If someone could remind me about #smbfw

If someone could remind me about #smbfw sometime Monday night, that would be wonderful. I’m 95% sure I’m going to forget about it.

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May 28, 2011

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Why do we Follow?

I was long overdue for a good pre-spring Twitter cleaning. It was 2009 when I typed my first tweet. Since then, I’ve used Twitter for several purposes (job search, study abroad info, research, etc.) I’ve also developed many different methods in following other tweeters. For example, I did what many beginners do: I synced up my Gmail account with my new Twitter page. This would be a GREAT way to get started if everyone in my address book was also an active Twitter user.

This is what really happens when you sync your email contacts with your Twitter: You’ll probably find a few good people to follow, and then you’ll notice that some of your contacts don’t tweet at all. But, what’s most misleading is that long list of contacts that you discover are, in fact, on Twitter.

Unfortunately, these friends who seem to be tweeting probably just signed up to see what the heck all this Twitter hype was about. Chances are, they opened their account, chose a pretty (but generic) background and posted a couple tweets. They may have even gone to their contact lists and added their own group of semi-tweeters.

For the past two years I’ve been in denial about these followees. I’ve simply pushed them to the back of my mind and chosen to pretend they don’t exist. If I can’t see them, they don’t exist, right? It’s kind of like that stack of papers on my desk. I can push them aside for weeks, but eventually in order to truly have a clean desk, I’m going to have to go through those papers. I had to go through the inactive list of tweeters as well.

My first step was finding my tool. Friend or Follow allows you to see who you’re following, who’s following you and who you are “friends” with (you’re both following eachother). There was a nice little stab in my heart when I saw that I was following over 100 people that were not following me back. Thankfully, I was able to hide the “verified” users who were unlikely to follow me back. There were still way too many non-followers. So, I started slicing. I unfollowed for the following reasons:
• The user had under 10 followers
• The user’s last tweet was over a month ago
• The user ‘s tweets were not interesting to me

As I clicked through my list, I realized that I had been following users that could be placed in 4 distinct categories.

People I learn things from:
These people help me advance in my career, they help me make healthy eating choices and they give me information about current events. This group is the one I engage with the most. I ask these people questions and I engage with them as much as I can.

People that make me laugh:
I don’t follow The Onion, Post Secret or the entire cast of Glee because I think I’m going to engage with them regularly or learn anything from them. It’s just entertaining. Kind of like television, I could watch the news and learn something, but I may turn on my favorite sitcom instead.

People/organizations that represent who I am and what I like:
I struggled with this category at first. I had to ask myself why I shouldn’t delete these tweeters from my list. Lady Gaga isn’t particularly entertaining to follow, and she isn’t making me a smarter person. I’m also following a couple of local sports teams that don’t do a particularly good job of keeping their tweets fascinating. However, these tweeters represent me: who I like and what I’m interested in. It’s kind of like a personalized list that makes up who I am. The people I’m following are unique to me.

Friends:
Sometimes this can be a frustrating category. We all have those friends that you’re close to in real life, but suck at tweeting. They neglect their Twitter pages and when they do tweet, they act like they’re writing on your Facebook wall. You’re only following them because your real life makes you obligated in your virtual life.

What do your categories look like? Do you follow anyone and everyone, or are you picky about those you allow on your Twitter feed?

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January 20, 2011

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Facebook: Photos of our Best Selves?

In 2007 I was a sophomore in college and a team leader for my school’s freshman orientation program. I remember only one presentation from that week. Thousands of freshmen were packed into the campus music hall. We were prepared to sit through what was probably the 10th presentation of the week when all of the sudden this guy (I don’t even remember who he was) began to display some very unflattering photos on the three very largee projection screens.

As he flipped through what seemed to be an infinite number of photos, he explained that these were, in fact, the Facebook photos of some of us sitting in the audience. As he continued on… photo after photo… page after page… I sunk low in my seat and crossed my fingers, hoping that my photo would never appear. Today, I suspect it was all a ploy. Those photos could not be claimed by any of the thousands of students witnessing that terrifying presentation.

Why was I afraid? Not because I had a suggestive or embarrassing photo posted on my Facebook…. but because I didn’t want thousands of people to SEE my photos. As I thought about it, I realized it wasn’t the number of potential photo viewers that bothered me… and it wasn’t even the fact that these people were complete strangers. Actually, I was most afraid that the people I KNEW in that audience would notice my photo.

How is this any different from what we do on Facebook every day? I have over 500 friends on Facebook. When I post a photo on my page, I don’t care if every one of those friends sees my newest haircut or my favorite outfit. Why would I post something on Facebook… on the INTERNET without expecting hundreds of my friends, acquaintances and even some strangers to see it?

