Sunday, January 30, 2011
Social Media Frenzy
I must admit to my cohort of classmates that this is my first experience blogging. Of course, when I turned on my computer, I checked my e-mail, accepted a Linkedin invitation and checked that account. When I am done posting this blog, I will go check my Facebook account and pop into Blackboard to see if Tony has posted anything new. I sometimes find it overwhleming and feel compelled to be connected all of the time. As our society embraces the world of social media, my question is how are each of you managing it all? Are you ignoring it, embracing it fully, or doing something in between? And what are the benefits you are deriving from it?
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In the late 80's a physician friend of mine was driven, by personality, to return every message left on her personal answering machine - She decided to discard the machine which resulted in a new found freedom. However this technique of self inflicted ignorance would increase stress and panic attacks in most adults I know.
ReplyDeleteIn this generation, social networking survival skills must include an intellectual filter to differentiate quality from quantity. Sociologists are warning that ‘screen’ time and texting are breaking down communication and decreasing face to face interpersonal communications.
Louise’s example of checking the multitude of personal and professional sites is reality for most of us. However, the efforts of these activities may satisfy our need to belong, to contribute professionally and to communicate with relations.
Social networking may very well be the modern quilting circle. We have just traded pin pricked fingertips for carpal tunnel syndrome.
I debate in my head whether or not the astronomical increase in ways to be connected via social and digital media cause our collective communication skills to grow for the better or for the worse.
ReplyDeleteOn one hand, with all the ways to "talk" to others, one would assume we are all talking more frequently - this is good, right?!? With communication, the more the better? Perhaps what we are witnessing is that more is not necessarily better but that we must also consider the quality of our communication. In other words, it's not how much we're saying but how we're saying it.
My personal inclination, like Louise, is to feel overwhelmed if I sense I am "too connected" can can't disengage for some quiet time. Sometimes less is more!
OK of all of the blogs this week, this one seems like the most fun. Barry's comments on his blog are too deep and after a few days of work, not sure my thinking can go that way.
ReplyDeleteSo, from the older guy in the group, blogging tweeting, facebooking are all neat things and are suppose to keep us connected right. Not so. As a manager, I get close to 150-200 emails a day. My return messages are often cryptic and not very deep (no comments from the peanut gallery). Facebook and tweeting is not something I think of and is another space for me to try avoid.
Don't get me wrong, technolgy allows me to sit in my home office and not get in a car to go to an office It allows for many advantages. A recent article in USA Today discussed the overwhelming social media push and the drain on company resources to support tweeting texting etc. What happened to picking up the phone or writing a hand note to a friend or a customer...I know I have gone to far when I text my kids who are in the family room to put out the trash...
Here is the link to the USA article.
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2011-02-01-tech-overload_N.html
That's funny, Guy. I often text or email my husband when we are in different parts of the house.
ReplyDeleteI struggle with these issues as well, but never really feel like I'm enslaved to any kind of technology. We have a rule at work - if you need something immediately, call. If you can wait a few days, then email. Also, many times emails are just meant to keep management informed and don't require action. I try to keep it all in perspective, and always have an out of office reply if I'm unavailable.
While I'm not into Twitter at all (not even really sure why), I love Facebook. I have friends and family all over the country, and with a tiny amount of effort, I can keep them up to date with things in my life, and vice versa. I don't feel like I have to check that all the time, either... but I do, because it's fun and relaxing... and Matt's posts are usually pretty good. :)
It is challenging to keep up with all the avenues of communication now days. I feel like telling people who leave me a voice mail at work to send me an email instead, that way I am only checking one source. I do agree that I see more usefulness with Facebook than Twitter, but lately I have been trying to manage my time with electronic communication, it seems to manage me, now I am trying to manage it and use it at scheduled times. I am not doing very well, but trying.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, I refuse to text my family in the other room, although with my daughters it seems to be the only way to get through to them.
I'm not sold on social media. To me this is something that allows people an excuse not to communicate with others face to face or verbally. I keep getting on my sales people to make sure that they don't e-mail proposals to clients, but instead drop them off and meet face to face. I think that when relationships with clients, friends and family members get widdled down to one sentence lines on a twitter account in place of a phone conversation, or face to face visit then that is a bad thing.
ReplyDeleteDon't get me wrong, if your using facebook to communicate with long lost friends then I can see the value, I also understand the idea of sharing photo's and other information easily. My concern is when the use of social media replaces traditional communication between people who don't live far apart (Family, close friends etc...). I don't want to be held hostage to my computer, e-mail is already too much!
We are in an interesting tipping point, a generation that remembers what life was like without email, and is surrounded by children that know how to use an iPhone out of the womb.
ReplyDeletePersonally I find too much email an annoyance, but still feel that the power of the information is overwhelmingly worth it.
The ability to utilize data within social networking is driving businesses as well.
Social buying with companies like Living Social and Groupon influence buying behaviors, and companies have monetized the ability to have 20 something kids compete on developing code with crowd sourcing companies like Roman Logic and TopCoder.
While I feel the amount of data is almost the constant gnat that I am waving away, it is also becoming the crux of the tools that I use to live my everyday life.
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ReplyDeleteIsn't that the beauty of Technology? You can pick and choose the technologies that are valuable to you. Technology is a tool and should be viewed as such.
ReplyDeleteThe problem comes when people use technology inappropriately. For example: employees using facebook for personal business at work. This is not a problem with the technology, rather judgement.