ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book explains how to study the language that occurs in social media contexts. The platforms that have become associated with the umbrella term social media include sites and services that are now well known and have been adopted on an international scale. Examples include the social network site Facebook, the micro-blogging site Twitter, the video-sharing site YouTube and the wiki Wikipedia, whilst social media genres like blogs, discussion forums and chat continue to evolve across many different sites. The book provides both beginning and more advanced researchers with an introduction to the topics, methods and frameworks that will enable them to design and carry out a project about language and social media. It includes both a broad range of approaches and more elementary and advanced topics and guidance.
