After all of this blogging I would like to summaries my view on Social Media. There is a lot that’s been said and a lot of people who are sceptic about Social Media and have their own opinion about it as well as they do about life.
The way you look at it doesn’t only depend on your own opinion, but I believe that your environment as well as your generation is a part of the way you are open for it. Everybody doesn’t like change at the beginning, but for some generations it is easier to adapt then others.
Our generation remembers mobile phones and the internet being introduced to the world, so we can remember what it was like without it. What I am trying to say is that we still think about the influence it has on our life. For example, we think about the consequences it has on our personal, but professional life as well. On a personal level people expect more from you, they feel that it’s necessary to hear from you almost every day and they need you to be constantly reachable. As far as your professional life goes there is more criticism too. You need to be more careful about what you post online because the really do judge you about what you do in your own time. When you use drugs I think, ok I can imagine you wouldn’t like that person to represent your company or even want their names being related to the company name, but what happened to the fair chance of a personal impression for everyone? Companies google you and if they do not like what comes up I bet you won’t be coming in for an interview.
Of course every pro had its con and every con has its pro, so what I would like to add about this is that yes, all these technological developments have also made things easier. On a personal level people more easily contact each other and are more open to giving voice to their inner thoughts. There are more likely to show the person who they are because it’s possible to personalize without facial disapproval. On a professional level it’s more easy to come into contact with someone within your professional field, building a network is more accessible and easier to keep in touch with.
I think that it’s important that you keep in mind that it doesn’t matter how often or with what kind of purpose you use Social media, there is no good or bad. You do the things you do because you want to and not because you have to or people expect you to, but because you choose to and you stand behind your decisions.
We know that a lot of people use Social Media nowadays and not only for personal-, but professional use as well. Some people even know how to combine the two. Others unfortunately do not, but we will talk about that a little later.
You might think: ‘Iit’s not that difficult to find your balance’. Well, maybe, but you might want to reconsider that because where do you draw the line between the use of Facebook for personal reasons and professional reasons. I say, take your time to think about it because companies do too. For example take a look at the guy on the left at the picture below. He looks like a pretty normal guy, just hanging out with his friends and having a ball while pulling a prank. I mean he looks quiet happy doesn’t he?
Now, like most people have a school to attend to or a job to go to after a fun weekend, this fun looking guy also has a job. Not a job that’s very common, but at least he has a job, or doesn’t he? Well he might think about this too because he’s Jon Favreau, thé speech writer for U.S. President Barack Obama who’s grabbing Hillary Clinton by her breast and I think he just experienced one of the dangers of social networking sites such as Facebook. I am glad that I’m not him on monday being called into Barack’s office to explain myself.
So you see it isn’t that easy to draw the line between the personal use of Facebook and the professional use of Facebook. Sometimes things overlap and you might reconsider what your up to during the weekend if you want to keep looking as happy as you did before. I certainly think that it’s worth discussing about what companies may and may not take in consideration when it comes to performance appraisal, but besides that I don’t think this will look good on your job interview let alone your resumé.
As we all are getting familiar with Social Media I find this video very interesting to watch and besides interesting It is giving me goosebumps. There has been a lot of criticism about Social Media on whether it causes a gap between humanity when it comes to socializing. Even our Queen questions herself during her annual Christmas speech about virtual media and if it is leading us to an emptiness in life and lack of we-feeling?
I think this is a very interesting subject because of the easiness of creating a discussion about it. I think it depends \on how you look at it. We al have different points of view that is one thing that’s for certain. You can look at it the way the Queen does, but maybe just maybe this video might make you feel differently. A lot of people are using the internet for a lot of reasons and a lot of people have an account on Twitter, Facebook, Youtube etc.
Viewed from the perspective of the queen the professional use of Social Media is increasing and many people find that it enriches their lives, but despite their opinions she is pointing a finger at us. It’s ok that she may feel differently about the use of internet and Social Media, but wouldn’t it be nice to see the queen experience the positive side of the power of Social Media as well? Wouldn’t it be great to be able to post a message at her bulletin board on Facebook for yourself, so you can enrich her life with your opinion about the subject. And admit it, it would be fun right to see if our queen is willing to be a part of a video like this?
I mean, I sometimes question the way we are using Social Media as well, but I cannot say that after watching this video I feel that were are lacking the “we-feeling” as she puts it. It’s because of the we- feeling and Social Media as a medium for it, we feel united. It is the positive power of Social Media!
Gearchiveerd onder: ICT
As many of you may have in common with me is having parents who don’t know the first thing about Social Media. When they hear the word Social Medial their heads already begin to spin. It is hard enough trying to make my mom remember what the dutch word for texting is let alone how to properly use the various types of Social Media. I mean she even asked me during new year if I could send her friend a mss for wishing her a happy and healthy start of the new year. Can you believe it? M S S? Like I’m speaking Chinese to someone in France, come on mom it’s not like you ran out of Comedy Central’s 3rd rock from the sun?!
I can see myself standing in our livingroom trying to explain my mother again and again that I got an assignment for school and that I need her to post a comment on my weblog. Her reaction: “I need to do what? On your web what?” WTF?? Mom, the only thing you need to do is enter the URL in your web browser, read one of my posts, write your opinion on it (within the text box) and press on the ok button. You do know how to use a keyboard right?
I mean it’s not that it’s that difficult. The internet has been introduced to us since the early 90′s, right?
