Social media platforms

The essentials

Social media platforms are websites and apps where users create profiles, post content and connect with others. Content is mainly user-generated, and communication is many-to-many: anyone can publish and anyone can respond.

Key points

• Social networking sites: build and maintain connections with friends, family or professional contacts, sharing updates, photos and messages (for example Facebook, or LinkedIn for professional networking).
• Blogs: online journals or websites with regular posts, usually displayed with the newest first; readers can comment. Bloggers can be individuals or organisations.
• Microblogging: very short posts shared quickly (for example X, formerly Twitter).
• Photo sharing: platforms centred on images (for example Instagram, Pinterest).
• Video sharing: uploading and watching videos (for example YouTube).
• Messaging apps support one-to-one and group chats.
• Common features: profiles, followers or friends, likes, comments, shares, hashtags and live streaming.
• A hashtag (#) groups posts on the same topic so they can be searched and followed.
• Viral content spreads very rapidly through repeated sharing.

Exam tips

Classify platforms by their main purpose. Questions may ask which type suits a given need, such as sharing a long personal opinion (blog) or a quick update (microblog).

Common mistakes

Many platforms now do several things, but exams test their main or original purpose. A blog is not the same as a news website, though news sites may run blogs.