This brings me to the controversial part of this post: Facebook Privacy. How can we truly blame Facebook for making our information more public than we would like it to be. We are handing them our info. We might as well say, “Here Facebook, take my photos, my contact information, a list of my relatives and everything I like… Oh, and I don’t mind sharing it with my 700 friends (and anyone who can log onto their pages), but don’t you DARE share my info with anyone else!” It seems a little silly to me. But what do I know. I’m the one sinking in my chair for fear that a few strangers might see my photo.
Sometimes many of us get so wrapped up in social media that we forget that our entire life doesn’t have to live on Facebook… and it can be controlled; by us, not by Mark Zuckerberg. Just like we spend time creating resumes and cover letters, why do we sometimes forget to craft our Facebook pages to represent our best selves?

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January 17, 2011

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Facebook: The Stages of Addiction

I feel like I’ve been using this stuff forever. However, I’m reminded of my past uncertainty and present addiction with social media every time one of my older relatives joins the network.

The 4 stages of a Facebook user:

Stage 1: The user finally decides to see what all the hype is about. This is usually the result of what one might call peer pressure. The innocent non-user would have no desire to try Facebook if everyone else wasn’t doing it.

Stage 2: The user is still uncertain. He may log on once or twice a week to update his status or post on a very close friend’s wall. The user signs his name to every wall post and only becomes friends with people he speaks with on a regular basis.

Stage 3: The using becomes more serious. He may get on other users nerves. He feels the need to comment on every one of your photos, he updates his status every 10 minutes and discovers what is called “Facestalking.”

Stage 4: Addiction. The user can no longer live without Facebook. He brings up gossip discovered on Facebook into face-to-face conversation. At this stage, there is no turning back.

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January 17, 2011

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Capriquarius

I’ve never been the type of girl who had to read her daily horoscope. Every once in awhile I’ll pick up the latest gossip magazine, flip through the pages and check out what the stars have in store for me. I always found it a little more enjoyable to read an outdated horoscope to determine if the past was, in fact, decided by fate. If the outdated horoscope was clearly a vague description of my life prior to that point, I would toy with the idea that my life really did depend on the precise arrangement of the stars on the day I was born.
After my then present buy-in of the Zodiac calendar and everything it means, I would check my boyfriend’s sign to make sure he hadn’t been acting particularly flirty or curious that month, then I put down the magazine and was on my way. Five minutes after my newly accepted belief in a fate dependent on the Zodiac calendar, I had already forgotten that the stars were presumably controlling my entire being.

I was born on February 1, 1988. My zodiac sign: Aquarius, the water bearer. “What?! That’s perfect. I love water… It’s obviously fate…” Aquarians are:
• extroverted
• stubborn
• experimental (we love to try new things)
• independent
• and, we LOVE a good debate.

NOTE: My mother can vouch for every one of these characteristics.

I often wonder if it’s a coincidence that my personality truly does match up with my star sign. Is this fate, or, during my voyage to adulthood did I read my horoscope enough to subconsciously decide that an Aquarian was exactly who I should become. Why am I asking this? I recently read an article on msnbc.com declaring a terrible mistake! We’ve been following the WRONG astrological calendar. Due to a wobble in the Earth’s axis, I’ve actually been a Capricorn for my whole life!

Well this certainly seemed to change everything! I promptly looked up my new Capricorn personality profile and discovered a surprising list of characteristics:
• Reserved and conservative
• Have great respect for authority
• Pessimistic in tough situations
• Prone to rashes, boils and upset stomachs (WHAT??)

According to my new Zodiac sign, advertising is clearly not the career for me. I should be an accountant or a real estate broker. To all you Capricorns out there, I send all my love… but this star sign sounds BO-RING!

On the other hand, Capricorns do seem to have strengths in areas where Aquarians are weak. Aquarians are bad with money while Capricorns take care of their money and plan their spending (a Capricorn probably wouldn’t have splurged on that Coach bag I bought on an impulse last month). They also pay close attention to details, schedules and lists. It seems like I could learn a few things from a fellow Capricorn.
After profiling what I decided was the person I was meant to be, I decided that I must search for my inner Capricorn.

This startling zodiac news hit the media on Thursday, since then, many have disputed the story. However, I still believe that something can be learned from this sudden discovery. Follow me, an Aquarian, on my journey to find my inner Capricorn.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41062376/ns/technology_and_science-science/?GT1=43001

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January 15, 2011

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