Businesses have lesser control over the informational available online

Internet origin: Bulletin Board System to exchange things with each other
Corporate web started with Amazon and eBay in 1995, but only spiked during
the dot-com bubble of 2001
Current trend of SM: a platform to facilitate information exchange between users


HISTORICAL ROOTS
Open Diary (Abelsons): weblog was first introduced along with this early SNS
Blog can a year after as a joke
Growth of high-speed Internet access increased the concept of SM
TECHNICAL SPECIFICITIES

DIFFERENCES FROM WEB 2.0 AND USER GENERATED CONTENT
Web 2.0
2004: a collaborative platform for developers + users to continuously modify and
utilize the WWW instead of being created and published by individuals
Web 1.0: personal web pages, Encyclopedia the root of content publishing
Web 2.0: platform for the evolution of SM
Technical specs:
(1) Adobe flash - for interactivity
(2) Really Simple Syndication [RSS] - for published of updated content in a
standardized form
(3) Asynchronous Java Script [AJAX] to retrieve data from servers that allows
non-interference during web content updates
TYPES OF SOCIAL MEDIA
1. Collaborative Projects
2. Blogs
3. Content Communities
4. Social Networking Sites
5. Virtual Game Worlds: simulated environments inhabited by 3D avatars
o Most famous: Linden Labs Second Life
6. Virtual Social Worlds