Social Networking, Social Media and Me

Guest Blogger: Anonymous

As a 60 year old ex techie I still embrace the magic of the personal computer. It is a part of my daily life as I use it to get my news, pay my bills, get me to the right place at the right time with its calendar, write letters, answer questions that arise, entertain and the list goes on. With those capabilities the personal computer also steals my time. Facebook, Twitter, and the other myriad of social networks creep into my productivity. I am sent information (gossip) that I sort through to see if any is essential to me. Seldom does a tweet or post meet that criteria. Call it egocentric but I do not care who does what on farmville or which high school in of 40+ years past are meeting for a beer.

There are exceptions to this. On several occasions these outlets have been the only source of news coming from places where freedom of the news is nonexistence. At these times I will follow an uprising through the only eyes available and praise the networking for making the news of the world available. There are also social networking sites that are quite educational and promote exchanges of valuable knowledge, spur healthy debate, provide a safe place to touch base with others and are valuable to participants.

I am not one of those adults that see no value in these networks for the youth. For years adults have complained that the youth do not know how to read or write because of the television and telephone. They say these arts are lost. Our youth are reading and writing albeit with great abbreviation. It is an active participation rather than passive where participation is required of them. The drawback here is that some use poor judgment in what they make available for everyone to see. They lack foresight into how this will have an impact on their future and even current relations with peers. This is not only true for the youth but for networkers of all ages.

Social media websites were designed by geniuses with little insight into how they would be used. They multiply on themselves and have very few regulations which in my opinion is good. However if it is to stay that way care must be taken to keep more than modicum of social integrity.

Do We Hide Behind Social Media?

My biggest question is, “Do we hide behind social media?”  More and more I am seeing people make major, personal announcements via Facebook or Twitter. These people tell their followers, friends, and network something personal that they otherwise may not. Is it because we aren’t telling someone to their face, seeing and hearing their reaction, that makes social media sites the platform of choice? Is it easier to tell everyone at once instead of informing people one at a time? There are multiple reasons why people choose social media sites as their channel of choice to share such personal information, but is it always the best option?

There are certain situations and facts that require face-to-face or telephone communication. Sometimes Facebook and Twitter are not the correct avenues to share information. For example, Twitter only allows for 140 characters making it difficult for a user to share personal and important news in a short text. Facebook is more user friendly with its character spaces, but a post may be misinterpreted by others. At times it can be a challenge to correctly portray an emotion through Facebook or Twitter. One common theme I am noticing is engagement announcements. People are posting or updating their statuses to show they are engaged before informing their immediate friends and family. Certain friends and family may not be in your network on the social media sites in which you make the announcement or your status update may not show up in their news feed, leaving them clueless. They may not find out for weeks! Are we losing the intimacy of our relationships so much that people feel it is not important to inform those closest to them?

Social media sites are a popular and effective way to reach the masses but every once in awhile we should stop and ask ourselves if the situation is appropriate to share with everyone at once or if we should inform certain people first, either face-to-face or through telephone, before announcing the message for all to see.

My Favorite Social Media Tool: Twitter

Currently, Twitter is by far my favorite social media tool. I used to love Facebook but recently I have been finding myself annoyed by all of the emails Facebook sends me, plus a lot of those people aren’t my friends. I have slowly been deleting about 10-20 people a week because they don’t have anything in common with me. Twitter on the other hand, well here are 5 reasons why I like it so much:

1.       Short, quick posts (I like just reading a small blurb and then deciding if I want to read more)

2.       The quickness of the status updates (Facebook just recently started doing this but I don’t like how Facebook clumps similar statuses together)

3.       Background (I love being able to create my background how I want!)

4.       Doesn’t send status updates ( I don’t want a bazillion emails just because I re-tweeted someone or responded to one of their Tweets)

5.       It’s a newer social media tool (Facebook has been around for a long time now, so it makes sense that I got bored with it and now enjoy Twitter more!)

So today my favorite social media tool is Twitter but ask me again at this same time next year and I can guarantee you that I will have a much different answer. Social media is always getting bigger and better, so I wonder what will be next and what features about it I will learn to love.

Media Ten Years Later

So today this post will be a little different and shorter than normal. I want to look back to 9/11 and remember those who lost their lives, but I also want to briefly talk about how media have changed over ten years.

At the time, there were no mobile apps, Facebook, Twitter, etc. People had to communicate by phone (and even then the phones lines tied up fast because of overload) and get their information from the television and newspaper. When I read and hear others stories about where people were and how they heard about the planes crashing into the twin towers, almost all say “I found out through the television” or “My friend called me to tell me about it.” Then the next day people would pick up a newspaper to learn more.Think about how you were notified and how you communicated with others about it. No one was flocking to Twitter or Facebook to spread the word. They were not clicking news apps on their phones to find out information. Instead, the media used television as their main outlet. It is amazing to me how much has changed over a ten year time period.  Now most would go online to social media sites when seeking information. Before, people could only watch and then converse with those they saw in person or called. Now, one can get information from multiple sources and talk about it in seconds to others worldwide.

