This course is an excellent well executed course. It has allot of very interesting reading as well as quizzes to make sure you understand the knowledge, plus there is inter-action with fellow peers &

It was probably one of the best MOOC's I've ever attended! Sir Randy did a great job explaining everything, accompanied by excellent slides which made me understand the course more! Excellent course!

Please update the social media platforms that are being used for this coarse. Many have either changed names and their billing or are no longer existent.

This class was so boring I could not stand it. Social Media Marketing is such a fun + interesting subject that I could not BELIEVE they could make it so dull. Disappointed!

Slightly outdated and patched up, this course needs a complete overhaul including graphics. Also, audio quality is somewhat lacking in some videos.

Bit boring and out of date.

Social media is a phrase that we throw around a lot these days, often to describe what we post on sites and apps like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat and others. So you can infer that social media are web-based sites that allow people to interact with each other.

But if we use the term to describe a site like Facebook, and also a site like Digg, plus a site like Wikipedia, and even a site like I Can Has Cheezburger, then it starts to get more confusing. Just what exactly is social media, anyway?

The term is so vague that it can basically be used to describe almost any website on the internet today. Or can it?

Some people have more of a restricted view of social media, often equating it to mean the same as social networking (a.k.a. Facebook, Twitter, etc.). Other people don't consider blogs to fall under the social media category.

It seems as if everyone has their own personal opinion of what social media is and isn't. But let's dive deeper into the general concept to gain a clearer and more precise understanding.

So, What Is Social Media?

Rather than define the term using a bunch of boring jargon that would probably only complicate things further, perhaps the best way to get a clearer understanding of it is to break it down into simpler terms. To start, let's look at each word individually.

The 'social' part: refers to interacting with other people by sharing information with them and receiving information from them.

The 'media' part: refers to an instrument of communication, like the internet (while TV, radio, and newspapers are examples of more traditional forms of media).

From these two separate terms, we can pull a basic definition together:

Social media are web-based communication tools that enable people to interact with each other by sharing and consuming information.

Exciting that such an esteemed US marketing university - Northwestern University -- has offered this social media marketing specialization. This opening module -- What is Social -- does an excellent job of defining social media marketing and the accelerated rate of change, trends, available technologiesthat is happening here. I love the conceptual work paired up with practical applications and examples to maximize learning. Randy Hlavac and the presenting team of experts do a great job. As a late-deafened marketer, I am particularly happy that a transcript and captions are offered with each video for me. Kudos to Northwestern and Coursera for making these necessary ADA accommodations. I want to call out Experts (1) Judy Frank presentation on "Media: Chaos to Clarity" and (2) Stan Smith's "Position as Authority Brand" as must-see. As the lead presenter, Randy does an excellent job guiding each student through the process. I would highly recommend this specialization and this specific "What is Social?" course. Well done.

Brief Profile: Sohail Butt

I am a man of 58 years old and having an experience of almost 30 years of Business Management of Pharmaceutical & Nutraceutical Industries of Pakistan. Presently I am having my own Consulting Company " AIMMS CONSULTING" and extending my services as Management Consultant to different companies of said sectors.

I am of the conviction that learning is never ending and have a habit of learning new ideas about my favorite subject about Social Media Marketing.

I really appreciate highly the efforts of my respected dynamic & highly competent Prof Randy Hlavac and enjoyed the course material and videos presentation of this course. Mind blowing conceptual approach was adopted especially in the areas of basic conceptual knowledge of Social Medial Overall it was my superb experience of learning.

SUGGESTION:

MY PERSONAL HUMBLE REQUEST, Please make also the important components of course material as a part of this Certificate with % AGGREGATE so that it has a much more worth & impact for the courses participated.

I was surprised by this class.

I knew the capstone was the development of the persona for the entire specialization but the final assignment blind sided me.*I am not ready to create that much metrics because this is an actual company being launched, and the costs of this musr be counted thoroughly. I can't just toss the accounts away at the end. All I all, I loved the course.

*I stand somewhat corrected. Turns out I was blindsided due to inadvertently skipping over second, peer focused assignment in wk 3. Once i caught that(whilst waiting for notification of completion), the trepidation faded somewhat.

