Top 10 Social Media Practices

The quarter is coming to a close with only 1 day left of school for me until Finals begin next week. This is not only just the last quarter of school but it's the last quarter of my Bachelors degree. I do have an Internship this summer counting towards my degree but otherwise I am done! It's been a long road with plenty of hills, bumps and turns but I've reached the finish line and it feels great to move on to the next chapter of my life.

To close out my social media class here is a list of the Top 10 Social Media Practices.

1. Collaboration
 - This may seem like such a broad and generic term but it really is the heart of of social media. Without the willing attitude of collaboration from people social media simply wouldn't exist. It's important to keep this in mind moving forward in case we ever start to wonder off the road.

2. Participation
 - Is similar to collaboration in that it is centered on the involvement of people. It differs in that collaboration emphasizes on the building blocks of the foundation. Participation is the next step in the process that demands others to communicate, (provide input, friend, email, chat etc) and share information.

3. Community
 - The social media communities can be separate from in-person communities but they can also be branches of in-person communities. Social media and the Internet in general encourages sub-cultures and communities. This is useful for public and private organizations, agencies, individuals, and groups.

4. Networking
 - Allows for individuals, groups, and organizations to build connections with others that may be useful to them in the future. Social media networking provides a platform for people to connect from all over the world to build a better future whether it's for them personally or for a larger cause.

5. Innovation
 - Social media and innovation provides a level playing field. It's a chance for the "average" or "typical" person to be heard, seen, and recognized on a mass level. It stimulates new and different ideas to rise to the surface in a much quicker manner.

6. Transparency
 - There was once a day when privacy was the way. Today, is not that day. Privacy is now synonymous with having something to hide which in turn will lead to being unethical. Social media demands transparency not only from the client but also the consumer. Once again it provides a more level playing field and is a source for open communication. People continue to expect transparency as a must.

7. Branding
 - People associates branding with products and organizations. Social media enables branding of the individual. People can build themselves into a product. This allows for people to stand out from others and became wanted, needed, and demanded by the public. You can brand yourself however you like and you can brand yourself in more than one way to more than one target audience.

8. Self-Education
 - You may find yourself saying what's different between this and how it was before the days of social media. Sure, it's similar but now it's more accessible, user friendly, and diverse. Today people have the ability to learn how to become a chef right in their own home. They can train to be a lawyer, pick up a new skill or hobby all from their very own home. Most importantly, they can do all of these things and connect and share with others to keep the education train moving.

9. Wiki's
 - We all use wiki's in one form or another rather regularly whether we know it or not. Wiki's can be a great starting point when seeking out information. They can also be great for training purposes, group work, and sharing information. Wikipedia is a great example of a wiki and Google documents is another. They are rather different formats but provide similar opportunities for people to input and extract information.

10. Blogs
 - Being that this is a blog it only seemed right that I mention blogs. Blogs have become a staple of social media and a expected source for information on the Internet. Blogs are great for niche communities and groups while also being a tool used in branding, networking, self-education, transparency, innovation, community, participation, and collaboration. While gosh, I just named the entire Top 10 List. Blogs are an essential tool when it comes to social media and allows for you to connect social media practices on many levels. They can be vital for an individual to build themselves into a transparent brand and they can do the same for organizations.