Something I’ve become really interested in lately is the social media; facebook, twitter, blogging, linkedin, wikipedia etc. and how these sites effects on our world, our careers and our personal lives today. I’m doing a directed study on social media next semester and I can’t wait. I think that it’s more powerful than we realize and rather than ignore it, we should embrace it. Social media isn’t just for communication with friends anymore, you can use it to find jobs, make business contacts, find sources for articles, get quick advice. I’ve used it for all these things and I’m continually amazed by it’s power!
Before I left to go home for vacation I got the chance to attend a Social Media Bootcamp through my work, it was basically a presentation on different kinds of social media and how it can be used to help clients with their marketing needs. Unfortunately, lots of clients are nervous about using social media because it’s unchartered territory.
I see lots of things around the blogosphere about people “unplugging” and wanting to spend less time online. I personally, don’t feel this. I love reading blogs, writing blogs, communicating with people through twitter and facebook. Sure, it doesn’t beat face-to-face communication, but that doesn’t mean it’s not enjoyable and interesting. Some people claim it’s a fad, but is it really? Watch the video below and let me know what you think. Some of you may have seen this video already, it’s been floating around the blogosphere and twitter and it’s super interesting. You don’t need to have the sound on to watch it, for those of you who are at work!
So what do you guy’s think about social media and this video? Is it a fad? Do you use social media; do you enjoy it or would you rather life be more “unplugged”?
{ 20 comments… read them below or add one }
OO everyone is asleep in my hosuehold right now, but I will be watching this video in the morning!
That was really interesting!!! I definitely do not think social media is a fad, it’s most definitely here to stay. I do use social media and honestly, consider myself a little more advanced and forward thinking than many of my friends and family. To them it’s still a little “weird”. My only gripe is I think it makes many people lazy and forgetful of proper manners, but I think that is only a small number of the users. (or maybe I’m just sensitive?)
Im with you and not
I LOVE the blogstwitter etc. (not a huge FB fan) but also look forward to UNPLUGGING friday night for the majority of the weekend most times.
that keeps me in balance…
I Don’t think it’s a fad – but I’m now 100% sure how I feel about it all. Twitter I could do without, but we have our days where I’m pretty entertained by it
My issue with the social Media thing is how much information you can put out there; between facebook, blogs, and twitter? Eh, kinda scary!
all that being said…I do still spend a Lot of time online
ha
It’s not a Fad it’s a Lifestyle. We are now able to communicate globally in seconds. You can have a friend in China and Austrailia, or right next door in a chat where you can interact live with video and audio feeds. Don’t forget about using Skype as a social media platform too. I’m sure someone will connect it to Facebook as an app just like Loopt is now. I think Embracing this technology is smart. Use every GOOD thing that comes out of it and your life will be more complete. One day of rest offline is good to recharge but building relationships with loved ones, old friends, new co-workers, and CEO’s of big corporations will make you the go to person when people are looking for answers. Helping another human being is the greatest gift you can ever give and receive at the same time.
i thought myspace was going to be a fad but it’s still going strong. the rest of social media is based on for-profit companies, and they have to find a way to make money. otherwise they won’t be around for too long.
sounds like i’ve got to get on linkedin. dang, i’ve been avoiding that one.
I agree with you, I am all for social media. I do believe that you need to have a balance between being out in the real world, and being online, but most people are able to achieve that. I just love it
I hate social media but I am a slave to it! hhaha i just cant get away because it is so powerful…Great blog I will be following and hope u can do the same!
Laura
leadingladyla.blogspot.com
I think Jeffrey said it beautifully and I completely agree.
I LOVE being that connected with people. I am a social person, and I have a little ADD. This helps me a lot, I can do multiple things at once but I can still connect with someone at the same time.
I have learned SO many things about, well, everything on the net. So many things that I wouldn’t have learned as much about or as quickly if I had searched certain people out and researched it through books.
I do SOMEWHAT “unplug” on the weekends…but it isn’t because I want to get away from media, that’s impossible, it’s only because I look at a computer screen all week and need a bit of a break!!
I think this was a fantastic post Amber, not that anybody would be surprised (and I thought the video was super interesting too!)
Loved the video. I passed it on to some of my coworkers and a few friends AND twitterland!
It’s definitely not a fad. I personally love social media and look forward to learning more about it all the time. I do think that people need to be careful about privacy, but that is an individual decision. If you control that, it can really get you places. I like being connected to the online community, but every once in awhile it is nice to not worry about keeping up with it.
Great videa. Social media is not a fad at all. The companies that get on board & properly use it will be successful – everyone else will be stodgy & will eat their dust (in my opinion).
I have friends who act like they are ‘above’ blogging or facebook. So I like seeing things like this video because it shows they are in the minority! I kind of feel like they are putting me down by making fun of people who blog or facebook!