Now, Imagine the opposite. Your on Facebook just chatting with your friends, writing them a message on the bulletin board. A personal message nevertheless, about let’s say, what you’ve been up to during the weekend and then all the sudden your mom reacts on your message. Trying to explain to you that it probably isn’t the best choice to kiss someone while the mexican flu is still floating in the air. Now If you’re thinking: “When am I going to wake up ” you probably shouldn’t watch this website, but if your laughing out loud you probably should take a look at www.lamebook.com . It’s the funniest and lamest of Facebook. So if you parents might not know the first thing about the internet you now might think twice about teaching them.
Gearchiveerd onder: ICT
Always wanted to find your double?
How? Through Facebook….
There are so many people on this world that there is always someone who looks a little bit like you. Even if it is only just a little bit. If you would like to meet your double it’s possible through a Facebook-application made possible by no other than Coca Cola.
If you’re thinking what’s the catch? Well of course this is an advertising campaign, but a successful one! The “facial profiler” of Coca Cola! Your thinking, well how does it work? You log in with your Facebook account, select your photograph and there you go, the facial profiler compares it with thousands of other pictures while finding you your perfect match!
Gearchiveerd onder: ICT
The Dutch popular Tv-show that goes by the name of ”Boer zoekt vrouw” with a record of 4.4 million attracts millions of viewers each week, but farmers aren’t only popular in Holland. Also abroad is it very popular to play farmer and it shows, because the succesful game FarmVille has over 70 million players monthly! Compared to Twitter’s sloppy total of 20 million subscribers all over the world!
So now you see what the power of Social Media combined with another one of the fastest growing markets can do.
The game, developed by Zynga, allows players to edit their own piece of land and crop sales. With the money they earn they can expand their farm. In short, a digital version of the oldest profession in the world played with one of the oldest ways of amusement in the history. 
Gearchiveerd onder: ICT
Both Google and Facebook have launched their own shortened link services. Besides them the existing service Bit.ly has come up with a payment service for shortening web addresses.
Google offers the service Goo.gl wich is only set for users of the Google Toolbar and FeedBurner, the RSS distribution service from Google , at least for now. The search giant claims that the link shortening service will continue expanding if Goo.gl turns out to be successful. The social network-site Facebook has beside Google quietly introduced a link shortening service as well. As domain is chosen for its compact Fb.me. The service was already available on the mobile version of Facebook, but is now rolled into the normal website. Not only can URL’s to websites appear shortened, but user names can also be compressed using Fb.me.
The arrival of new link shortening services like Facebook and Google show that more and more parties are occupied in the shortening of URLs. The drive behind such services are micro-blogging sites like Twitter.com. Companies like Bit.ly and Tinyurl.com can temporarily be relieved because Google’s link shortening service are still limited accessable. However Bit.ly has already announced a pay-services. Through Bit.ly Pro, companies can purchase their “own” shortened link.
Gearchiveerd onder: ICT
All these different kind of Social Media to choose from and all these people who think they’ve got something to say. It’s like everybody has become an expertise at almost anything and people are interested to know about just anybody. Sure it is nice to hear some news from an “average” person instead of only reading about which celebrity has out done another celebrity when it comes to their ridiculous behaviour for once, but now it’s like it has become an obsession for most.
I remember when cell-phones had made their introduction and everyone was excited about being reachable and reaching others everywhere and at any time. The possibility to call someone when you’re in need for help. For example if your car breaks down or because you’re in need for your partner to pick up your kids because you’re still trying to get that stupid thing running again. Well, let me tell you this, they’ve outgrown their purpose for a long time by now.
Nowadays it isn’t just the cell-phones anymore. I mean think about other technological developments that have been coming into the world like YouTube, Twitter and Facebook to name only just a couple of the huge variety that’s out there. More ways to hear and to be heard. Sometimes I think things are getting a little bit crazy revolving the regularity in which we communicate, but also the easiness and necessity in wich we appropriate these technologies. What are we going to see next? Children playing hide and seek while calling their friend to see where their hiding or perhaps when you’re at the toilet asking you’re neighbour after a spicy meal for a piece of paper because you ran out on yours. Or maybe, just maybe some of you are already using it for advice in other spicy situations. Only it is not just that. Even my friends go crazy when they haven’t been able to reach me on my sell-phone or Facebook account for only like an hour.
Don’t get me wrong, Social Media has also brought along a lot of new and creative ways to communicate or promote both business and non-business related issues, but what is it about the need of keeping the world up-to-date about what you’re doing at any given time of the day. Is it the anxiety that we feel that we don’t belong somewhere or do we just have to follow the herd? Well that’s up to you to decide on that. I sometimes can’t stop to wonder: “Isn’t Facebook one of yet another Obsessive-Compulsive Social Disorder that sticks to us like gum is stuck to the curve ?”
Gearchiveerd onder: ICT
With all the social networks and the hype of putting yourself out there on a social network we tense to follow the herd, but do we actually sometimes stop
to think about it?
Social networking is a great way to connect with other people, communicating, sharing, listening, embracing the community,building relationships, being real or in plain English it’s just about you and I! Or at least it is supposed to be, I think. Now is this really the case or is our privacy being violated and are we being used?
Do you think about the information you’re posting online about yourself and are you happy subcontracting your privacy? Watch this video and find out for yourself..
