1. An Infinite Puzzle Piece

It is hard to put together because the pieces are always changing… molding themselves into what they are becoming. If that sounds like a circular statement… it is. 

There are no rules in social media. It is an experiment… The sky is the limit.  via @Appomattox_News

2. An Organism

It is alive. I once asked a group of colleagues what social media would look like In Real Life. Infinite blocks of cubicles… sometimes the cube people pop up and say something. Or a billion people on a river at one time… you never step in the same river twice, right?

A couple months ago people were still using URLs to link to websites. Now they are linked to twitter tweeple. If I leave this article here, on my blog, it will stay here. But if I turn it loose in social media… I can no longer control it. It becomes a living thing. 

3. Tools for community

For sharing and discussing information on the web. 

A method of allowing groups of people to come together regardless of title to share ideas, information, perspectives and to drive positive change. via @JoeGerstandt

Activities that integrate technology, telecommunications and social interaction, and the construction of words, pictures, videos and audio. Social media are distinct from industrial media, such as newspapers, television, and film. While social media are relatively cheap tools that enable anyone (even private individuals) to publish or access information, industrial media generally require significant financial capital to publish information via Wikipedia. 

4. Another form of marketing

A method of gaining publicity through online communities and networks.

5. A revolution in human culture. 

It is fundamentally shifting every element of human society: business, media, government, the arts, education, religion, family life… It’s almost as if the social web has enabled an era where trust is the core value and everything outside of trust (via our relationships online and off) is irrelevant. Is it about friendships? Yes. Is it more than that? Infinitely yes. via @socialmediariver @wiselywoven