Foundations and Structure of the Social Web

The Social Web is postulated to be a new space in which people can interact, search for information, communicate, entertain themselves, plan their actions, make purchases and learn. In this way, the philosophy underlying this version of the Internet has brought about a changed the role of the users, who have become an active part of the content that they consume, forcing companies to adapt to this situation, which is defined by the adjective “social.” The social media that comprise the Social Web have had a large following of investigators, practitioners and the general public. Also, their use has grown at a staggering rate in recent years, to the point that they constitute common societal tools. Virtual communities, virtual social networks, blogs, wikis, forums, microblogs, etc. have emerged, creating huge advantages for their users, among whom we count companies that can now deliver greater value to their clients. This leads to e-commerce developing to include social elements, which in turn leads to the emergence of social commerce, in which the consumer assumes a predominant role, becoming a co-creator and co-producer of the products that they themselves are going to consume (prosumer). In this chapter the main aspects of the philosophy in which the Social Web is based will be established, the users’ main motivations and available tools will be summarized, then a visual map that summarizes the main social media will be presented. Finally, the principle characteristics of social commerce will be established.