When it comes to social media, new terminology gets created on a daily basis. Some are easy to understand; others, not so much. Some of the social media terms you may know, while others leave you wondering. Here are seven social media terms explained through squash and tennis analogies.

Social Media Trolls

Like the legendary trolls from the Scandinavian folklore, Internet trolls serve no useful purpose to anyone. They are known to initiate contentious arguments and disputes, often distracting the audience from the spirit of the original discussion.

The trolls on Twitter created much furor with their insensitive comments about Marion Bartoli’s looks after she won the Wimbledon in July 2013. With an IQ higher than Albert Einstein, and over $11M in earnings, I am sure that Bartoli is not sweating this one!

Micro-blogging

Traditional blogging takes the long-form approach where the posts range from three-hundred to a thousand words, depending on the subject. Micro-blogging takes the short-form approach and communicates ideas in Tweet (140 characters) format or short videos lasting 6-8 seconds.

If you were to look for a tennis analogy, it would be akin to winning a point on an ace, vs. winning it on a prolonged base-line rally.

Meme

Once you get past the pronunciation, which is like “team,” memes are trends or fads that get propagated through social networks. It could be as simple as the use of LOL in text messages, to fashion statements on the tennis court, that get picked up and used by other players and hobbyists.

The failed Squash 2020 Back the Bid movement can be viewed as a good example of a squash related meme.

Viral Marketing

A doctor buddy once confided that when doctors are unable to diagnose an ailment, they attribute it to a virus. Viral Marketing is no different. Anything that you post or share that goes beyond your immediate connections can be deemed viral. In most cases, no one can predict what will go viral. For instance, a video by Lorde, called Tennis Court, has received around 35 million views, way more views than any real tennis videos that I can find.

Content Marketing 

Content Marketing is the idea of getting consumers involved through useful content pertaining to the industry or related interests. Direct sales pitches are usually not part of content marketing. For example, a hotel chain may post pictures of travel destinations without showing the prices of their hotel rooms at those destinations.

If a squash racquet manufacturer tied up with a squash pro to offer free online squash lessons that would be classified as content marketing.

Content Curation

Content curation is the concept of taking material already created by others – blogs, images, videos – and tweaking, commenting, and re-presenting them to your audience as a value-added product. It is a fine line between content curation and plagiarism. Here’s an example.

http://www.slideshare.net/daxnair/nine-spectacular-squash-venues

Social media engagement

Social media is all about engagement. Striking up conversations with folks that you don’t know may not be your forte. Simply put, the more interactions that you have with your followers, friends, and potential connections online, the better engaged you are. A good example of this is the Social Shack that was set up at the Australian Open 2014 where the organizers were able to drive up engagement with the sport and players.

So, what are some other social media terms that leave you wondering?