I can understand people wanting to unplug, but I’m with you on this one. I enjoy being plugged in, though it certainly doesn’t replace face-to-face communication. At this point, there’s no escaping social media–it’s everywhere! I use it for work, to communicate with friends, write my blog, keep in touch with family…we might as well embrace it!
that was a really interesting video! I think I am going to have to watch it a few more times though to really absorb all that information
I don’t think social media is a fad. I do think it is here to stay and that it does and will continue to play a huge role in how we communicate, both personally and professionally. though, it is a little sad to me to watch what people call “the death of newspapers.” I think in order for newspapers to survive these changing times they need to have a bigger online presence, and many have done that, but it has obviously been difficult for them to keep up….
anyhoo, I digress.
I am on facebook, myspace and I blog. But I am not on twitter (mostly because I think it would just further distract me from my work!) or linkedin or really anything else. I don’t have an iPhone and I don’t use my cell to go online or watch videos. and while I am on facebook and myspace, I only check it about once or twice a day to see if I have a new comment; I don’t stay on very long.
as far as unplugging, since I am not completely plugged into all the social media outlets, I don’t feel like I need to “unplug” usually. but I do sometimes think I need to get out from behind my computer and get into the real world! I stare at this screen a lot for my work and for blogs and sometimes I just want to get away. the bad thing is a lot of times I just turn to the TV, haha.
I don’t think its a fad at all. Social media is here to stay. I’ve almost quit watching tv because I can find everything I need online. When I heard MJ died, I went to twitter. I found about about protests in Iran via twitter. Its instantaneous and I appreciate that. Even through the news outlets on tv, its not as fast. When I need a recommendation I turn to my blog or twitter. I keep in touch with people via facebook. I’m also one of those people who likes to unplug sometimes, but I wouldn’t completely give up social media for anything.
I think its crazy how quickly you can get information now. Sunday night I wasn’t watching the VMA’s but I was on facebook, so I knew pretty quickly about the Kayne/Taylor incident. Same with finding out the deaths of Patrick Swayze and DJ AM. Its crazy the way getting our information has changed, and it has seemed to happen awfully quickly.
It’s definitely not a fad, and the internet is one of my primary sources of entertainment (I’ve never really been into tv, and as a history major in college I don’t have too much time to read extensively for pleasure). Still, I feel the need to unplug sometimes–mostly because a lot of my friends and acquaintances seem content to use social media as a SUBSTITUTE for, instead of a complement to, face-to-face interaction. It’s hard to even get people to have a lengthy phone conversation anymore!
I’m a bit overwhelmed by the availability of information now. People put their whole lives on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter and as a result I sometimes read about people’s very personal insecurities and moodiness which makes me uncomfortable sometimes. Without background context or voice inflection, it’s hard to tell if someone’s having a bad week or if they might need professional help (yes, I’ve seen statuses that were THAT deep). It’s information overload for me–after MJ died, I stayed away from my computer for a few days until the fervor went down because I couldn’t process my own feelings about it AND deal with everyone else throwing their grief in my face at the same time. You couldn’t escape it.
I guess I’m just an analog girl in a digital world.
I love social media for the most part. I love facebook, e-mail and obviously blogging. I love to stay in touch with people and hear about how they are doing even if I don’t have time to check in with them all of the time. I am not ashamed to tell people what I am up to. I have twitter, but I am not that great at using it. At this time I really don’t want to put it on my phone because I think when I am out of my house that is my time for face to face interaction with people. I also don’t have e-mail or internet at all on my phone for the same reason. Although I am a total email addict so I’ll probably get that sooner rather than later. I never really want to “unplug” because the internet is my way of relaxing after a long day. Since my job as a teacher includes almost no computer time at all I don’t have to worry about getting overloaded!
It’s definitely not a fad. I am all over the social networking and have seen it do a lot of good, and a lot of harm. I can really relate to the need to unplug, though, because I think it can be very exhausting. I don’t tweet as much as I used to because Twitter overwhelms me. I try not to blog at least one day a week (although I still moderate comments). I think that it’s very easy for you to build your entire world online, to the point where you spend many more hours staring at a screen than talking to “real” people. That’s not to say that the relationships you build with people online aren’t real, because many of them are. I just worry sometimes that we have a generation of people who don’t know how to appropriately interact with people in person. I guess it’s just changing culture. In 50 years, what’s the world going to look like? Hm…
I’ve embraced social media, but at the same time, I definitely feel the need to unplug from it. Sometimes it’s exhausting! To keep up with blogging – both your own and others – Facebook, Twitter etc, involves investing fair bit of time every day. It’s not so bad if you get some of it done during the day at work or in class, but otherwise getting home after a looong day and thinking about all the things you have to catch up on, you know, as part of maintaining your online presence. Every so often I just like to have a day when I stay OFF the internet and recharge! While I was away for a week on work ex. in a REALLY small town, I had no internet for the whole time, and although it was a huge shock initially, it was actually quite relaxing.