If you’re new to the world of social media, it can all be a little overwhelming.

For starters, there’s a very steep learning curve. And as social media increasingly integrates itself into our everyday personal and professional lives, it seems that new platforms, businesses and sub-genres are popping up on a near-daily basis.

Even the terminology can be confusing: social marketing, URL shorteners, social scoring, brand engagement, intelligence, apps, analytics, widgets, plugins and gaming. Where exactly do you start?

Well, you could do worse than this infographic from Buddy Media, which takes a closer look at the social media landscape. On first look you might think it actually makes everything even more confusing, and there are certainly one or two notable omissions. Pinterest appears to have been ignored completely. As does Reddit. But, dig a little deeper, and this is a handy, one-page overview of the social scene as it is right now, circa 2012.

(Source: Buddy Media. Social landscape image via Shutterstock.)