Those of us in the internet industry are very aware of social media. We use Facebook, StumbleUpon and Delicious. We know what Digg is and how it affects traffic. But how about the rest of the country? Outside of the technical professions and the universities, how is social media actually seen or used?

If you are a member of the so-called "Millennial Generation" you probably can't live without your messenger, social networking and internet connection. But if you are not, if you are Generation X or a Baby Boomer, then all of this is quite likely to be a foreign language. The adoption in these demographics is much slower, and the penetration of even the names of these high traffic, high volume sites is actually very low (try asking your Mum or Gran to join you on Facebook!).

Therefore it is interesting that the BBC news website has added social media icons to the bottom of its news stories. As one of the most widely read websites in the UK, this could make a real difference in the visibility of these sites to a different group of people. Here's the screenshot:

And note the little link to "What are these?" where the BBC explains to its audience what the new symbols are for. We might know, but it is important for us to remember that not everyone reaches for their Digg button when they find an interesting story on the Net!