U-Me New Media

Version 1.2

Social versus traditional media

Traditional contacts Social media
Examples Postcards, phone calls, individual meetings and emails, press solicitations. Facebook, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn, YouTube, Blogs
Direction One-to-one or one-to-many. Many-to-many.
Advantages Personal, face-to-face, on-site, many-sided. Fast, inexpensive, worldwide, targets young demographic, can go viral.
Disadvantages Slow, costly, geographically limited, disregarded by young, hard to pass on. Impersonal, hard to control, can be taken out of context, subject to filter bubbles.

Prominent social networks

These associations are subjective and change annually. Approximate percentage of US adult Internet users is based on the 2019 and 2014 Pew reports.

Name Medium Stereotypical demographic Strengths Weaknesses Approx. popularity
Facebook Logo PinFacebook Text/image/video Family and friends; women; middle-aged people and seniors Highly social; easily shared; sophisticated apps Politically divisive; illusion of privacy; addicting; only targets friends; can be frivolous; ephemeral 75%
Blogs Text (some image/video) Thoughtful; educated Meaty; easily discovered; persistent; diverse layout options Difficult to share; takes time to read 75% (readers)
Instagram Image; video Young; female; African-American/Hispanic; urban or suburban Popular with young demographic; easily shared Square photos only; hard to repost or remix; ephemeral 60%
YouTube Video Young; funny; educational; amateur and mainstream Lively; related content; somewhat discoverable; persistent Vicious comments; takes time to watch 50% (viewers)
TikTok Video Young; Funny; ephemeral Easily created, remixed and shared 60 seconds maximum; politically precarious 30%
LinkedIn Text (some image/video) Middle-aged; educated. Serious/focused; social; easily shared; broad reach within industries; ephemeral Impersonal 30%
Pinterest Image Rural; white; female Visually curated; easily shared Commercial; limited layout options; requires login 30%
Twitter Text (some image/video) Urban; educated; famous; nerdy; PR Fast; broad reach; easily shared; nearly realtime Short; politically divisive; easily spammed; can be frivolous; ephemeral 25%
Snapchat Image; video Teen Self-deleting; easily shared Ephemeral 25%
Tumblr Image; with text Artistic; twenty-something Visual; easily discovered and shared Limited layout options 5%

Dead social networks

These associations are discontinued.

Vine Video Funny; ephemeral Easily created and shared 6 seconds only; ephemeral 5% (viewers) at peak
Google+ Text/image/video Educated; nerdy Highly social; easily shared; good interface; slightly better privacy Less reach than Facebook; addicting; only targets friends; ephemeral 10% at peak
Yik Yak Text Undergraduate Anonymous; local Rude; bullying 5% at peak