Introduction

The focus of this lesson is to provide you with a history of the World Wide Web and an introduction to Web 2.0 and the social media revolution. As a “digital native,” you’re probably unable to think of a time when the World Wide Web and social media were not a part of your life. We’ll discuss the scope and the ever-changing landscape of social media.

In addition, we’ll categorize the different types of social media by breaking them down into “zones.” We’ll discuss the general principles that apply to all social media—regardless of zones—as well as discuss the defining characteristics of social media and examine its infrastructure.

Finally, we'll briefly touch on how standard marketing techniques can work in a social media landscape and how those standard techniques can be altered slightly to be more effective.

Objectives

After you complete this lesson, you should be able to do the following:

• Provide a basic definition for social media.
• Describe the social media value chain.
• Explain the current significance of social media in society and business.
• Identify the four zones of social media and distinguish between them.
• Identify basic principles and characteristics of social media marketing.
• Explain how marketing can influence the consumer buying process.

Readings and Activities

By the end of this lesson, make sure you have completed the readings and activities found in Lesson 1 of the Course Schedule.