How Can Social Networking Be Beneficial?
Submitted by Christina on Tue, 09/15/2009 - 12:26
I was talking to someone today who explained to me why she deleted her Facebook profile. "It's too distracting, with not enough benefit," she said. While I understood what she meant, I have to disagree. The social media tools I have in my arsenal have, without a doubt, brought me to where I am today.
Facebook has always been fun - reconnecting with old friends you never thought you'd talk to again for instance. I have a friend from high school, D, with whom I grew apart at the end of high school. Fast forward a number of years, and we both end up in San Francisco. Ok, there are a lot of people I went to high school with that live here that I never talk to. But this friend was always on any new internet thing I did. Foursquare? D was on it. Twitter? He got there before me. Finally, we just started running into each other and always followed each other on every internet thing ever. I definitely attribute our present-day friendship to the reconnections we made through these various forms.
I also love adding new people on Facebook and seeing who we both know already. I recently found out that another friend here in the city, K, who went to school in DC. I lived in DC in 2004 and never knew her. Jump to present-day, and because of Facebook, I found out that she and I dated the same guy! It really is a small world after all, even after 5 years and 3000 miles!
Ok, so the social aspect is really fun for me. But even better is the professional aspect. I started a blog which highlights different software and online services to help teachers in the classroom. This has been a huge boost to my resume, because it shows ingenuity and creativity, as well as technical skills that don't show up elsewhere on my resume. I created a podcast and developed a Ning network around it to make it socially influenced. This also came in handy when I interviewed for Ning! Which, by the way, I got because I tweeted about my job search for a community manager position. A friend of a friend, E, saw it and asked me if I would be ok with him putting my resume in. I have now been working there 3 weeks and have been loving it!
So yeah, you can screw things up by joining the hate my boss" Nin "Ig network and being found out. You can post pictures of yourself defecating on your ex-girlfriend's porch which costs you the job you were interviewing for. But, being smart and safe, social media can be a great tool to discover your passions, network, and connect with old and new friends. Just a few thoughts on social media and dating though: please please please don't add me on GChat if we've been on one date. And if you add me on Facebook before date 10, what are we going to talk about on the date, you already know everything about me! And finally, ASK me if we are boyfriend/girlfriend BEFORE you put it on Facebook or Twitter about it. Thanks.
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My social media/social
My social media/social networking resume goes back over 10 years. AOL (AIM) and AsianAvenue back in 1998. Napster in 2000. Livejournal and Friendster in 2002. Xanga and MySpace in 2003. Facebook in 2004. LinkedIn in 2008. Twitter and TheOnlineGrapevine.com in 2009.
To anyone who says that social mediums are useless distractions, I have this to say to you: I wholeheartedly DISagree. You must learn how to utilize each site, whether it be Twitter/Facebook/MySpace/Youtube/etc. in order to reap its maximum benefits. Check out the applications/settings/etc. and explore what you can do with each site. For instance, I LOVE that Twitter can automatically update virtually any other site/blog just by changing your settings--this saves me a lot of time AND typing! It helps that I have my Twitter automatically feed to my Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, Xanga...and other online social media sites, too. I've been dubbed the "Twitter Addict" and the "Facebook Whore" for the simple reason (it seems) that I update, update, update pretty much 24/7!
When I first joined Twitter a few months ago, I had my doubts, thinking, "How is this different from Facebook?" or "How is this going to benefit me?" I have found that Twitter is different from Facebook/MySpace (and other sites) in its simplicity--all you know is my current status/thoughts/feelings/whereabouts. It benefits me in the same way as Facebook and other similar sites--I am able to build a social AND professional network. Both have enabled me to keep in touch and meet new people, learn new ideas, play different games, take unique quizzes/polls, and be updated on current events WORLDWIDE. I've posted AND learned of job opportunities, parties, and other miscellaneous ranging from public festivals to personal things such as who is in a relationship or keeping track of birthdays!
I do agree, however, that these types of sites, although they are great ways of keeping in touch and enhancing yourself and profile, they can be potentially damaging if not used properly. Things like, unflattering/unprofessional/inappropriate pictures and/or language as well as the ability to see who you are friends with/connected to or following (or who is following you) are a few examples. A few months ago I had a co-worker give me a heads up on another co-worker potentially ratting me out for "Tweeting"/"Facebooking" so much during work hours. These are just a few examples of the negative effects/results/consequences of such sites, but most are avoidable by blocking an unwanted follower, untagging yourself from a photo, setting restrictions on what a particular "friend" can see, or simply--NOT POSTING something you might regret later.
If people could just follow these simple steps, then they can safely and thoroughly enjoy all that social networking has to offer!
What do you think?
What I want to know is this: Some people refrain from social networking - why? Why untag all your photos? Why delete your account? Just curious because obviously I am from the other side of the spectrum :)