Am I too Lazy for This Social Media Thing?
Posted by Anthony LaFauce on February 6th, 2008 12:42 PMAs I was trolling the blogosphere today for reading I came across the great blog engageinpr.com. I started reading the articles and found them to be insightful. Instead of bookmarking the page I went to the RSS button and added it to my feed reader, I use My.Yahoo.
As I looked over my feeds I was dismayed to say I didn’t have a way to read all the feeds I had set up and sunk into a bit of depression. I also started thinking about how much I read before social media and RSS feeds. I would read about a book or two a week.
I then went over to all my social network logins and began reading those feeds, not to mention I needed to balance this will all my cell calls and my twitter feeds. I began to wonder if I was too lazy for this social media thing.
Think about it, I am connected because I have to be. People count on me to be connected and have an understanding of social trends. I also have a passion for it, I truly love social media and want nothing more than to work in this field for the rest of my life.
What about the average person. I am not talking about the generation X, Y, or Z thing, I am talking about the average person that works all day and comes home at night to watch some TV. They do not have the resources or the desire to remain socially connected all the time.
I guess that is an inherent problem I am finding with all social networks today is they lack an ease of connectivity that makes them viable for John Q. Public. For social networks to make that final leap to include everyone they need to find a way to make it almost effortless.
Remember people want the most value with the least amount of work.
Do you see the work of social networks being one of its great limiting factors? Do you think more people would become connected if it were as easy as turning on a TV? Am I completely wrong and social media will soon encompass all ages and all generations?
February 6th, 2008 at 2:24 pm
With respect, I think you’re wrong. People want nothing more than to sit around, communicate, and only have to read a few lines at a time. I’m thinking we could use a few more screens around us ala Fahrenheit 451
February 6th, 2008 at 5:10 pm
Anthony, thanks for the compliment about my blog
I think you are right in a way, there is such an enormous amount of content out there and it is constantly piling up, especially as we all have to do our ‘real jobs’. I have found, for myself, that I go through these moments where it just all feels like there is too much and I cull my feeds, networks, ‘friends’, etc. I wrote about this a bit last week.
IMHO this is what is happening for even the average Joe who might not be as social media inclined. They start by subscribing to some feeds or getting on Facebook or even Flickr. Each day I’m seeing more and more people who are jumping into the fray, all age groups, mainly because they DO want an easier way to stay connected with human beings and not just the TV.
I’m enjoying your blog!
/kff
February 7th, 2008 at 11:45 am
I couldn’t agree more. Social media stuff is wonderful, but it’s far too easy to forget how much time it actually takes, and for those people who are interested but for whom social media is not a life priority (read: almost everyone), it becomes overwhelming pretty fast.
Put another way: it’s like juggling. If you’re a professional juggler and you’re juggling three balls, it’s not really that big a deal if someone throws in a bowling pin and a chainsaw. It’s a fun challenge. But for someone who only has the time and experience (and desire!) to juggle three balls and then you throw in a fourth, the result is usually that they’ll drop them all.
Okay, maybe not the best analogy, but there it is.
February 7th, 2008 at 10:46 pm
I’d argue that the tool might not be the best for the job, either. My Yahoo is very linear and takes LOTS of time to read through. Check out a quick screencast I did about why I like Google reader. It might be the tool you need to get the job done.
Just a thought.
February 8th, 2008 at 12:02 am
@Chris, I couldn’t agree with you more. Then again, I use Google
February 8th, 2008 at 9:35 am
Thanks for the input and suggestions. My Yahoo isn’t perfect for a feed reader but the old military in me needs some sort of structure to keep up with this crazy ’social media’ world.
MY yahoo also sends all my feeds to my yahoo mail so I can check them from my phone, something I find very valuable when I am stuck in an office or on a train.