Digital/Social Media is different from the Internet ( short form of the technical term internetwork ). To understand how, we must understand the Internet’s evolution over the years.

The internet started as what is now called “Web 1.0”. Remember? This term used to describe the conceptual evolution of the World Wide Web. Technologically, web 1.0 concentrated on presenting, not creating. User-generated content was not available on web 1.0 webpages. The web was an information portal. No more. No less. It lacked scalability, interaction & context.

Let me take you back to the “Web 1.0” elements:

• Static pages instead of dynamic user-generated content.
• The use of framesets
• The use of tables to position and align elements on a page.
• Proprietary HTML tags introduced
• Online guestbooks
• GIF buttons, typically 88×31 in size promoting web browsers and other products

Currently, we live in the “Web 2.0” era. The web is now a platform, not just about information any more, its about interaction. What was once a monologue, has become a dialogue. It’s all about connections, conversations and contributions. Today we create, discuss, and share are the operative keywords.

The Internet is a powerful platform.

The Internet has enabled entirely new forms of social interaction, activities, and organizing, thanks to its basic features such as widespread usability and access. Social networking websites such as Facebook, Twitter and youtube have created new ways to socialize and interact. Users of these sites are able to add a wide variety of information to pages, to pursue common interests, and to connect with others.

So, Social/Digital media are works of user-created video, audio, text or multimedia that are published and shared in a social environment, such as a blog, podcast, forum, wiki or video hosting site. More broadly, social media refers to any online technology that lets people publish, converse and share content online which makes it different than the internet ….