What Do You Get From Social Media?

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Today’s major platforms have connected me with people I would have otherwise lost touch with and to a wealth of digital content shared by peers. Beyond that, I am slowly failing to identify with Facebook, Twitter, and Google+’s value propositions. I am very curious to hear from you, dear audience. What do you get from social media? What services do you use and how have they changed your life? How could they be better? If you have thoughts on the subject, I’d love to hear from you – simply post in the comments below or email me.
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9 thoughts on “What Do You Get From Social Media?”

  1. Pingback: Wallflower or Social Butterfly? | Part 1 « Dragonfly Scrolls

  2. Facebook is like my Rolodex (actually I think it was designed to be that way). Whenever I don’t have someone’s contact info, I check facebook. Google+ has little to no value to me yet, other than the fact that logging into my gmail automatically logs me into + as well. I’ve noticed though, that it’s losing value for me as well.

    I can’t tell if this is because I’m growing up and simply have other things to do/would rather see people in person, or if facebook is actually becoming less useful. It’s hard to tell.

    • Thanks, David. The appeal for consuming social updates has definitely worn off. I think people may be realizing there’s more important things going on that random status updates. Or perhaps there’s an overload right now?

      Facebook as a rolodex fails when a user has hidden the information you need. Privacy is good. But Facebook cannot alone be the directory for your contacts because (a) even your own girlfriend might hide her phone number from the world and you’d be screwed and (b) not everyone is on Facebook. So it really helps to get in touch with the people who are on there and get the information from people who have made that information public, but I feel it’s not an omniscient reliable rolodex.

      • Ah yes, but the one benefit is that it is the user’s option to share that with me, if they choose not to, there’s probably a reason for that. In addition, they update their own info! I wish they could do that with my gmail contacts list;) There’s no way I could keep 1000+ people’s info updated myself. In that sense, simply taking care of your information takes care of everyone else. I do love that aspect of it.

  3. Twitter is honestly the most useful – since it’s opt in – but there’s no guarantee that I will see information from the people I followed that is interesting to me. I also like Google+ for that reason too, but it’s congested and there’s almost too much information. Info overload……..

    • Twitter is definitely a unique ecosystem. I am interested to see if they can take any next steps with the insanely valuable data pool they have. We’ll see!

  4. Hi Craig,
    I certainly can appreciate some of the benefits that people derive from social media; seeking out information about long lost friends and lovers, expressing thoughts and ideas, sharing photos, videos, etc., and “connecting” with other people.

    Here’s my 56 year old point of view. Simply stated, I don’t have the time. Over the years I have had time to develop, refine and establish a social connectivity that suits my lifestyle and personality. I’m pretty happy with my level of social interaction which brings me much joy and happiness. While I am hardly an inflexible person, stuck in the past, or unable to accept new technologies or innovations, I have found that most interactive connection and dialogue that is of value to me takes place “in person”; face-to-face encounters of substance. I’m blessed to have that certain comfort that comes from friendships that last and that matter (quality) with no concern about how many there are (quantity). I am very content to have 5-6 amazing people “friending” me through my life. (your Mother being one)

    I hope all is well in your corner of the universe. I’m glad that currently happens to be Colorado!
    Much love,
    Jill

    • Thank you for your thoughts, Jill. You are correct – social media does little to facilitate face-to-face relationship building. I think it is one of the fundamentals flaws to the social media craze and one that will uproot soon (I hope).

  5. Pingback: Wallflower or Social Butterfly? | Part 1 | Kim Koning

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