Yesterday I was doing one of my favorite things to do. I was sitting outside on a beautiful morning with my Sunday edition of the New York Times. I love this. I feel so cultured and involved. Inside the paper is the New York Times Magazine and an article by Bill Keller that got me on my weekend soapbox! It was titled, “The Twitter Trap”. It was a great article that hit home enough that made me want to respond to issues I have been having with social media lately. Below is the link to the article and what I said in the comment section. Feel free to comment to either or both if it hits home to you too…….
Article: https://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/05/18/this-is-your-brain-on-twitter/
My comment to the article:
Thank you for this article. I know this article was difficult to write because we are always afraid of the backlash of putting a negative on new things/technology but I have felt firsthand this thing we call “social” media, at times to be not so “social”!
I was so gung ho in the front end of my social media pursuits and was enjoying my sharing, reading and discussing new things but there are only so many hours in a day!! I was taking so much time trying to stay on top of my “social” computer areas that I was ignoring the things around me that “are” truly “social”, like my family, friends, business associates, etc. The actual human part of being “social”.
Another thing that drives me crazy about the whole new technology thing is we are ignoring the ones we are in front of. Every time I am in a restaurant I see at least 3 or more tables with phones in their hands……We are not having actual speaking conversations with the ones in front of you. We are reading emails, texting, talking on the phone, laughing at our “phones”!! I have to make my family leave their phones in the car when we go out or in their rooms when we are having dinner to have any type of “family” time and I am always the “bad guy”.
As far as business is concerned, if you want to stay competitive and on top of the search ratings in Google, Social media is must!! And Social Media must be constant! So what are people starting to do….they are having people write their blogs and tweet for them. So now the things that were suppose to be original and from the heart of the author aren’t authentic anymore. But these companies are on the first few pages of Google and that’s what matters, right? Not me. I am just going to take that chance and blog less if that’s what it takes and put my computer down when I’m with family or friends, and tweet when I have something I feel like saying. Not be in this “social media” game when I feel I have to. Doing it when I feel I have to is taking the heart out of it.
Although, I must say I have seen a positive side of this also. Being an interior designer I have learned so much from others blogs. There is so much information out there!! I have found ways to deal with clients, found new products, found local reps, found new ways to refinish or repair home items, etc… I have met interior designers from all over the world on Twitter who have helped me be exposed to things I never would have in the past. It has saved me so much time learning from experts on the computer and right in front of me. I have a whole computer full of friends that I have never met before but know I can count on them to help me with information if I ever needed it.
I see both the positive and negative…..but as with everything else comes balance. This ride too, needs to be slowed down……….
Some of the things that hit home to me in your article were:
“But before we succumb to digital idolatry, we should consider that innovation often comes at a price. And sometimes I wonder if the price is piece of ourselves.”
“Why remember what you can look up in seconds.”
“as we become effectively cyborgs.”
“Basically, we are outsourcing our brains to the cloud. The upside is that this frees a lot of gray matter for more important pursuits like FarmVille and “RealHousewives.”
“The most obvious drawback of social media is that they are aggressive distractions.”
“Im not even sure these new instruments are genuinely “social”. There is something decidedly faux about the camaraderie of Facebook, something illusory about the connectedness of Twitter.”
Again Thank you…….Now I think I found something to blog and tweet about!!
