly negative case study, what it does serve to illustrate is that the internet, unlike your ‘traditional’ media is a space for conversation. Whether that conversation is you talking to them, or them talking to each other, or even just you listening, the fact remains that the online, the line between reader and publisher are distinctly blurred to the point of insignificance.

So what does this mean? Does this mean you should be on Youtube? Or that you should be on Twitter? Have a blog? Start a Facebook account? Not necessarily. Though some have done it to some success, i.e. The Whopper Sacrifice(Facebook app), IKEA’s This is Home (Twitter & blog), Samsung’s HD Camera Trick Challenge (Youtube). Every business is different though, and as such every business has different needs. And your needs might not be served in the same way.

What it does mean though is that the website as a brochure no longer works. A website as a brochure is boring. And a website as a brochure probably won’t get you anywhere.

What it does mean is that you should take a chance, invest in an idea, engage your customers and ultimately, on your website, build an experience.

After all, as illustrated, the entire internet/social web is talking. Why not give them something to talk about?

Maybe next week: The internet’s latest social media darling – Twitter