Social media. What's your opinion?

[tezza]

Lately I’ve felt pressure to be more “connected”. By this I mean be far more active in Facebook, and get a Google+ and Twitter account. Some of this pressure is coming from work, others from acquaintances but mostly from myself. I’m feeling that maybe there will be consequences if I DON’T jump on the bandwagon, both social and work-wise. I’ll be out of the loop, isolated, not-hip, cool or with-it (not that I was never hip, cool or with-it anyway).

Just for the record I DO have a Facebook account. But this was largely this was due to my daughters wanting to keep in touch and a local circle of theatre friends who all used it. I don’t use it much myself and only look at it once in a while.

To me, these social networking sites complicate an already busy life. As an academic working at a University I already feel I’m drowning in information. More than I can handle already! Do I want to be constantly reading/checking tweets on my mobile (particularly work-related ones)? I don’t think so.

Vintage computing is a special hobby of course, and this forum connects me and others with people with the same interest. I’m also active on the International VCF. It’s certainly a social activity, but not in the all-pervasive, fast moving way Twitter and Facebook are. If I was RETIRED on the other hand, it might be a different story. Then I would have the time to internet-socialise far more.

Maybe I’m just getting old, inflexible and curmudgeonary . And perhaps I just shouldn’t feel guilty about that.

Anyway, I’d be interested in any thoughts on how others view the phenomena of social media.

[lizardb0y]

Of the major social networks - Facebook, Google + and Twitter, Twitter has the strongest vintage computing and retro gaming communities. I find a lot of relevant news and links through twitter, and many people use it to announce when they've published something elsewhere.

If you've a fan of Jason Scott and his documentary and Archive Team exploits, he is a very active poster on twitter, though some of it falls into the "moaning about something" or "what I had for dinner" categories.

I run two twitter accounts; @vintage8bit and @lizardb0y, for vintage computing and personal topics respectively.

On Google+ it's easier to manage communities of interest, and the vintage computing community is slowly building. I'm still keen to try a Google "Hangout" (multiple party video conferencing) with a vintage computing crowd

[tezza]

Yes, I can see the attraction for the kind of things you suggest Andrew. I am coming around to giving these a ago.

I guess, when I think more about it, my MAIN concern is that powers-that-be at work are promoting these social networking tools as important components OF work. I'm resisting it as I don't want to be wired to work ALL the time. As I say, we drown in information as it is. I like to separate home from work, although in a modern society those lines are more and more blurred.

I am interested to see you can have more than one twitter account, which means you can certainly separate your activities. I didn't know it worked like that.

[SpidersWeb]

I find that after a day of being at work and chatting in breaks etc, then chatting with flatmates when I get home, that I don't feel like getting in touch with old friends/aquantinces and having a big phone call catchup. Facebook lets me keep up to date with everyone, and only takes 5-10 minutes. It also means that if I post some important news, I don't need to repeat it 10-20 times. So for me it saves time.

Specialist communities will usually have their favourite tool of choice, but for keeping touch Facebook is pretty much the answer. Everyone I know on Google+ has a FB account anyway, same with twitter. For my specialist hobbies TBH I generally just use online forums, only use social media to keep in touch with my 'generic' friend base. LinkedIn seems to be the choice for business, although I haven't used it, just know our managers use it.

Google+/Twitter/Facebook - almost any online service will let you have multiple accounts.
There are also tools that will let you post to all 3 at once to save time.

If they're encouraging it at work, then perhaps you can use it on work time

[Gibsaw]

Specialist communities will usually have their favourite tool of choice, but for keeping touch Facebook is pretty much the answer.

... and whilst I use it.. this is what scares me about FB.. I don't want it to become the new email. Too ..."centralised"... for my liking.

[tezza]

Ok, I've succumed and joined the twittering classes. (Is someone who twitters known as a twit?)

[WelshWizard]

Ok, I've succumed and joined the twittering classes. (Is someone who twitters known as a twit?)

not sure I am still of the non twitter class