Defining Social Media

     Social media should be considered any online platform where people can discuss, and share, and provide commentary on things they like or dislike. Although social media has 2 important words to describe it, it can be argued that the "media" in social media, is not always the traditional photo/video. Media may not even be required for a social media platform to exist. As long as there is a community where people can provide commentary and respond to each other, it should be considered as a form of social media. 

    There are two big examples of social media platforms that do not instantly come to mind, but can still be considered as such. One of them being Pinterest. Pinterest is a platform where ideas that spark interest, can be shared, and saved in order to create story boards for a film, or even new color schemes for a wedding. It is one of the biggest sites for inspiration on a visual level, as the site is composed of tiles that are related to the users previously searched key words. The reason why Pinterest can be considered a social media platform although people may not use it as such, is that in these tiles (each containing a photo), users can comment, and respond to each other further discussing the photo they have selected. Another feature integrated into the app is the ability to follow, and be followed by other people and being able to instant message them. Users do not use Pinterest as much for messaging so much as they use it for reshaping and saving photos and ideas they like. It is one of the least talked about social media platforms because news content or any trends are not meant to circulate as quickly in the algorithm compared to other platforms like twitter. 

    One other social media platform is Twitch, which is a site where people can livestream for hours, varying in different types of content, most popular being gaming. Twitch is a huge social media platform because of its instant chat, live-streams being saved on a creators profile, and other forms of interaction between streamer and viewer, all happening live. With twitch being as big as it is, and it having the ability to capture moments instantly, with addition of the crazy and absurd things that happen on twitch, it is surprising to me how the mainstream news sources don't include it in any of their news stories. Whether it be because of live-streaming being a new concept, or the reach of content not being valuable enough. It is definitely an interesting look to what social media is capable of and what is to come from it in the near future.