A Short Social Media Glossary

Juliette Powell

The concept of a social network goes back long before the Internet (or for that matter, the personal computer) was ever invented. It refers to a community in which individuals are somehow connected—through friendship, values, working relationships, ideas. Nowadays the term social network also refers to a Web platform where people can connect with one another. It’s the online counterpart of the rolodex and card catalog wrapped into one, and it’s becoming just as ubiquitous. Online social networks are in essence just offering new ways to communicate. Where once we sent letters, then we made phone calls, then we e-mailed and sent text messages, now we connect through our online profiles and become friends ...