One of our team members is writing a social media book of philosophy. We managed to get a ‘rough copy’ of part of the Introduction and thought it was great. We talked him into letting us publish this early version, in attempts to help him attract a future audience. Hope you enjoy!

The power of social media is truly starting to emerge, in the near future, most advertising campaigns will be social media related. The ‘greatest generation’ (and baby boomers), some are just starting to create Facebook accounts to connect with old friends, some have Twitter accounts with only one tweet. In a complete generalization I am going to say the majority don’t understand the fundamentals of the Internet, let alone a computer. And this inhibits their ability to grasp the principles of what social media truly is, and how to communicate over it effectively.

In contrary, the Nintendo generation and every generation since, has grown up using computers (forced to learn how to type 100 words a minute by the 10th grade) they are surrounded always by a computer, therefore they have adapted to live with them effectively. The start of the computer pseudo-man has created a new breed of mind, that works quicker, understands tone and rationality of text messages more accurately, and can create meaningful life-long relationships through online contexts which involve no actual physical human interaction.

This is the philosophy of the computer man, born into a world where the written word dies, and re-births into less words with more meaning. The 160 character Tweet, or Facebook wall post, or whatever social media context you would prefer, is becoming the new literature of acceptance. Being able to use social media tools effectively has created a new breed of poetical expression. The act of responding with, or commenting to a ‘giant’ idea with a few amount of words; sounds like both the definition of a ‘poem’ and a ‘tweet’.

Earth Costs Homepage

www.earthcosts.com

What’s your cost of living? That’s the question Earth Costs has been asking people from around the world for the last four years. From city to city, Earth Costs has stored thousands of entries from countries as far as Iraq, Moldova, and Australia. What sets Earth Costs apart from other cost of living websites, is the ability users have to hear local cost of living information directly from someone living in the city they are researching.

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UPDATE: Due to popularity of this article, I have decided to do an extended version and add more numbers, who says it has to stop at ten…

2nd UPDATE: Because of confusion surrounding the use of hashtags for social media posts I have deemed it necessary to write a disclaimer. Knowing how to use hashtags is just as important as actually using hashtags. http://www.thesocialden.com/2011/09/09/top-5-guide-to-using-hashtags/

On to the list! Top 10, 15, (whatever it ends up being) list of Social Media hashtags

1. The most popular social media hashtag is simply #socialmedia. It is used by most marketing and social media professionals when talking about social media, usually when citing a news source or article. However, it is also used widely in sentences such as “#socialmedia is a great way to build a community around your company”.

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Social media isn’t Twitter or even Facebook, it is a conglomerate of millions of communities building upon each other. Understanding one is important, but understanding them all is so much more powerful, and tends to be more simple then provoked. From bookmarking services, to forums, to open blogs, to social networks, social media is a cornucopia of information and positive back-and-forth dialogue. Getting familiar with all of these communities can seem a daunting task, but as long as your remember some basic skills you will do fine no matter what new network you are researching. Here are some easy steps to take before starting your profile on any social media platform.

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It’s time to introduce another amazing artist, and release some good news from the artist fore-front.

Sometimes it’s better to let a sketchbook do the talking, and that’s exactly what Martijn C. Swart did when we asked him to give us some artwork for the world to fancy. From a Twitter bird on a limb, to a social den bear, we couldn’t help but love Martijn’s style of artwork. Martijn has allowed us to put some of his art online for anyone to download and use to their pleasing (how about color-in fun). Head over and check out his stuff at our featured artist page.

Or visit Martijn’s Blog

Social media is about doing things free and discovering good communities. We like be a part of this tradition, and love helping artists reach a larger audience through social media. We are getting ready to launch a forum for artists, and expanding our ability to feature and archive artists on a global scale. Sound confusing? Think of it as a social artwork den, where you can search through hundreds of artists work, download what you wish, and share your thoughts with everyone in the community. And the best part, it’s all completely and totally 100% free. Check back here for updates!

Things are getting exciting and we are having a great time learning about, and meeting all of the new upcoming Social Den artists. We also look forward to helping many, many more. If you would like to become part of The Social Den artists’ community and would like to be featured on our website, please fill out our artists form.