Like I said, this is just a short little think about it type of post today. To all of those who lost their lives and to their families, we remember you on this day. To those who not fight to protect this country, thank you for all that you do. 

Social Media

 

Guest Blogger: Oscar Casas

Eight years ago, the thought of social media was very obscure. Front runners for connecting people in my opinion were MySpace, AOL Instant Messenger, and Hotmail. Connecting with colleagues my first two years of college comprised of actually getting a phone number and maybe and instant messenger name. As we all know, the advent of FaceBook has changed how we communicate with one another and has made us more open to intrusiveness into our own lives. We now live in a society that has had technology and communication so engrained in their train of thought, which I suspect most sites have now reached their saturation point.

There are now ad agencies trying to capitalize on the fact that people have cell phones and those cell phones have GPS and data plans. Google Coupons and Living Social are two companies that strive to reach the consumer to the last penny. This overabundance of information has turned me off to participating with these programs. A random sale during down periods trying to entice me to spend my money is very disheartening. I often think of friends who recommend these sites saying "But I got a really good deal" then say to myself "did they really need 50% off China Bistro on a Monday night?"

While social media serves a purpose for connecting individuals, providing up to the minute weather and national security information, I feel we may be in over our heads. Technology is too fast and too abundant in our lives. Should something happen that would wipe out a network, what would we as a nation do? What alternatives could we readily divert to? Maybe the jobs that disappeared because of computers will re appear?

My recent visit to Costa Rica has provided me a viewpoint of life without social media. In Costa Rica, few people have IPHONE’s; few have smart phones, and most have very old Nokia 1100’s . People here meet with each other to talk. They walk from place to place and value time with friends and family as opposed to always being rushed or updating their status. The terminology for life in Costa Rica is "Muy Tranquillo"—meaning "Very Relaxed". Such terminology does not fit in with our current social lives. In lieu of sports, outdoor activities, dinner parties, gatherings, we choose to update our status and watch our UVERSE or FIOS while texting…

Social media, I will limit thee in my life.

Real Friend or Facebook Friend?

I’m sure you all have anxiously awaited this day...the day when my sister asks me be a guest blogger.  For those of you that know me, you probably know a few things: 1) I have never blogged (you may be able to see why once I’m finished with this piece), 2) My knowledge and use of social media is limited, and 3) When it comes to healthcare, I rely on my sister to tell me what’s happening and what’s important.  That being said, I hope I can entertain you for at least a few minutes today!

So, a blog about social media in the healthcare industry.  Might I take this opportunity to refer back to items 2 and 3 above.  Although I feel honored to be a guest blogger, I question my sister’s standards for this blog J  Let me begin by saying that several years ago, my sister told me about this new awesome way to connect with people, you may have heard of it...Facebook.  Naturally, I was skeptical and didn’t create an account.  Never fear, my sister took care of that for me.  Yes, she created an account for me, even uploaded pictures of me and completed my profile.  And that’s how it began...people began “friending” me.  I rarely if ever “friend” people, but that doesn’t seem to matter.  What does it matter that my profile hasn’t been updated for years?  Case and point, here is a tidbit of my profile at this exact moment:

A real-life friend recently told me that it is rude to Decline a Friend Request, and that instead I should just leave it open indefinitely so the person doesn’t know I’ve Declined them.  I didn’t know about this “Facebook etiquette” at the time, but now that I do know, I’ve decided that I have all the more reason to Decline.  I would prefer it if my “friends” knew they were not really my friend!  For those of you who I have accepted your friend request, I know you feel special right now, and rightly so.

Next social media tool I use (slightly): LinkedIn.  I believe I’ve gone so far as to sign up for an account (on my own this time), include the company I work for, and also my job title.  Big things are happening with this tool.

I think that’s about it as far as social media.  And the healthcare industry?  Well if it’s not on the 6am news, then I don’t know about it...at least until 8am when my sister fills me in on the latest and greatest.  Now, I may not know a lot about social media or healthcare, but in the future, if I am invited back to be a guest blogger, I have LOTS of stuff to write about.  First of all, there are lots of trashy yet awesome shows on right now: Bachelor Pad, Jersey Shore, America’s Got Talent...limitless pool of blogging material.  Secondly, who doesn’t want to hear some of my crazy client stories?  It does seem that I’m living in a daytime drama series at times...or a really messed up version of The Office.  I did have someone accuse me a breaking the printer today, and no I was not amused.  If I was going to break a printer I would certainly not be caught near it like a dummy.  Thirdly, you all might need a break from all this “social media” and “healthcare” talk.  Leave it to my sister to fill your brains with knowledge and leave it to me to entertain!

Toodles for now...

Author: Shayla Russell