omg. more like, OMG. i am overwhelmed. i decided a short while ago that i need to get up to speed on all these social networking outlets because people started talking about Google+ and i was like, Google what? these weren't kids talking, these were people older than me...so i figured i HAD to get on the bandwagon and investigate, start learning how to play with all these gadgets. it's truly insane. first of all, i spent all of my days at work in front of a computer. now, i am spending a good portion of my free time in front of a computer. this is so wrong!!! how does one balance life with staying "cyber connected?" there must be a more efficient way of doing this.
i therefore believe that i need a purpose for this new tweeting/blogging lifestyle of mine. (eek.) in many ways, i want it to be a creative outlet. i really love to write and get thoughts out there, and i could certainly stand to use some practice. maybe i can go out there and just try stuff and blog about it. however, all the social media advice says you need to pick an identity and go with it. say what? how do you pick an identity. better yet, how do I pick an identity? that has been my biggest problem in life: i like too many things. i go off on tangents and constantly have to be learning something new. i'm what they call a "scanner." hmm...could that be my identity? interesting...self-discovery (or identity crisis?) via tweeter.
help.
1 comment:
Ok, as a bit of a social media addict, here are my 2 cents... ; )
First of all, you don't have to use every social network. Dip your foot into them, check them out, see who else is there, but if that's too much to keep up with you can choose which ones you like best (probably the ones you find yourself spending more time on anyway) and just stick to those.
You can put as much or as little time into social networking as you like. If you're worried about getting sucked in, you could put a time limit on how much time you spend there. Twitter's fun to check periodically throughout the day, but sites like Facebook and Google+ could easily just be checked into once or twice a day, with a time limit if you want so don't get sucked in.
With any of these, try to find people that are interesting to friend/follow.... but keep in mind that you are under no obligation to read every single tweet or status update. On FB and twitter I follow/am friends with a relatively large number of people and when I have the time I scroll through my main feed. But I also have lists for when I just want to check in on the more important people, so I don't have to spend a bunch of time scrolling through tons of updates but still keep up with who matters most to me. Does that make sense? I think on both sites I have a "short list" of the most important people (usually ones I know in real life and/or tend to post really interesting stuff that I want to keep up with), and a "second tier" list or lists based on topics they tend to post about. Making these lists can take a little bit of time and they'll need tweaking over time, but it's a worthwhile investment and it makes the whole experience much less overwhelming.
As for your "identity"... honestly, I read some of that social networking & blogging advice, and so much of it feels... limiting? Fake? If you're trying too hard to be one specific persona, people will see that. my favorite people to follow are those that post about all sorts of stuff, from personal updates to politics to random news items, etc. The varied interests is what makes people interesting and 3-dimensional. Besides, twitter (for example) is one of the best ways to find people with varied interests and learn about all sorts of new things. Why limit yourself within such an open environment?
Above all, don't think about it too hard or take it too seriously. If it's not enjoyable, it's not really worth doing. Find interesting people, engage with them, and just have fun with it. ; )
(sorry I wrote such a long comment!)
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