I really loved this course for three reasons: (1) It was clearly designed for an online audience (as opposed to a recording of a University lecture); (2) it offered good, relevant, clearly-presented information in a concise way, including guest lectures by topical experts; and (3) it was relevant and useful to my current business needs. It met and possibly exceeded my expectations. I was able to glean helpful information and sources without being overwhelming in terms of time expenditure.

For a beginner learning about the dynamics to define what exactly is social, this course is eye opening. I wished I would have taken this course earlier. There is still more to learn but this first step sets the foundation on which you can continue to build your knowledge and expertise. Gives you the background on what is social and then ends with the start of directly engaging with the social networks on a professional level. I look forward to the next set of courses.

PT-BR : Aprendi pontos importantes que não sabia e gostei muito da abordagem do instrutor e da dinâmica das tarefas. Sem dúvidas é um ótimo curso.

EN : I learned important points that I did not know and I really enjoyed the instructor's approach and the dynamics of the tasks. No doubt this is a great course. I learned important points that I did not know and I really enjoyed the instructor's approach and the dynamics of the tasks. No doubt it's a great course.

This course has given me a whole new-level of confidence in presenting my skills across the interview panel. The role of social media manager is not just going to social media schedulers and posting content. This course delves deep into the actual meaning of "BEING SOCIAL". The guests called by Randy Sir in this MOOC, are huge assets in terms of learning new things. If anybody wants to understand social media from grassroots level, then this is the course.

Great introduction! I really feel like I learned a lot and am looking forward to going through with the rest of the courses in this specialization. The only thing I wasn't a fan of was the peer-reviewed assignment. I felt I didn't really get enough peer feedback. Other than that, I thought everything else was great. The videos were very informative. It didn't take up a lot of my free time and I felt a sense of accomplishment when the course was completed.

I am very happy with the Course content.After first module my understanding of using Social media for my benefit is bit improved.I am sure after Specialization i ll be able to run my business well. I am an Artist and need social/digital marketing to get noticed. Professor Randy Hlavac speech is clear and thoughtful which is very easy to follow for non native English speakers. I am glad i am his student and looking forward to learn more.

I learned so much in this course and it was very enjoyable and interactive, after I started attending the sessions. I got more active in my social media space and started to think hard about what I wanted to do with it than fun. I want to use this as a platform to earn a living and work as a consultant . this is truly my journey to accomplishing that dream. so delighted! and excited about this journey

Loved it. I learned a lot of new information and found it helpful to be reminded of things I already had a handle on but had not kept up with. I wish I had had the opportunity to increase my final grade by being prompted to engage in more discussion boards before finishing the course. I was surprised it was over when it was over, a final review page or check list type of thing would have been nice.

This was a very interesting Module, but I really found it beneficial in confirming that I was on the right track with accomplishing my objectives by taking the Social Media Marketing Specialization. Through this MOOC, I was absolutely amazed at what information is available and looked forward to continuing on with the Specialization to find out what tools can be utilized to access this information.

What is Social? It is a modern, dynamic course with relevant information about social media. I have no experience in handling social media strategies but this course inspires me to follow all its recommendations to venture into the management of social networks and create my own brand or work alongside a creative team in social media. Thanks to Instructor Randy Hlavac of Northwestern University.

Great course for beginners in Social Media Marketing, I found it very useful as it helps understand what actually social media are and what kind of media and trends are out there. This helped me as I could refine my business idea and start defining my social media strategy since the very beginning. It also provides know-how on tools and it helps you sign up to them so you can start right away.

I really enjoyed in doing this course. Such an insightful content it has. Professor have explained everything in detail, which anyone and everyone can understand. Post this course I have gained a lot of knowledge about social media marketing, content and the target group/ consumers we engage with. Thankyou for giving me such an amazing opportunity to learn so much.

This course opens up the world of social media to the learner. It will introduce you to the various types of social communities, how they form and what their purpose is. You will be introduced to the tools and concepts that you will use in subsequent courses in the specialization and eventually professionally as you begin to practice the skills learned.

This course has provided me high quality of contents, tips and knowledge I had miss-understood about Social Media before taking the classes. Now I feel like a kind of expert in the issue of Social and an big enthusiast in the task of "identify as specific as you can the market you really want to develop". What amazing assessment!

Thank you!

This course brought me back to my love of going to school and how much I enjoyed a professional education.

I am applying what I learned since day 1 of the course and will continue to look over the materials because I see the immediate practical use of the information provided in throughout the course.

I can't wait to start my next class.