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Social media offers an excellent way for people to connect with the world around them, but there’s a lot to learn about using it. Whether you’re concerned with the way interaction works, or want to know about marketing, there are plenty of excellent resources that will help you learn what you need to know. Check out these Open CourseWare resources that can offer much in the way of a social media education.

Introduction

These courses will help you learn the basics of social media.

1. Introduction to Media Studies: Get an introductory understanding of media by following this course. [MIT]
2. Virtual Communities/Social Media: This course explains how virtual communities are created and maintained. [Berkeley]

New Media

Find out how new media works with these courses.

3. Journals as Portals of Electronic Publication: This learning resource explores journals as an electronic, living publication. [Rice University]
4. Becoming Digital: Writing About Media Change: Check out this course for help in learning how to communicate about media change. [MIT]
5. Media in Transition: Take a look at a variety of changes in the media through this course. [MIT]
6. Web 2.0: Follow current developments in user behavior, new technologies, and more in this course. [Weber State University]
7. Impact of New Information Sources: Multimedia and Networks: Check out this course to see how new information sources are impacting multimedia and networks. [NYU]
8. New Media Literacies: Follow this course, and you’ll get an in-depth look at literacy theory in media contexts. [MIT]

Social Marketing

These courses discuss social media and marketing together.

9. Principles of Internet Marketing: In this resource, you’ll learn all about e-marketing principles and social media integration. [Innovation]
10. Measuring Rich Media: How to Build, Measure, and Profit using RIA on Your Site: See how using rich Internet applications and social media can pay off. [Omniture]
11. Marketing Strategy: This course will help you devise a marketing strategy for social media and beyond. [MIT]
12. Brand Identity and Strategy: In this course, you’ll learn about creating a strong brand identity through social media and more. [Columbia]
13. Listening to the Customer: This important part of marketing is especially useful in social media interaction. [MIT]
14. Social Marketing: Get an overview of what social marketing is through this course. [York University]
15. Tips for Expanding Your Online Presence: This course explains how musicians can use Internet tools, including social media, to improve their presence. [Berklee Shares]
16. Next Generation Social Marketing: In this course, you’ll learn how to use social media for marketing. [Social Marketing University]
17. Viral Marketing Theory: Check out this course to learn about viral strategies and buzz marketing. [Emakina]

Education

Here, you’ll see how social media can be put to work for education.

18. Blogs, Wikis, New Media for Learning: This course discusses using social media as a learning tool. [Utah State University]
19. Media Education and the Marketplace: Check out this course to see the rise of media technology in education and beyond. [MIT]
20. New Media, Social Media, and Learning: In this course, you’ll see new media and social media tools used for learning. [OpenContent]
21. Digital Learners: How Are They Expanding the Horizon of Learning?: Find out how young learners use social media and more to push the envelope of education. [Connexions]
22. Improving Literacy Through Communication Experiences: Through this course, you’ll see how communication and interaction through social media and more can help with literacy. [Connexions]

Culture

See culture’s influence on social media, and social media’s influence on culture, with the help of these courses.

23. Media in Cultural Context: In this course, you’ll learn how culture influences media. [MIT]
24. The Celebrity in the Text: Check out this unit to learn about the consequence of consuming cultural media. [The Open University]
25. Civil Society, Social Capital, and the State in Comparative Perspective: Learn about the concepts of social capital and civil society through this course. [MIT]
26. Digital Anthropology: Check out this course to consider the artifacts of digital interaction and social media. [MIT]
27. Foundations of American Cyberculture: This course will help you better understand how culture works online. [Berkeley]
28. Brains and Culture: Check out this course to see the brain as a cultural object in contemporary media. [MIT]
29. Language, Culture, and Communication: From this course, students will gain knowledge about the way language, culture, and communication interrelate. [University of Texas]

Interaction

Through these courses, you’ll learn more about the interaction in social media.

30. Social Psychology: This course explores human behavior in groups. [MIT]
31. The Social in Social Science: Take a look at social scientific studies in this course. [The Open University]
32. Communicating in Cyberspace: This course discusses the various forms of digital communication available online. [MIT]
33. Communication Technology and Policy: In this course, you’ll see the roles played by communication technologies in society, as well as challenges created by social media. [University of Southern Queensland]
34. Web 2.0: Risks for STI/HIV: In this lecture, you’ll learn about the risks and prevention of sexually transmitted illnesses as they relate to social networking and Internet dating sites. [Johns Hopkins]
35. Techno-Identity: Check out this course to explore the concept of technological perception of self. [MIT]
36. Social Networking: You’ll learn about the origins of social media and how to use social media for networking through this course. [xTrain]
37. Managing Relationships: In this course, you’ll learn all about organizational relationships. [The Open University]
38. Social Visualization: Learn how to visualize and understand the social crowds gathering online with the help of this course. [MIT]
39. Dynamics of Social Systems: This collection offers ideas of science and engineering that can be applied to social systems. [Rice University]
40. Social Psychology: Benjamin Karney’s course offers insight into the psychology of social interaction and groups. [UCLA]
41. Planning, Communications, and Digital Media: Find out how social media, digital visualization, and more can be used for planning and communications. [MIT]
42. Diversity and Difference in Communication: Through this course, you’ll learn all about interpersonal communication. [The Open University]
43. Social Psychology: This course will help you better understand the way social psychology works. [Berkeley]
44. Language and Mind: Check out this course to see how human language and interaction influences our minds. [MIT]
45. Experiences in Interactive Art: Learn how to create art through interaction with the help of this course. [MIT]

Developing Social Media

Using these courses, you’ll be able to learn about creating social media.

46. Designing Sociable Media: This course looks at creating social media, analyzing interaction and social cues. [MIT]
47. The Future of the Internet: Check out this collection of lectures to find out what the future holds for the Internet. [Stanford]
48. Human-Computer Interaction: Follow this course, and you’ll learn more about designing for interaction with users. [Central Queensland University]
49. Software Engineering for Web Applications: With the help of this course, you can learn more about designing social media web applications. [Ars Digita University]
50. Interactive Media Production: Through this course, you’ll see how to create a variety of interactive multimedia applications. [Utah State University]
51. Common Sense Reasoning for Interactive Applications: This course will help you learn to use common sense knowledge when creating interactive applications. [MIT]
52. Relational Machines: In this course, you can learn how to better design for interaction. [MIT]
53. Interrogative Design Workshop: Learn about creating design that requires interaction from this course. [MIT]
54. Signals, Systems, and Information for Media Technology: Check out this course to learn more about the cues often found in media technology. [MIT]

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