Social media refers to a category of sites that is based on user participation and user-generated content. They include social networking sites like LinkedIn or Facebook, social bookmarking sites like Del.icio.us, social news sites like Digg or Reddit, and other sites that are centered on user interaction. People use these tools and technologies to share opinions, insights, experiences, and perspectives with each other.

Some examples of these media are blogs, wikis, podcasts, videocasts, social bookmarking, social networking sites and forums.

The emergence of these new tools has changed the way the World Wide Web works. No longer is the content on the Web determined by those who have the technical expertise to build a website, or the financial resource to pay someone to build a website. Thanks to social media, which has democratised the Web as a publishing platform, consumers have become prosumers - simultaneous consumers and producers of content - who build personal digital portfolios instantaneously and unedited on sites like Facebook, Flickr, YouTube, Twitter and others.

This tipping point in technological innovation, and the impact it is having on connected human beings, is both an unprecedented opportunity and enormous challenge to companies and brands around the world.

Never before have consumers had the ability to spread messages (good or bad) and impact brands as profoundly as they have in the last few years, thanks to the viral and hyperlinked nature of the Internet.

How will you respond?

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