Do you know the difference between the Internet and the World Wide Web? The Internet is a series of computers, servers, and wide area networks connected through service providers and leased lines. The World Wide Web is a network of documents and data connected through the Internet and using the Hyper Text Transfer Protocol or HTTP.

Over the past decade, a new function of the Internet has made its use mainstream and started connecting everyone through their mobile devices. The Social Web is composed of a number of social networks that exist within the web. So the World Wide Web runs on top of the Internet and the Social Web runs on top of the World Wide Web.

This Social Web is a tool with much more power than simply sharing pictures of your vacation to make people jealous, opinions about a political environment no one really has any idea about, sowing seeds of malice and discontent, or sharing cat pictures. This social functionality of the Internet could become the tool for humans to start holding each other accountable to be good and compassionate, to condemn hate, and to expose swindlers. As users, we are able to design our own social experience on the Internet.

“The social web is a set of social relations that link people through the World Wide Web. The Social web encompasses how websites and software are designed and developed in order to support and foster social interaction.”

Talking about the social web is bigger than just social media. The social web references a user experience taking place through the internet powered by social networks and online platforms such as: Facebook, LinkedIN, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube, Pinterest, Snapchat, Reddit, Google+, online blogs,  publishing sites, and more.

Socrates contends that the greatest social good is the “cohesion and unity” that “results from the common feelings of pleasure and pain which you get when all members of a society are glad or sorry for the same successes and failures.

Back in April, I did an Ignite Talk about Social Good on the Social Web. It was my first prepared talk for the purpose of education AND entertainment. It wasn’t spectacular, but it wasn’t terrible either. You can watch it here: https://vimeo.com/172500734