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What did Howard Rheingold identify as the core characteristics of social media?
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media convergence
In addition to functioning as a cell phone, Apple's touchscreen iPhone, released in 2007, has a built-in Web browser for viewing Internet content over wireless telephone networks and Wi-Fi connections. The iPhone also can be used as a multimedia playback device for listening to music or viewing videos.
American media scholar Howard Rheingold identified three core characteristics of social media that distinguish it from 20th-century mass communications:1
- Universal Participation: Social media enables every individual within a network to act simultaneously as a producer, distributor, and consumer of content. This shift effectively dismantles the traditional, asymmetrical relationship between media producers and their audiences.1
- Connectivity: The fundamental power of social media is derived from the connections established between its users.1
- Coordination: Social media platforms empower users to coordinate activities among themselves at speeds and scales that were previously unattainable.1
These characteristics facilitate a move toward user-created content, where individuals transition from passive audiences to active participants in a collaborative digital environment.1