Social what? Marketing, media, networking, syndication…one’s head is easily set spinning by the type of jargon we throw around these days. And where are we now, Search 2.0, 3.0, 4.0? Does it even matter? It’s time for a comprehensive cheat sheet, so read below, argue if you wish in the comments and hopefully you’ll learn something you didn’t know. I’ve tried to keep things simple, and be sure to check out the links for more information, especially since Danny Sullivan has already described many of these terms in detail.

Blended and Universal Search: Essentially the same thing, this refers to search engine results pages (SERPs) that combine more than just the 10 blue text links. It may include images, videos, maps, local listings, or other non-HTML file formats, such as PDF. “Universal Search” was coined by Google when they began to display this type of mixed content. Danny Sullivan does a great job of detailing universal search and providing examples over at Search Engine Land.

Vertical Search: Often confused with Universal Search, vertical search is simply specific to one industry or content type (like maps or images). For example, Travelocity focuses on the vertical search of travel; therefore, it would be considered to be a vertical search medium. More from Danny Sullivan.

Digital Asset Optimization (DAO): Often confused with “Social,” Digital Asset Optimization simply refers to the process by which SEO professionals make digital (non html) assets (content) visible to search engines. It includes the same techniques as normal SEO, such as adding tags and content.

Digital Asset Syndication: Also often confused with “Social,” this simply refers to selecting channels, such as YouTube and MetaCafe and uploading content (such as videos) to these sites.

Social Marketing: It may surprise many people to learn that this term was actually coined before the Internet; it originally referred to using marketing techniques to change attitudes or behavior about a product or concept. Wait, it still means the same thing today, except that in the 1970s, it was specific to the idea of bringing about social change. A good explanation of this is found at the Social Marketing Institute’s website, and you can see the parallels between then and now.

Social Networking: A bit different than social marketing, social networking is specific to using social channels (such as LinkedIn or Facebook) to make a person or brand known to others.

Social Media: In many cases, this term is used synonymously with social marketing. But while Social Marketing is the concept or the action, Social Media is the delivery system or the channel. Social Media is the ad on the Facebook page; Social Marketing is the elicited reaction in the viewer of that ad.

Search 3.0 (or 4.0, depending on who you ask): A generalized term meant to encapsulate the current marketplace of vertical search, blended search, social media and mobile search applications. Since most people use this term just to imply the current state of online marketing, it’s frequently misused and not at all specific enough for most modern marketers. In other words, if you use this term with an industry pundit, you might get laughed at.

SMS: Stands for “Short Message Service,” which most of us know simply as a “text,” or “text message.”

KPI: Stands for “Key Performance Indicator.” It is a very old abbreviation that can refer to any measure of success, online or offline. The key word, though, is “key.” A true Key Performance Indicator needs to be tied to some critical aspect of your company, and someone needs to be accountable for it. Otherwise, it’s just a regular performance indicator. Examples of KPIs may include the number of leads generated, the time a user spends on a page, the circulation of a print or online magazine or the number of sales completed.

ROI and ROAS: Slightly different, ROI stands for “Return on Investment,” while ROAS stands for “Return on Ad Spend.” The only difference is that ROAS is a more precise measurement within a campaign, tracking the pure return on the money spent for ads. ROI factors in the money spent for ads as well as the costs of managing the account and can send incorrect signals about the performance of a specific campaign.

PageRank: One of the most-misused words in our industry. PageRank is a branded concept by Google, and refers to the measure of the quantity and quality of links pointing to a page. It is one component of Google’s ranking algorithm. Toolbar PageRank, which is the green bar in the Google toolbar, is not the same PageRank that is used in Google’s algorithm. Although it can be indicative of a site’s reputation with Google (useful for deciding on link partners), it is inaccurate and infrequently updated.

So there you have it, your jargon glossary for 2009. I’m sure I’ve missed some, so feel free to leave a comment, and maybe in a future post we can tackle some more. Oh, and I missed the most important one of all! Tweet: the process by which you can tell all your friends about this great glossary, using a cool social networking application called Twitter. Follow me @jennyhalasz, and follow Keyword-Driven (aka Acronym) @keyworddriven.