Social media is represented in various mediums – Facebook, LinkedIn, instant messaging, and texting – all forms of communication.  I’m using another form right now – blogging.

Blogs are a means to engage, inform and share.  The key to blogging is fresh content, especially if your blog is attached to your main website.  Some blogs are personal. They enable family and friends who are separated by distance to keep in touch.  Other blogs are business oriented. They include updates from the CEO’s desk, announcements about major company initiatives and new-products offerings.

My website provides tips on business blogging. It also notes some ways to engage, inform and share information with your target audience.  Sign up for my “Social Media Marketing” series @ http://www.SetUFreeVA.com to read more.

If you are new to social media or still considering joining the masses; here’s a cheat sheet of common terms used in the social media arena:

Blogs: short for “web logs” – allows companies and individuals to interact with consumers, target audience and friends.  The preferred platform is WordPress.  Blogs can be targeted – photography, basket weaving, golf or general interest.  It’s a forum to illicit communication and provides information.

Feeds or RSS Feeds: these programs are used by social networking sites – as well as blogs – to allow subscribers to receive updates without visiting the actual site.  The feeds are aggregated to a site of your choice – Google Reader, Yahoo Reader or a similar aggregator – to allow for 1 stop reading.

Micro-blogging: social networking or marketing using a maximum of 140 characters.  The most popular platform for this type of interaction is Twitter.

Podcast: audio or video content that subscribers can receive automatically – similar to RSS fees.  A popular platform to access podcast is via iTunes.

Trackback: linking a blog to another related blog post or comment on another blog site.  This is mutually beneficial to both blogs as readers can reference both posts and drive traffic to both sites.

Viral Marketing: the wide-spread awareness of a product or service via social media platforms.

Widgets: code embedded in a site that performs a specific function.  Widgets are commonly used on WordPress sites.  Some functions are opt-in boxes, donation buttons, Facebook or Twitter buttons.

This is a short list of some popular social networking terms – the list grows daily – I hope you find it helpful as you navigate the various social media platforms.