generalist & specialist Web 2.0?

In my research on how educators are cultivating their social media toolkits, I’ve come to appreciate the transformative evolution of social media platforms. They have expanded beyond their original scopes, becoming comprehensive tools for a variety of tasks. Take Facebook, for instance. It has outgrown its initial function as a social networking site and now facilitates media sharing, document exchange, live communication, collaborative blogging, and microblogging. A similar transformation can be observed in platforms like LinkedIn and Reddit.

In light of these developments, I propose a reclassification of these ‘giant’ platforms. The ‘Big Three’ generalists—Facebook, LinkedIn, and Reddit—now cover multiple categories, while platforms like Twitter, TikTok, and Instagram have largely retained their unique identities.

This metamorphosis underscores the importance of staying current with new product features released by these social media giants. To aid in this effort, I am sharing essential links to stay updated on these platforms’ evolutions:

• Facebook: Product News
• Reddit: Reddit Features & Experiences
• LinkedIn: Product Updates
• Instagram: Instagram Blog
• Twitter: Media Studio

This is my go-to list for the week. What are your resources to stay abreast of these changes?

Reference: Gülbahar, Rapp, C., Kilis, S., & Sitnikova, A. (2017). Enriching Higher Education with Social Media: Development and Evaluation of a Social Media Toolkit. International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, 18(1), 23–39. https://doi.org/10.19173/irrodl.v18i1.2656