No, this post is not against social media. In fact, it's in favor of it.
Here's the deal...
I LOVE social media. You never know who you may run in to, talk to, what you might learn. It instantly connects me with whomever is out there, from a friend in high school on facebook, to the CEO of a worldwide company on Twitter...and everything in between.
There's a lot out there, just waiting for you to find it. Therein lies the rub. It's all there.
See, when I was younger, I always had trouble meeting new people. I got nervous and quiet, and would often keep to myself. As it turns out, I would later find that I had/have a slight case of generalized anxiety, and my big trigger was new people and such.
Needless to say, I wasn't too enthusiastic about social media at first, figuring that it would be just as awkward as meeting new people or going new places had been in the past.
But it wasn't. I am the same person online and offline, no more true to myself or less true to myself either place. I have actually found that the people that are the best in taking to social media ARE the people who are like me. A little awkward, maybe just nervous.
We know what it's like. Not to be reached out to, not to be friends with everyone. We understand social media. It's for learning and growing and understanding.
It's what we've been trying to do all along.
Go talk to the quiet kid in the corner. Give the slightly nervous kid a moment to collect himself. You never know who they may become, or who they might know someday...or today, even.
Everybody knows something...and social media makes a person able to teach the world....
What have you taught someone lately?
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I am glad to see more people acknowledge the fact that Social Media & Networking is getting more similar online as in person. While previously you could hide behind a Myspace ID or on an online dating site it is now more common to use your real name. People’s online personas are a lot more interesting when they are connected to a real person that you can actually meet. Facebook and Twitter are beginning to change how people interact online and in real life. Knowing someone and supporting them before even actually meeting them accelerates friendships and trusts as long as people are genuine.
ReplyDeleteStill you must not divulge too much information for a variety of reasons, but civil conversations with relevant topics of common interest, bring the social aspect to the forefront. So I agree with Mark either in person or in cyberspace be kind to the newbie’s trying out Facebook, Twitter or showing up at a networking meeting.
I was that shy kid in the corner growing up too. And we moved a lot ~ so every September, the torture of enduring being 'the new kid on the first day of school' happened all over again. I'm so much more at ease online ~ and grateful to have met you.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the reply, Sally. :) Glad to have met you as well. Moving around so much is a dual edged sword - you're always the new kid, but you get to see so many different places. The eliminated boundries of the internet make communication much easier and much more widespread. Imagine how much easier it would have been on you as a child?
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