Social Media Confusion

I signed up and joined a website, where they'd train me and give me the necessary tools to learn to be a Social Media Manager. For$59, I paid to become a part of the opportunity. After paying the money, I received access to an area that only members could access. The more I searched and researched, the company said they have a free members section that offered similar services. I originally paid the money, because I could not find any free service like they are stating on their website.

I continued onto the members section, read everything there was and then started on the training modules. It seems, they have found all of the basic information we know, from the internet and have conjoined it to create a training section.

I have been given information that I already knew of - they haven't taught me anything new and it's becoming confusing on what exactly they provide. Many people gather information and join it together, to create something else. I have done it personally, but have also let others know that I had done it. Eg. I have written two guides within the paranormal field. Instead of searching for basic information on different sites and books, people are able to find all of the information in one area/place. As with any books, there's a small fee for the publisher and author - people would have a fair idea on why they have to pay and who the money would go to. For some, this may be the lazy way of finding knowledge of certain things, but basic information is only enough to make someone understand the general idea of what type of service may be given or what to expect when conducting your own services and so on.

I went to the website and searched through their help section, to find more useless information. After reading about payments, I was given the option to leave feedback. I mentioned how I don't see why we should have to pay so much money, just for them to pay website costs and fees. Their training material is basic information that can be found anywhere. I have a website, but I don't expect others to pay for it - a donation or some sort of sponsorship would be great, but not to expect society to pay money for information that we already know and can be found anywhere on the internet.

When companies start charging for services they aren't providing, that's when it becomes a problem. In Australia, if a person pays for something, they must receive a service in return or it is fraudulent and will end up in a legal battle - against the Australian Government. They made these rules and laws for a reason - to protect us, it is known internationally. So, if you did not know this, now you do. Australia is big on security, privacy and the financial well-being of their citizens - as we are the people who pay the taxes, which ends up paying the Government for their help.

I'm not into religion or politics when it comes to giving an opinion or similar, I do not practice any faith and do not vote in Australia. I am a New Zealand citizen, residing within Australia. I was raised here, educated here and employed here. Because I reside here, I am given the same options, benefits and protection as an Australian citizen would receive.

It annoys me when individuals and businesses offer a service but do not actually provide it. It becomes more of an annoyance when it begins to affect other people's lives. Others don't think of it, but their actions can cause problems for other people also.

The World Of Social Media

Did the name of this blog and the title of this post sound scary? If I knew nothing about Social Media, I too would be wondering what a Social Media Manager is and the World of it. Here's a brief explanation of what these services are and what they provide.

What Is It All About?

If you have heard of Facebook or Twitter, then you already know a little something about it. Social Media is a cooperative enterprise of online communication tools, websites, etc. It is a means of being able to share with other people and from different locations. It's where we can create, share, and exchange information and ideas in various virtual communities and networks. There are different types of Social Media Networks, such as: Blogging, Informative Posts, Random Posts, Status Updates, Tweets, Sharing Photos, Videos and much more.

Individuals use Social Media as a means to communicating with friends, family, associates and/or work colleagues. Sometimes they post about things which may be occurring in their lives, while others may use the network for only playing games. Businesses and Organisations use Social Media as a way of communicating with their clients, gaining potential clients, keeping clients up-to-date and promoting the company itself.

There are many possibilities when it comes to Social Media, each Network provides something different from the other. The only Social Media Networks which are similar is Facebook and MySpace. There are some up and coming Networks such as Bebo, which have been struggling to stay afloat for many years, but are now expanding with their member's needs.

Facebook

Facebook is one of the biggest Social Media Networks in the World. It has the largest database of everything, because of what can be done on their applications and websites. Some may not know this, but Facebook name actually has a meaning. The name stems from the colloquial name for the book given to students at the start of the academic year by some university administrations in the United States to help students get to know each other. Facebook has more options than just being able to share or communicate with others, there's a range of services and entertainment such as Applications, Games, Groups, Pages and more.

Google+

To some people, Google+ can be very confusing and scary to work out. But once you get the hang of it, you begin to understand it a little bit better. It is not only the second largest Social Networking service in the world, but also an Indentity service. There are new features being added often, such as Circles, Hangouts, Messenger and a variety of services.

Twitter

Twitter is the World's third largest Social Network, after Google+  knocked them out of the second spot. Twitter offers a service where users can post up to 160 characters per tweet, which is also called Microblogging. It is very similar to posting a Status Update. Similar to many other Social Networking sites, Twitter also great for participating in various activities. Businesses sometimes use Twitter for promoting their business or for contests and competitions which draws people to their websites.


Glossary/Index/Meaning:

Microblogging is posting of very short entries, status updates or similar on blogs and other Social Networking sites.

Social Media and Social Networks may have different names, but they are exactly the same service.