So-so-cial

Since I was responsible for the social networking week, I've been thinking about this particular subject for a little while now.  And I have found myself feeling quite ambivalent about it all.

At one time in my life, I was a Facebook resister, but I eventually gave in.  I have never been quick to jump at the latest trends, as I usually like to test the waters and see what fits with my values and goals.  So FB did not initially appeal to me - I had the impression that it might only be used for vapid conversation.  But as FB continued to grow, my curiosity caused me to cave.  Ooo, unintentional alliteration.  Anyway, FB is an interesting phenomenon.  I have had a love-hate relationship with it over the years, but I think the pros mostly outweigh the cons.  It has certainly helped me connect with friends and family I might never have connected with otherwise.  And I feel like it helps to keep me connected and involved in various events around town.  On the other hand, it's sometimes hard to know how to manage my online identity... and really, that is what we're all doing, right?  Managing some "other" persona.  For the most part, we can choose to include or exclude anything we like.  So as long as I can continue to maintain a certain level of control, I think FB is a great tool.  But there are times when I feel conflicted... should I add that person as a friend or not?  Should I keep some distance between my work and personal life?  Very rarely have I said no to a FB friend request, but I can't say I've been the most proactive "friender" either.  Anyway, enough about FB.

Oh, but I did see the movie, The Social Network.  Great movie.  It did, however, make me want to quit FB immediately.  How did I let myself get sucked into this popularity contest started by a seemingly heartless college kid?  (Well, I kind of think Mark Zuckerberg probably isn't all that bad in reality.)  So I let myself be annoyed for a short while and then went back to enjoying the benefits of the Face Book.  

Moving on, I signed up for Twitter.  Somehow, it took me until January 2011 to do this. Once again, I was trying to resist the pull of another popular fad.  Well, I think I am a true convert, except I will likely not be tweeting much.  As we have seen in current events, Twitter and other social networking tools have contributed greatly to various social and political revolutions.  I recall my sister also telling me how useful Twitter was about a year ago during the red shirt/yellow shirt protests in Thailand (where she was living at the time).  When it comes to my own use of Twitter, I mostly love the following end of things. What better way to follow this federal election than via Rick Mercer?  I can even follow President Obama.  He's been tweeting since 2007 - how about that.  Now I wish I had signed up long ago.  Well, better later than never.