As the world has gotten smaller with new gadgets and with the internet being integrated with them sharing information with other has gotten so much easier. A click of a mouse or a keypad can bring you the world in an instant and can connect you with millions of people worldwide. Talk about word of mouth, information can be shared quickly and to large audiences.

The Internet has changed also. In the Web 2.0 era social media has been the predominant source of information from the World Wide Web. We can get facts, stories, opinions and much more from each other that are in depth and with added opinions from all types of people. Social media has changed the way we get information and changed the way we socialize at the same time.

Leading the social media wave are Facebook, Myspace, and Twitter in social communication. Information about anything can be found and discussed with a messaging from your computer or from your cell phone. From news about a disaster to news about your friends we are all becoming informed thoroughly and with the ability to share our understanding within a matter of seconds.

Social bookmarking sites like Digg, Delicious and StumbleUpon also give us the chance to share and to comment on stories we find interesting and captivating. We can contribute a story and discuss it with people world wide.

Wikipedia is a world wide encyclopedia that everybody can contribute for free. We can socially create a database of knowledge and share it with the world. Social media is not limited to messaging and articles. We can social network videos on YouTube and pictures on Flickr for instance.

There are many forums online now that are topic specific and that give people a "forum" to interact with others from everywhere directly about the topics. Discussions can be informative, entertaining and helpful just like the other social media sites.

Social media has changed traditional news online also. News online is getting more and more interactive with its viewers allowing comments on stories, discussion forums and blogs with opinionated posts with comment feedback. Citizen journalism is also something to look for more in the future.

Social media is the best source of information sharing and connecting with many different people that have different points of views and insights that we could not find easily.