I declare social media sufficiently mainstream

August 11, 2009

popeye1Social media/Web 2.0 has reached rural New York so I can conclude that it is now sufficiently mainstream. The rest of you wrote about this in 2002.

We all have our own ‘mainstream’  indicators – mine were:

  • connecting with former high school classmates I haven’t talked to since high school
  • connecting with fellow Moms (who set up their profile with pictures of their children rather than themselves (?))
  • connecting with family members who previously dismissed social networking services entirely
  • the decision to-connect-or-not-to-connect with my own kids (DID because the invite came from them)
  • my local newspaper and TV station are following me on Twitter
  • various local seminars about social media and marketing are popping up

I’m always thrilled to connect with old friends, other Moms, and family members (a trickle over the last year or two) but this new, “mainstream” wave felt DIFFERENT. This was like, all at once BOOM. Suddenly you expect to see pictures of old dance recitals and family trips to Disney.

I guess what’s unique (as far as anything can be unique) is that non-business online connections are pretty much foreign territory for me. Suddenly it felt weird to be the Twitter elite of Podunk (so I changed my location to the rather generic “Upstate New York.”) I guess I’m guarding my business identity because I don’t use social media like my new connections use social media.

How did I react to this most recent mainstream adoption of social networking? I recoiled. Damned if I know why. I guess I feel awkward (and that says more about me than anyone else). So I’ve been cautious online lately and searching for a home. Kind of silly to be cautious NOW when I have a tendency to write without a filter.

It’s not like every other person hasn’t thought about persona(s) and filtering. I’ve come to the conclusion that filtering is something a reader does. And, in the context of online learning, something a learner does (perhaps with our help). I’m beginning to see greater value in customized search engines, published guidelines, and taking a gardener approach to social networks at work.

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  • http://onehundredfortywords.com/ Judy Unrein

    Janet, what do you mean by “taking a gardener approach to social networks at work”?

  • http://brandon-hall.com/janetclarey jclarey

    A gardener plants, weeds, waters, fertilizes, harvests, protects from pests, etc. So when I say ''take a gardening approach to social networks at work” I mean doing those same types of tasks. Often times I think we create a spot for the garden (create a social network) and then fail to do much with it. Taking that a step further, you can think of community gardening and what it takes to make those successful – access, materials, people, connections…An apt metaphor I think.

  • http://brandon-hall.com/janetclarey jclarey

    A gardener plants, weeds, waters, fertilizes, harvests, protects from pests, etc. So when I say ''take a gardening approach to social networks at work” I mean doing those same types of tasks. Often times I think we create a spot for the garden (create a social network) and then fail to do much with it. Taking that a step further, you can think of community gardening and what it takes to make those successful – access, materials, people, connections…
    An apt metaphor I think.

  • http://onehundredfortywords.com/ Judy Unrein

    A very apt metaphor! (although I apparently don't garden enough for it to be immediately obvious… or maybe I should go back on the caffeine…) I've seen quite a few social networks wither on the vine for lack of this kind of cultivation (tell me how I'm doing with this). We tend to have an “if you build it, they will come” sort of mentality when the truth is that building a social network is somewhere between publishing a newspaper and opening a new bar… hardly lazy endeavors.I think you're right; everyone has been struggling with this online persona thing in the past few years. I tend to filter by location; I use LinkedIn and Twitter for professional networking — well, really more *conversations* than networking, but you could see it either way — and Facebook for personal connections. Except now everyone is on Facebook, which means I have to use very real filters so that people I barely know (and may one day be employers or clients) don't see which Twin Peaks character I'm most like!

  • http://onehundredfortywords.com/ Judy Unrein

    A very apt metaphor! (although I apparently don't garden enough for it to be immediately obvious… or maybe I should go back on the caffeine…) I've seen quite a few social networks wither on the vine for lack of this kind of cultivation (tell me how I'm doing with this). We tend to have an “if you build it, they will come” sort of mentality when the truth is that building a social network is somewhere between publishing a newspaper and opening a new bar… hardly lazy endeavors.

    I think you're right; everyone has been struggling with this online persona thing in the past few years. I tend to filter by location; I use LinkedIn and Twitter for professional networking — well, really more *conversations* than networking, but you could see it either way — and Facebook for personal connections. Except now everyone is on Facebook, which means I have to use very real filters so that people I barely know (and may one day be employers or clients) don't see which Twin Peaks character I'm most like!

  • WritersCoach21

    As a writing group leader, I am very interested in keeping my members up-to-date about the latest technology that could be useful in promoting their work. At this point, I've found Twitter seems to be the best vehicle, especially for those in the early stages of social networking. 140 character tweets encourage writers to be specific and to the point. In addition, they can quickly find people of like interest, establish a following, and develop contacts for future projects or announcements of the latest . Feel free to “Tweet me” at http://Twitter.com/WritersCoach21

  • WritersCoach21

    As a writing group leader, I am very interested in keeping my members up-to-date about the latest technology that could be useful in promoting their work. At this point, I've found Twitter seems to be the best vehicle, especially for those in the early stages of social networking. 140 character tweets encourage writers to be specific and to the point. In addition, they can quickly find people of like interest, establish a following, and develop contacts for future projects or announcements of the latest . Feel free to “Tweet me” at http://Twitter.com/WritersCoach21

  • http://www.daveswhiteboard.com/ Dave Ferguson

    To me, it makes sense to recognize a difference between work and non-work; otherwise, you haven't got anything to balance. How someone maintains that balance, obviously, is up to them.Maybe it's a difference of degree, in that how you define “difference” isn't how I define it. Readers can filter, though I think it's evident that some readers don't, any more than some people separate driving a car from talking on the phone.I do think writers filter, almost by definition: you chose what to say and what not to, even if your choices end up implying unintended things to others.

  • http://www.daveswhiteboard.com/ Dave Ferguson

    To me, it makes sense to recognize a difference between work and non-work; otherwise, you haven't got anything to balance. How someone maintains that balance, obviously, is up to them.

    Maybe it's a difference of degree, in that how you define “difference” isn't how I define it.

    Readers can filter, though I think it's evident that some readers don't, any more than some people separate driving a car from talking on the phone.

    I do think writers filter, almost by definition: you chose what to say and what not to, even if your choices end up implying unintended things to others.

  • Pingback: Harold Jarche » Friday’s Finds #14

  • http://onehundredfortywords.com/ Judy Unrein

    Janet, what do you mean by “taking a gardener approach to social networks at work”?

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