Social discovery is becoming a buzzword in describing new technologies, including but not limited to social networks and mobile apps.

I see social discovery defined in two ways. The first way is applied to resources where one user finds out information about another. When you put someone’s name into a search and find them on Facebook, Twitter, their own website, LinkedIn, etc.

Social discovery in a more general way means that a user gets information about anything based on reviews, advice or other input from another user.

When you access data about another person on Facebook, you find aspects of the individual’s profile that they have made public. That is social discovery. But Facebook users can also promote causes, recommend goods and services, or share many types of things beyond their “friends” list.

When you search a restaurant and find reviews by people you don’t know, using this previous input is a kind of social discovery. Most of us don’t think of Yelp or YouTube comments as social media but they certainly are part of the “social” process.

Search this topic and you also find that social discovery tools offered to the public bring with them concerns. Every website that you have a login and password for has the possibility of social discovery for the company, their partners and advertisers and possibly other users. Some social discovery programs are considered intrusive, and as users press for the ability to guard personal information, privacy issues become a concern for the use of social discovery resources.