Facebook? Twitter? YouTube? What happened to regular e-mail? New Internet capabilities, known as social media, social networking, or social network marketing, have changed the way we communicate globally and locally. Using these diverse, accessible, and inexpensive/free communication tools, you can take your advocacy efforts to a new level and audience.

Social media i is a broad term used to describe a popular trend in Internet-based communication that allows users to publish information, thoughts, and ideas on the Internet with the intention of engaging other users in conversation. Companies, politicians, and your neighbors are using social media to connect in the online world to form relationships for personal and business purposes.

• Social networking: eg, Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace  (examples of popular social networking websites offering free interactive, user-submitted network of friends, personal profiles, business colleagues, blogs and other communication mechanisms)
• Blogging: read, write, or edit a shared on-line journal; eg, Twitter (free social networking and micro-blogging service that allows its users to send and read other users' updates)
• Event planning: eg, Meetup.com (online social networking portal that facilitates offline group meetings in various localities around the world)
• Information Resourcing: Wikipedia (free, multilingual online encyclopedia)
• Photo sharing: eg, Flickr (an image and video hosting website, web services suite, and online community platform)
• Video sharing: eg, YouTube (video sharing website where users can upload, view and share video clips)

The creation of these communication methods provides another way to reach others while advocating for the causes about which we are so passionate. When used responsibly and as a well-informed consumer, these tools can powerfully convey any message. Why not yours?