Users of the world, unite! The challenges and opportunities of SocialMedia

• Andreas M. Kaplan
• Michael Haenlein 

• ESCP Europe, 79 Avenue de la République, F-75011 Paris, France

• Available online 13 October 2009.

• http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.bushor.2009.09.003, How to Cite or Link Using DOI
• Cited by in Scopus (113)

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Abstract

The concept of SocialMedia is top of the agenda for many business executives today. Decision makers, as well as consultants, try to identify ways in which firms can make profitable use of applications such as Wikipedia, YouTube, Facebook, Second Life, and Twitter. Yet despite this interest, there seems to be very limited understanding of what the term “SocialMedia” exactly means; this article intends to provide some clarification. We begin by describing the concept of SocialMedia, and discuss how it differs from related concepts such as Web 2.0 and User Generated Content. Based on this definition, we then provide a classification of SocialMedia which groups applications currently subsumed under the generalized term into more specific categories by characteristic: collaborative projects, blogs, content communities, social networking sites, virtual game worlds, and virtual social worlds. Finally, we present 10 pieces of advice for companies which decide to utilize SocialMedia.

Keywords

• SocialMedia;
• User Generated Content;
• Web 2.0;
• Social networking sites;
• Virtual worlds

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