Social Media Map Shows Why Web 2.0 Tool Use is Discretionary

The Social Media Map for Social Media Marketing from Overdrive Interactive graphically depicts one of my recent mantras for online educators: Web 1.0 tool selection was mandatory, but Web 2.0 tool selection is discretionary.

That is, if you wanted to teach an online course before, you really needed to use an LMS, discussion board, online gradebook, etc. But with Web 2.0 tools you can, indeed must, pick and choose; it's daunting and almost impossible to use tools from all of the categories, let alone all of the tools.

You can download the map in .pdf format with live links. The map is comprehensive with one apparent glaring omission: where is Second Life and its ilk? Did I miss that somehow? Apart from that, it's a great resource to see the specific tools currently available and the major categories -- makes it easy to map what one is doing in the social networking field and what one is not (yet?) doing. Most importantly, it shows at a glance how social networking has proliferated and why it's necessary to pick and choose one's tools rather than trying to keep up with it all -- unless, of course, one wants to become a social networking expert.

Based on another posting from Marcia Conner -- someone in the field who's worth following (via Twitter and Facebook) if you're not already doing so...