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For those trying to explain social media and Web 2.0 technologies, here’s a great starter presentation created by this Scott Gavin over in the UK.

I don’t use all of the technologies captured in the presentation, but I think it highlights two key points of social media:

    1. Everyone has free access to these technologies (unless your company won’t let you download Firefox, in which case you should protest).
    2. These technologies are taking off because they make our lives easier and end users are incorporating them into their lives, not because companies did a major ROI evaluation.

For communications and PR people, the benefits are huge. Content is still king, people just want to digest it on their own terms (phone, RSS readers, etc.). At the same time, it’s easier to get content out there with so many audiences and mediums. We can even publish the content ourselves.

The challenge we face is the same one faced a century ago when the first press release was issued: content is still king. If you/your client doesn’t have something new or interesting to say, or can’t back up the claims with customers, analysts, revenues, etc., it will still be hard to find an interested audience.