When I joined Twitter last year to keep track of some Visionary clients, I never dreamed I would become so addicted to it. I would probably embarrass myself if I shared with you just how much time I have spent over the past year and a half scrolling through endless tweet streams, “listening” to and barging in on, other peoples’ conversations, and sharing random thoughts with the world at large. Once I mastered Twitter (I can quit anytime!), I moved on to Facebook, and LinkedIn, and so on and so forth. What is it about social media that keeps us going back for more?
As humans we crave interaction with and recognition from our peers, and now that we have various forums in which to do so, we sometimes have an inexplicable need to let the rest of the general population know what we’re doing, what we’re wearing, and what or where we just ate. Some of us even post pictures of our meals to help our schedule-challenged friends feel that they are right there at the table with us, ooh-ing and ahh-ing over the newest, most creative presentation of steak and mashed potatoes (Oh look! It’s the mountain from “Close Encounters of the Third Kind!”). Unfortunately, in putting ourselves so far out there, we can also open ourselves up to unwanted attention. For example, someone in your offline world whom you’re not expecting to see could show up uninvited to a gathering you’ve planned, simply by searching for your name or handle on the Internet and finding your intended location.
On that topic, last month I had the pleasure of sharing some red couch time with Kansas City Social Media Club power member Lisa Qualls, in her hip, downtown LightThread offices. Terrence Shaw, Managing Partner of Wirevibe, deftly navigated us through a discussion around social media and online security. We spent some time talking about the way applications like Twitter and Facebook help us keep in touch with each other on a global scale, and how those interactions can occasionally affect us in ways that can hit a little too close to home.
For better or worse, the technology available to us today helps us bond with strangers, friends, family and business contacts all over the world around common causes, shared interests, and life experiences. The line between our personal and professional lives continues to be blurry, and engaging with others frequently through social media helps us build up our networks and keeps the goodwill flowing. (I’m constantly amazed by the wide-reaching support I receive from people I have never even met, and how often I feel compelled to return the sentiment).
On the other hand, just as our home and work lives intersect, so can the on- and offline worlds, and not always with positive results. It’s something we take for granted, especially when we get comfortable at home in our living rooms and forget that there are actually real, live people on the other end of our status updates. Lisa astutely pointed out during our conversation that we really need to pay attention to our online surroundings and act with as much care as we would if we were walking into a dark parking lot alone. If we remember to protect ourselves, life in the virtual world can be a very happy place to reside.
We collectively ended our conversation by acknowledging that when it comes right down to it, life is all about building relationships. Sometimes social media makes it too easy to connect insubstantially, but for those we truly consider part of our lives, how amazing is it that we can manage to be a village despite being so dispersed? We can still share, strut our stuff and cheerlead. We can still empathize, console, and build each other back up. We can warn when we’re getting close to TMI or joke that it’s time to step away from the keyboard. Speaking of which, I should probably let you watch the video now.
Enjoy!
Kerstin
Social Media Discussion from wirevibe on Vimeo.
Unglaublich dass sowas wirklich funktionieren kann :) [Translates to "It's incredible that such things can really work".]
Posted by: | 03/14/2011 at 03:31 PM