What is social media? It's a term used to describe online sites, such as Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, YouTube and photo-sharing sites like Flickr. Why the hype around social media and blogs? Is there power in social media and blogging? There can be. Can you change the world? Perhaps. But you have to remember that the actual power lies in your relationships.

You have to remember that social media sites and blogs are tools. They are tools to reach a new audience and connect with current supporters and friends. Just as a friend lets you know the birth of their child through a Facebook update, you can let your friends know about the events and initiatives you participate in.

In 2009 when the Illinois government found itself reevaluating its budget, funding for student loans was addressed. Students mobilized and began to use Facebook, MySpace and Twitter to spread the news and ask everyone to contact their elected officials. A website was set up to connect people and to gather updates from the governor's office. By using social media sites, it was easy for one student to let hundreds of their friends, in and outside of Illinois, know what was going on and how they could help. Eventually, funds were allocated to support this need.

How can you use this in your community? The key to building a trusting online community is to interact. In 2009, at a feminist blogging conference, a map of the feminist blogosphere was presented. If your blog was on the outskirts and without m(any) connections, then you weren’t connecting with your community. There was no surprise that some very large women's organizations were on the outskirts of that map because they were only sending information out and not interacting. The dots closer to the middle were sending out information and linking to others. In other words, they were interacting in their community.

Whether you are blogging, on Facebook, Twitter or another social media site, you must interact or your message will get lost in the cocktail party atmosphere that is social media.

There is no shortcut to building your online presence. You have to invest time, some money and people power. Don't worry; it's a lot of fun as well as work. And if you are already on Facebook, you just need to continue being yourself. Anything less and you won't realize the true power of social media.

Veronica I. Arreola is a professional feminist, writer and a mom. She's been organizing online since 1996. Her blog is Viva la Feminista