API:

An API (Application Programming Interface) allows developers to integrate the functionality of their programs with those that have released an API. This is especially common with Web 2.0 applications, which can provide the features of multiple programs within a single interface.

Advertorial/Adverpost:

An advertorial is an article written to promote a company or organization that pays to place the article in the media. An adverpost is a sponsored post on a blog.

Atom Feed:

A type of XML feed that acts similarly to a RSS feed by syndicating web content, usually for blogs.

Blog:

A blog or “weblog” is an online journal. Bloggers post new entries, which are listed from newest to oldest. Blogs are a major online force, with popular blogs for hundreds of topics, from politics to celebrity gossip. They are an easy way for companies and individuals to post regular content on the web. To view an example, visit our company blog at www.sparkeffect.com.

Blogosphere:

The blogging world, so to speak. Breaking news posted on the “blogosphere,” for example, refers to information posted by bloggers and viewed and commented on by fellow bloggers and readers.

Blog Influencing:

A digital public relations campaign where a company or agency reaches out to influential bloggers in a topic area to encourage them to blog about an event, a new product, an online contest, etc.

Engagement:

“Engagement” generally refers to an interaction with web users that causes them to be engaged with a company's message, such as watching a video, clicking on a post in a RSS feed, participating in a sponsored online poll, etc. Shoutlet tracks engagements for each feature; please visit our Featurespages for more information about how Shoutlet tracks each type of format.

Impression:

An “impression” is generally the number of times a page with a piece of sponsored web content is loaded by web users. This content can be an advertisement, sponsored widget, etc. Shoutlet tracks impressions for each feature; please visit our Features pages for more information about how it tracks each type of format.

Influencer:

An online influencer is a person who has the web presence and authority to shape opinions and actions of the web users he or she reaches. Popular bloggers with a large number of loyal readers, for example, can easily post recommendations and suggestions that influence their readership.

(The) Long Tail:

The term “The Long Tail” was coined by Wired magazine writer Chris Anderson in 2004. In an online marketing sense, it relates to the practice of reaching audiences through a large number of small web sites and social networks instead of a just a handful of major web sites and social communities.

Mashup:

A mashup is the joining of two or more web applications that provide unique perspectives on the data set or functionality provided. Dude, Where's My Used Car? is an example of a mashup; it uses eBay Motor's data about used car auctions and plots them using Google Maps.

Pay-Per-Click:

An online marketing service in which advertisers' text ads are displayed according to specified keywords. Advertisers pay only when web users click on their advertisement. Read more at Wikipedia.

Podcast:

A podcast is a feed of media files, such as audio or video clips, that can be accessed through subscription or through an online widget. They can be accessed online or by downloading them to a portable media device.

RSS feed:

Known as “Really Simple Syndication,” RSS is a type of feed that publishes text files, headlines, blog posts, podcasts, etc. RSS allows any web user to subscribe to a feed and receive automatic updates without visiting a web site. A RSS aggregator is used to view RSS subscriptions.

RSS aggregator:

Also known as a feed reader or news reader, this is a web application that provides an easy–to–use interface for viewing RSS, such as Google Reader or Bloglines.

SMS (Short Message Service):

SMS technology allows for the exchange of short codes via mobile phone. It has fueled the growth of text messaging in recent years.

Search Engine Marketing (SEM):

Search Engine Marketing as described by Wikipedia: “Search engine marketing, or SEM, is a form of Internet marketing that seeks to promote web sites by increasing their visibility in search engine result pages (SERPs). According to the Search Engine Marketing Professionals Organization, SEM methods include: search engine optimization (or SEO), paid placement, and paid inclusion. Other sources, including the New York Times, define SEM as the practice of buying paid search listings.” Read more

Search Engine Optimization:

SEO is the practice of boosting a web site's traffic through methods such as strategically placed keywords and tags in web page code. It helps boost natural or organic search engine rankings, as opposed to gaining visibility on search engines through paid advertisements.

Social bookmarking:

The process of saving, tagging, and organizing web bookmarks through programs such as del.icio.us or Digg.

Social network/social community:

A social community is an online group of people, usually of members with viewable profiles, that connect to each other through a variety of shared interests. Social communities can be broad in scope, such as MySpace or Facebook, in which anyone is encouraged to join and connect with others within the community. Niche social communities encourage people with specific interests to become members and connect with others who already have a shared interest, such as cooking, sports, or an interest in business networking.

Software as a Service (SaaS):

SaaS is an online, hosted application, often subscription–based. It can be accessed anywhere on the Internet, rather than downloaded or installed on an individual computer.

Syndication:

The process of disseminating information throughout the web. This can occur through uploading posts to an RSS feed, uploading videos to multiple video sites, or posting web widgets to a variety of web sites, blogs, and social network profiles.

Tag/Tag Cloud:

Tags are keywords assigned to a piece of web content that can be used to access the information later and notify others of the content's subject matter. Tag clouds are visual arrangements of tags; the words that are visually the largest are those that be been used the most often to describe relevant posts, photos, videos, etc. Tags and tag clouds make it simple to discover web content related to a specific topic of interest in a Web 2.0 environment.

Trackback:

Trackbacks notify web publishers when other authors have mentioned their work online. Used most commonly in blogs, trackbacks are records of comments and related posts.

User–generated Content or Consumer–generated Content:

Photos, video, text, etc. created and posted online by individuals, rather than companies or agencies.

Viral pass–along:

Viral pass–along refers to the wildfire effect of web content. Video sharing, email forwarding, social bookmarking, and the embedding of web widgets are examples of viral pass–along.

Vlog/Video Blog:

A vlog is a blog documented through a video format rather than through text posts.

Web 2.0:

Web 2.0 is the term, first coined by O'Reilly Media in 2004, that describes the collective trend of new web formats, such as social networks, RSS, podcasts, web widgets, videos, etc. Web 2.0 sites and applications often have a social component, where users interact and share information. There are multiple ways to describe the phenomenon, as outlined by Wikipedia. Web 1.0 includes the older formats of the web. As it relates to sponsored content, Web 1.0 refers to formats such as static display ads and pay-per-click campaigns.

Widget:

Widgets are mini applications that stream content directly to a widget's interface. Content can be anything from gas prices in a specific geographical area to a favorite blog's RSS feed posts. Desktop widgets can be installed and accessed at any time by individual people through their personal computers. Web widgets function similarly, but are made up of snippets of web code that can be embedded in web sites, blogs, or social network profiles.