I think we could all safely say that blogs or Facebook or whatever social media du jour can take over our lives if we're not careful. We've probably all experienced the hours lost after getting sucked into seeing pictures of old friends, old flames, distant cousins, people you used to go to school with—and then pictures of their old flames, and on and on and on. Even posting stuff takes a lot of time, let alone reading what everyone else has posted. (I have a longer post about this that I've been working on and will post someday. Is this ironic, given today's topic? Maybe.) And don't even get me started on the senselessness of Farmville or Mafia Wars or who knows what else. There's a lot of stuff out there that will suck your life away.
But I feel like blogs and Facebook have redeeming qualities too. They can be fun. I, obviously, like to write and exploit my blog for such a purpose. And I like using it as a kind of record of part of my life. I also like being able to keep up with friends and family this way. If used wisely, I think they can be worthwhile.
The thing I'm not sold on, however, is Twitter. To be honest, I've never used it. But I feel like it's based on what I do hate about social media: feeling a need and actually following through on filling people's lives with small bits of useless, unsolicited information about your own life and attempting to be clever to get attention (read: comments [feel free to tell me what you think about Twitter!]). Blogs and Facebook also have a propensity for such things, but they also make worthwhile contributions possible.
But is there something I'm not seeing? Am I being hypocritical? Is there a difference between blogs/Facebook and Twitter? Are there Twitter fans out there that can turn me around? I hate the idea of it, but I'm willing to admit that I may not know all there is to know about it.
I think Twitter feeds straight into our ADHD culture. Twitter wants me to decide what I want to say, then say it concisely, then share it with every single person ever.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that facebook and blogger allow for more meaningful communication.
That being SAID... I do have a Twitter account. Not to tweet, but to follow celebrities. I'm not so much interested in Seth Meyers telling me that he just ate a sandwich for lunch, but sometimes people will post or retweet links to videos and other things that just aren't getting put on facebook.
The immediacy of it all was most exciting/helpful during the Harry Potter premieres. It was fun to see little updates like, "Emma Watson talks about saying goodbye to Hermione (link here)", you know?
I don't use Twitter at all, but my husband does ALL THE TIME! He doesn't Facebook or blog. I think it works for him because all of his friends and co-workers use it. (Think geeky tech guys.) It is a good place to exchange ideas, links, tutorials, etc that you wouldn't necessarily put on Facebook or that wouldn't be worth a full blog post. Also, I don't think most of these guys wouldn't blog, but they might snap a quick picture or their kid with their smartphone and throw in on Twitter. Twitter is cool too because you can follow people you don't know, and that may not have a blog. Authors, journalists, politicians, cooks, etc. The key is finding people that post substantive things. (Which I am too lazy to do.) I do appreciate Twitter for its brevity though. You can only post one or two sentences and one photo per tweet. While that's enough space to talk about your bowel movements if you want to, it also makes you get to the point.
ReplyDeleteAsh, I'm totally with you. I think twitter is obnoxious. I love blogs for the story potential. I'm wishy-washy on Facebook. It's sad for me to notice the blog trend is fading away. I used to be able to read new posts on friends or family blogs every day. Now sometimes I have to wait a week before I see a new post from anyone. Of course, I'm just as guilty, but I'm less motivated when I know less people are reading it.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your question. I've attempted to use Twitter a few times, but I just don't "get" it. And now with Google+ I don't know what to do.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your input, ladies. There are definitely things about Twitter I had not considered. That said, I still don't think I'm going to jump on the bandwagon. Instead I'm going to stick to my blog (a dying art though it may be, as Britta said) and veto any other new social media that comes out like an old curmudgeon.
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