Interesting link to visit re social media http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2009-09-27-social-networking_N.htm
Why, oh why, are so many people so resistant to social media? Naysayers, everywhere, refuse to jump onto the social media train, afraid they’ll get kidnapped by some over burdensome chatty preachy love engine. Not true. Sure, there’s lots of love to share, and that’s one of the reasons to get on board. But social media is more; much more. It’s about sharing insights, observations, experiences, stories. It’s about discussion in real time.
Yes, social media is story telling, just without the campfire, and in the case of twitter, the much edited, most concise version. It’s about knowing yourself and knowing what’s important to you, as an individual, and feeling confident enough to own that, flaunt it, make hay with it. And, contrary to popular opinion, it’s not a ‘cheerleading’ forum. It’s a place to put your opinions and observations out there, and allow others, whether they agree w/ you or not, to comment and to engage.
If you’re shy, or have a huge sense of self pride (some would call it false pride) this may seem out of the norm for you, or worse. It may seem like ‘horn tooting’ (there’s that train analogy again!) thereby, inappropriate. Remember, our mothers told us not to brag!
But social media is not bragging. It’s not [supposed to be] that at all. It’s sharing in community. And sharing, in the 21st century, is tantamount. As a world that’s evolving and becoming more and more global, it’s important that we all feel connected. And not in the ‘yea, we’re all one’ kinda connected, but in a ‘we’re all one and we’d better damned well realize it and start acting like it.” That doesn’t mean that it’s going to always be about love, peace and brotherhood. Nobody’s asking you to sing Kumbaya. Sometimes, it can spark a healthy argument about a controversial issue – if you dare.
Social media, all of it, in all its forms, matters. Try it. At first, it’ll feel funny, and you’ll stumble and bumble around like a novice train engineer on his first day in charge of the locomotive. You can feel the power, you know it’s there, and you know, on some level, it’s important. But you’re worried you’ll make a mistake, you’ll sound silly, you’ll be trite. Who the hell cares?
We’re all in this together. Didn’t your mother tell you that, too?
You said it. It’s “We are the World.” It’s more like “The Knee Bone’s Connected to the Thigh Bone.” Great post.
I meant it’s NOT we are the world.
I also think of it as an enhanced Google search (on the reader end): The benefit is discovering fascinating POVs and information you didn’t even know existed.
OK, plus there’s the voyeur thing.
I like the perspective of “Story telling without the camp fire”. I’m sure though there are some campfires and some stories I would not care to be subjected to, which is the beauty of media, we get to choose.
I’ve got a twitter page. Two followers so far. You could say the rain’s a little slow pulling out of the station.