Social networking tools

About using social media in knowledge and library services.

Social media is a generic term used to describe a range of online applications that enable and encourage interactive communication between users.

Millions of people around the world use social media to ask questions, network, learn and share their interests.

The social media ethos is all about engagement, participation and relationship building. Every platform encourages its users to take part, by commenting on what they see and getting involved in conversations with others.

This makes it a particularly useful vehicle both for informing patients and for gaining their feedback. Used well, social media can be part of collaborative working and co-production. 

As well as having conversations and giving their opinions, visitors to social media sites also like to share information.

This can have a powerful amplification effect (known as going viral), where articles, videos or images are shared between thousands or even millions of people.

Examples include Facebook, Twitter, MumsNet.