It is no uncommon site to see a blog post with 5 of the best this or 25 amazing thats. Books are no exception to this. Just Google '5 best books for ...' (enter anything) and there will be a host of lists devised by experts, fans and bibliophiles. To this end, putting together a list of the best social media books is a nearly impossible task. It would mean having read every book on social media in existence and taking everyones' preference into account. 

Instead we have listed 5 books from some of our social media heroes. These are the leaders we look to for inspiration, when defining our social media presence, and are among some of the most talented marketers to grace the digital, and physical, realms. 

So, in no particular order.

The internet is a wonderful place for children to learn and keep in touch with loved ones, but there’s always threats that are difficult to protect them from. We spoke to Rosalind Brookman of Broadband Genie about some of the steps we can take to help keep children safe online.

Online safety in schools

Technology is now an important part of a student’s learning experience, both at school and at home. Along with the many positives that this can bring, however, it also creates many areas of concern around exactly what students may be able to access.

Schools can ensure that their own devices are rendered safe for pupil use, by equipping their IT network with the correct filters and monitoring systems to prevent inappropriate content being viewed and which will flag up any concerns but students’ personal smartphones and tablets present a trickier problem.

Encouraging thoughtful online behaviour

Monitoring or removing personal devices from students is not an effective answer to keeping them safe on the internet. Pro-actively teaching them to demonstrate positive online behaviour is more likely to protect them in the long run and is something that can be incorporated throughout all aspects of the curriculum, not just during IT lessons.

Pupils should be helped to identify the boundaries (including the legal implications that could arise from inappropriate online actions) they should adhere to in terms of good internet practices and the consequences outlined in school policy if they deliberately overstep them. For their own safety they need to understand the potential ramifications of posting personal information online and can be reminded that their mobile devices should not be left lying around so that others can access their private data.

Preventing cyberbullying

All schools should already have a tough anti-bullying policy in place, and it is vital that the whole student body is clear that this includes a zero tolerance approach to all forms of online harassment, or cyberbullying, as well. Students might receive threats of physical abuse or psychological intimidation; or the humiliation of somebody posting unwanted photos or derogatory messages on social networking sites. With practically everybody owning some sort of mobile device nowadays cyberbullying can become a continuous and inescapable pressure for its victims.

Teachers need to be vigilant for signs that a child is being bullied online: withdrawal from classroom interactions or social activities, the sudden drop in standards of school work, drastic changes in appearance or personality, signs of depression or self-harm and a greater obsession with checking their mobile device, followed by extreme behaviours could all point to potential cyberbullying.

There should be a transparent and robust strategy in place for those who are victims of cyberbullying. Teachers need to ensure their pupils know that any worries they have around this issue will always be taken seriously and that there is a defined action plan that can be used to help them deal with it. They should be advised to keep any evidence that they are being bullied (take screen shots etc.) and to report abuse via the specific buttons on their social media accounts as well as to a trusted adult. School can provide an anonymous drop box, email address or hotline for this if necessary. 

Technology is a huge asset to education and a stimulating motivational tool for schools. A forward thinking teaching structure, along with support from parents at home, can help to foster a positive and confident online school community as well as creating a safe pathway for children to explore and assertively resolve issues around negative conduct.

It's 1999 and the world is on the brink of a new millennium. Fear runs riot with Y2K; an inherent and catastrophic failure that will occur in all electronic devices when the clocks turn back to 00:00 01/01/00. Planes will fall from the sky; all nuclear weapons will launch and detonate; and, perhaps worse of all, our TiVo boxes will delete the entire first season of The Sopranos. 

Of course, none of this happened. Many did think the world was ending because of their hangover but come January 1st, 2000  everything was in relative order. Little did people know however that the true age of digital was about to herald in. 

The digital revolution has changed the world and the way people interact with one another. Sharing golfing tips with a man from Kuala Lumpur while watching a how-to video on julienning a carrot is simple to do. No one would batter an eyelid at such an exploit (at least not without Snapchatting the whole episode first). 

Social media facilitates this with ease. In 1999, unless you were willing to remortgage to pay that month's phone bill, this was not so clearcut.

With these changes to our way of life, our actual language has adapted with the development and inclusion of lots of new words. And they are coming at some rate! Below we have listed 16 words that are commonplace today, but were completely unheard of as short as 16 years ago.

Social media: (n.) Websites and applications that enable users to create and share content or to participate in social networking

When starting off on YouTube and taking your first steps you may only have one or two videos. 

As time goes by and you find yourself uploading more and more videos you will soon reach the point where your YouTube channel looks something like this to the public...