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Networks and Social Media: when to use each term?

Redes e Mídias Sociais quando usar cada termo

Currently, much is heard about the terms Social Networks and Media, as they have become important tools for social and business relationships. Therefore, confusion is common when trying to define them or understand that they are different things.

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It may seem simple, but in order to have a greater campaign development and improve internet boosting techniques, it is important to understand what each of the terms are and how they work.

Social media

The term social network basically means creating a relationship with people sharing common values and goals, not being connected to the internet. The family, as well as the work environment, are examples of social relationships.

With the advancement of technology and its implementation in our daily lives, these connections began to form over the internet as well. A dating site or social network is where you can connect with other people or groups of individuals through a profile in order to share content.

In this way, interactions that used to be restricted to offline life, such as meetings in bars and restaurants, now also happen online. To do this, just access platforms such as Facebook, Youtube, Instagram and Linkedin.

Social media

Social media, in turn, are defined as a means of disseminating and decentralizing information – free and paid – and messages. The term emerged in 1990 when traditional media companies began to lose ground to digital technology.

O principal objetivo dessas mídias é a criação, divulgação e compartilhamento de conteúdo que possibilitam a interação do público sem o envolvimento de relações sociais. Dessa forma, quando nos referimos à ambientes digitais conectados por meio da internet,  estamos nos referindo ao termo mídias sociais.

Therefore, social media platforms between logged in users are characterized by the creation of relationship networks. Therefore, the aforementioned social networks are seen as a part of what we call social media.

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How relationships occur is the main difference between networks and social media

As explained, social media corresponds to any channel where interaction takes place. The same can also be said of social networks, but it is necessary to know how to differentiate the ways in which interactions take place.

In the case of social networks, the relationship between users is the main focus, which is the reason for its creation. Therefore, it is common for websites to develop more and more tools to increase interactions, so that people get closer.

With social media, although there are exchanges of information between people, this relationship is less fervent. An example to elucidate this difference is the way websites and blogs develop their interactions through comments. In this area, it is possible for users to share opinions and information with each other, but this occurs in a more restricted and limited way.