Avatar

An Avatar is the graphical representation of a user; often a photo or logo displayed as part of a user's online profile. Most social networking sites have an option to upload an image for the avatar.

Blog

A Blog is a type of website with the entries displayed in chronological order. A Blog is typically maintained with regular entries and the content is more conversational than traditional websites. Entries can include: articles, videos, images, and links.

Blogosphere

Blogosphere is a term used to describe all Blogs and their interconnections.

DM

DM is the acronym for direct message. Direct messages are used by Twitter users to send private messages to other Twitter users.

Groups

Groups are users with a shared interest or shared membership (e.g. dogs, marketing, professional group). Most social networking websites provide ways for users to form groups to share information and communicate with each other.

Micro-blogging (Microblog)

Micro-blogging is a type of blogging. As the name implies, the messages are brief and often restricted by the number of characters used. The most notable microblog is Twitter.

OpenID

OpenID replaces the common log-in process (login-name and password) with one unique identifier. An OpenID gives users "single sign-on" access to multiple software systems with one ID. Websites that offer "OpenID login" provide only one field for the OpenID, and often display the OpenID logo. OpenID technology is free and is not proprietary. The official OpenID website: http://openid.net. Word of the Week Blog Post 5.26.09

Podcast

A podcast is a recorded program or message (audio or video). Podcasts are saved in digital format for convenient playback on computers or downloaded for portable digital players like the iPod.

Retweet (RT)

Retweet is best know by its acronym RT. A retweet is when a Twitter user rebroadcasts another user’s update (a.k.a. tweet). The attribute RT is used to indicate that the tweet is a rebroadcast. This is accomplished by typing an RT, the @ symbol with the originator's Twitter Username (no space), and copying and pasting the tweet you want to re-post. The formula for a retweet: RT + @username + original tweet. Word of the Week Blog Post 6.1.09

Short or Tiny URL

A short or tiny URL is a longer web address that has been reduced to fewer characters. The shorter version of a URL forwards to the original web address. Shorter URLs are desired when using micro-blogging sites like Twitter where the number of message characters is limited to 140.

SMS

SMS is the abbreviation for Short Message Service. SMS is a communication service that allows mobile telephone users to send and receive short text messages between mobile devices. Social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook are using SMS technology; users can update their status, send/receive messages, and invite friends using their mobile devices.  Word of the Week Blog Post 5.18.09

Social capital

Social capital is the accumulation of resources through connections and relationships. Online this is accomplished through social networks.

Tag(s)

A tag is a term or phrase assigned to information (e.g. Blog entries, photos; videos). Tags describe/categorize content for the web. Tagging makes searching and finding information easier.

URL

A URL is the universal address of a web page. For example, the URL for this page is http://www.socialnetworkingandyou.com/social-networking-glossary. URL is the abbreviation for Uniform Resource Locator.

Username

A username (also user name) is a person's individual identification for a web-based service. Many social networking websites incorporate the username into the URL creating the user's unique web address.

Web 2.0

Web 2.0 is the term used to describe the second generation of web development and design - with an emphasis on collaboration. Web 2.0 includes social networking sites, Blogs and other web-based communities.

WYSIWYG

WYSIWYG (pronounced wiz-ee-wig) is the acronym for What You See Is What You Get. It allows users during the editing of web content to see how the final version will be displayed.

#

This symbol is called a hashtag. It's used by Twitter users to assign a category to a message (e.g. #socialnetworking, #socialmedia, #webinars). This kind of tagging helps describe and group messages by topic allowing users to find information.