Social Networking - It Can Be Good

Hilarious, isn't it? That I, of all people, would come here and talk about social networking... I'm sure you're having a laugh over it. But recently I heard someone say something about the general population of Facebookers and I've spent a few days brooding over it so I decided I would get it out of my system by blogging about it.

"What on earth could someone have said that you spent days brooding on it?" you ask me...?

Well, I had just sat down on my break at work, pulled out my phone to write an email, when a man who works maintenance at my employment walked by and said, "Oh, she's going on Facebook now!"

Instantly I felt defensive, like I ought to correct him. You know the feeling when someone accuses you of doing something you’re not actually doing? And you can’t help yourself, and words tumble out of your mouth before your brain filter kicks in, and suddenly you’re saying, “No I’m not,” and you sound guilty but really you weren’t doing the thing you’ve been accused of? Yeah, that happened…

So I quickly tacked on the line, “I’m writing an email,” and I showed him my phone as proof.

Then he said, “Oh, well, it seems like every time I see someone with their phone, they’re on Facebook. And I always just want to tell them, ‘Get a life!’”

Well, Mr. Maintenance guy who I don’t know the name of… The world is full of technology now, you see? We’re not living in the age of dinosaurs waiting for a meteor strike to wipe us out. We’re in the age of the geek waiting for a massive electromagnetic pulse to wipe us out (and when it does, we won’t know how to function and stamp prices are going to rise astronomically so stock up on Forever stamps while you can…).

And within the age of the geek is a factor that you, Mr. Maintenance, must be made aware of. Facebook isn’t just about checking dating statuses and making sure your girlfriend isn’t posting pictures of her with some other person she may or may not be having an affair with. No, we’ve come to a cross-roads where social networking is being used for - gasp! - networking!OMG.

People all over the place log in to Facebook and they’re not posting pictures of themselves on nude beaches. They’re using it respectably to create accounts for businesses, or professional profiles to help boost their visibility in a world that’s starting to forget about newspapers. Famous artists like Josh Groban, singer and songwriter, with more than two million followers to artists like Cris Ortega, a Spanish artist, writer, and designer with a more modest following of more than twelve thousand use Facebook to connect with their fans. And while I say twelve-thousand is modest, it certainly isn’t easy to achieve such a number! You have to work hard to get your name out there.

What, did you think that people simply used Facebook to post nude pictures of themselves on a beach in the Caymans, living the luxury of an ultra secret bank account full of stolen money scammed from your Nana? Sheesh, apparently you know all our tricks. We’re going to have to work a little harder at this stuff, aren’t we? I’m kidding. I joke. Poorly, but I try…

Facebook, twitter, even YouTube are all being used to run businesses and gain attraction now. Business owners like those in downtown Ripon, Wisconsin (population less than 10,000) are able to connect with their customers and give them news updates (New dresses in stock - here, have a coupon! And by the way, come for the dress, stay for the tea!). In the ever changing business world, where small businesses continue to get smaller while big box grows more dominating, local business owners need to take any advantage they can get to be noticed.

Josh Groban began his singing career long before Facebook first launched, and now he has millions of followers because he changed with the times. He wasn’t too stubborn to accept that there could be other ways to get his name out there. Now he has sold more than 22 million cds. Can that be attributed to Facebook? Not entirely, but by keeping in contact with his audience, he generates a renewed interest in himself, which fans love.

Facebook, twitter, Youtube, and all other social networking sites play a role in the modern lifestyle by connecting people with similar minds. Writers and readers can connect through wattpad to share or read various different types of writing. GamerDNA and Gaia Online are popular online communities that connect (can you guess it?) gamers. Hr.com is a networking site for professionals in human resources, LinkedIn is for business and professional people, and LibraryThing is for us strange people who like books more than TV (I can’t imagine why, though…).

There are an unbelievable amount of social networking sites out there. Some are just plain obsolete now (I had a myspace account once, but the site was so uncool I forgot about it the same day I made the account). The trick with these sites is finding the one (or many ones) that suit your needs best. If you want to have a profile for your artistic side to be judged by fellow members of an artistic community, then taltopia is the place for you to go and do your thing. If you want to share projects and ideas on knitting and crocheting then head on over to Ravelry where you can knit up a storm without having to leave the house.

Without Youtube, artists like The Piano Guys would have taken a lot longer to be quite so noticed. Without Youtube, the little shows like The Lizzie Bennet Diaries would have had a harder time being noticed. Or, you know, maybe I’m wrong on both counts… Maybe a site like Youtube could disappear and these people would still have reached enormous popularity.

The internet has allowed ideas to form and grow roots. Has the internet (and social networking) ever been taken too far? Yes. Of course it has. People like dirty stuff, and the internet makes it easy for them to google it. People like to post pictures of themselves on nude beaches having affairs with the pool boy and then they wonder why they’re going through a divorce. Well - maybe next time you won’t go cheating on your wife with a guy who wears stripper shorts. (Not all pool boys want to dress like that, so please don't attempt to get yours to do it too.)

But good things have formed too. For me, one good thing to form was the Suikoden Revival Movement (an old game series for the PlayStation which the movement is aiming to revive). Facebook connects me with the people who made the writing software Scrivener (which I am proud to say I’m using to write this blog post… in a blank sheet directly in my Scrivener trash can - go ahead, laugh hysterically… I should probably not blog in my novel project but I was lazy!) so that I can see what other users are doing with the software and get hints and tips at how to use it. By the way, the Suikoden Revival Movement AND Scrivener are both worth your time, so you should probably stop reading this and go to them now.

If you haven’t left, let me try to get myself back on track. I should call this blog “Written to Rant” instead. My point is that just because a few, a bunch, or a lot of people use Facebook to replace a social life (I probably do), there are also people who use Facebook to enhance their life. So you have two or fifteen minutes to take break from work and you go on Facebook? Does that mean you don’t have a life? No, it means you’re probably bored and short on time and you didn’t have time to do much else. Could you have continued working, or perhaps organized the screws at your work station for optimal usage? Maybe. But if break time is for relaxing and relaxing is done best if you’re away from work… then it seems to me that it would make sense if you slipped for a moment or ten into something else.

Of course, sensibility hasn’t always been my strong suit…

You probably needed to see that picture of Johnny popping a pimple.

Probably.

Well, I hope you enjoyed this article! Let me know what you think in the comments below! Here’s a few things to get you started, but of course say anything you want.

Do you agree with what was said in the article?

How have social networks helped you connect?

Do you disagree with what was said in the article?

Did I miss anything in regards to this?