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New media, also known as social media, facilitates online communication, as well as idea and content sharing. New Web tools have made it easier for people with similar interests to interact with each other, and the recovery community should take advantage of these opportunities by learning how to use these tools.
The following glossary is offered to help you promote National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month (Recovery Month), as well as the effectiveness of treatment and the possibility of recovery online. Sponsored by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Recovery Month reaches countless people in the recovery community and treatment recovery field, including local organizations and individuals who participate online.
To help you reach these audiences and engage the online community, review the following glossary for background information on key online terms:
Blogs – User-generated Web sites, short for “Weblogs,” which give online users an opportunity to share news or opinions on a particular subject, such as a person’s success in achieving recovery as well as the hardships of untreated addiction.
Discussion Board (or Forum or Message Board) – Contains conversations, or threads, which are made up of multiple posts about specific topics. Members of the recovery community have started discussion board communities to find support, such as The Second Road, The Sober Recovery Community, and In the Rooms.
Facebook – A social networking site where people create an online profile and “friend” people based on similar interests, location, and other details. Join Recovery Month’s fan page and engage others in the ongoing dialogue. You also can create a group for your coalition and invite people to join.
Flickr – A popular site for photo sharing, storage, and searching. Search for photos of other events to post in your office, get ideas from other events’ visuals, or find members for your coalition.
Google Blog Search – Offers a continuously updated search index. Results include blog posts and can be viewed and filtered by date.
Micro-blogs – Brief text updates, photos, or audio clips from users. (See Twitter.)
MySpace – Allows users to create profiles and connect with people who have similar interests. Try searching for a local band and invite it to play at your Recovery Month event, or find others in recovery to speak at your event.
Podcast – A digital media file that can be downloaded through Web syndication and played back on a mobile device or computer. Recovery Month offers a large selection of audio and video podcasts that you can promote on your own Web site. A video podcast, or online delivery of a video clip, also can be referred to as a vodcast.
Really Simple Syndication (RSS) or Web Syndication – Enables users to avoid constantly refreshing their favorite Web pages to check for updates. An RSS reader, such as Google Reader, collects individual posts from blogs and news sites, and presents them as they arrive. Set up a feed to receive the latest news and blog posts from the recovery community in your inbox.
Social Network – Links individuals based on similar interests, beliefs, or relationships. Use these social networks to build a coalition that spans communities across the country. (See Facebook, MySpace, or Flickr.)
Technorati – Designed primarily for searching blogs and ranking their reach and influence. For example, if you search for “alcohol and drug recovery,” you’ll find more than 700 hits.
Twitter – Allows its users to send text-based posts of a maximum of 140 characters to their profiles. These posts are then sent to other Twitter members who have subscribed to a user’s feed. Search Twitter for other people who are “tweeting” about their Recovery Month events or talking about their personal recovery experiences.
Viral Marketing – Using the Internet to brand a campaign or product. Recovery Month is doing this through Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.
Widget – An online tool added to Web sites that displays or shares information from various sources. Instructions for adding the Recovery Month widget to your blog or site are available at http://www.recoverymonth.gov/Community-Events/Events-Widget.aspx.
Webcast – A file that streams over the Internet to allow people everywhere to tune into your coalition-building meeting or event. Recovery Month presents The Road to Recovery Television and Radio Series that features panels of nationwide experts in the field of treatment and recovery available for online viewing.
Wikipedia – A community-researched encyclopedia with over 10 million entries and 77 million monthly visitors. The site is community oriented and anyone can update entries. Organizations are discouraged from editing their own entries, as it is seen as counter to best practices.
YouTube – Promotes online video-sharing for users to post videos they’ve created. Users create their own channels that host all their videos and allow others to find them based on related interests. Check Recovery Month’s channel often and post a video of your own!
Inclusion of Web sites and other resources mentioned in this document and on the Recovery Month Web site does not constitute official endorsement by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services or the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
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