Social Media for Life Improvement
Social media is a hot buzz phrase. Sometimes we talk about social media like they’re technology. Other times we act as if social media are a separate world, where “followers” are a goal and “to friend” is a verb.
If you think that way, you’ll miss the main advantage of social media. Used well, they can improve the quality of your life.
Last week Jackie Cameron had a marvelous post her blog titled: “Social capital and why you should start building your network when you are young.” Definitions of “social capital” differ, but they all agree that there is value in our social connections.
It’s the social part of social media that delivers the value. It’s the friends who support you and the friends of friends who help you find out about job opportunities. It’s the people you connect to and the knowledge and relationships they share with you that are the value.
All the rest is technology. Technology is constantly changing, but human nature is constant. Human habits change, but slowly, adapting to new technology.
So what can social media do for you? Social media can extend your reach and help you stay in touch with more people.
Social media can help you reap the benefits that social networks have always offered. People with strong social networks are happier. They’re healthier. They handle stress better. They live longer.
Your challenge is to use the new social media to do the things that human beings have always done. Use them to stay in touch with your friends for life. Use them to reach out to old friends and new friends.
There are other things you can do. You can pick up ideas and new information. You can share information easily and broadly.
But social media will do the most to enrich your life when you attend to the social aspects. Make new friends. Stay connected with friends old and new.
July 7th, 2009 at 11:33 am
Right on, Wally! My sentiments exactly. And you are truly a Master of being Human Online! Social Media should make us expand that which we need to do as human beings. As I wrote a while ago on my blog (http://www.e-quidam.com/theblog/?p=61):
“Online and off, we could all use a better sense of community. If you love relating to other people, if you are generous and empathy is your thing, if you enjoy having a sense of community and exchanging ideas freely, then online networking sites are a great tool for expanding, maintaining and embracing your social network. If, on the other hand, you tend to be abusive, rude, you don’t care about people, and only seek them out when you want something from them, social networking will amplify all this and give you a bad rep all around the planet! As the tools they are, it is important to learn how to use them responsibly and enjoy what we can build with them.”
July 7th, 2009 at 11:37 am
[...] NOTE ON JULY 7: If you enjoyed this post, check out Wally Bock’s related SOCIAL MEDIA FOR LIFE IMPROVEMENT [...]
July 7th, 2009 at 11:49 am
Well said, Monica. “Social media should make us expand what we need to do as human beings.” Thanks for saying it better than I did.
July 7th, 2009 at 8:32 pm
You hit the nail on the head with this one Wally. Though the “tools” can be fun, it is all about the people.
Meeting new friends…reconnecting with old ones…That’s why I love social media!
Outstanding article!
July 8th, 2009 at 2:01 am
Thank you for linking to my post Wally – this whole area is something that I am talking about – face to face as well as online. It still surprises people! Only this morning I got the chance to reconnect with someone who was a big part of my working life about 5 years ago but with whom I had lost touch. That happens…we all have competing demands for our time. But now through social media we are back in touch and as and when a chance to maybe work together again/maybe share ideas/maybe refresh our memories comes up it will be as simple as a click of the mouse….and then a coffee date might follow.
I would like to see this discussion and debate run and run!
July 12th, 2009 at 12:18 pm
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July 29th, 2009 at 4:47 am
Hi Wally -missed this when it first came out. Great content. Like any networking or social activity you get out of it what you put in and you chose the connections you make – or not. Like Monica I find Twitter an intellectual tonic because of the people I gravitate towards. I love the global reach and sheer pace and diversity of the information and exchanges. How else could you have people from all corners of the world sharing thoughts, within seconds, without this technology It’s amazing! Brightens up my day!
Dorothy
August 8th, 2009 at 10:47 pm
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