tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8568656610692395739.post8913765589470370554..comments2023-10-19T18:01:37.816+08:00Comments on Jade goes with everything.: Social Media MusingsJade Carverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06831429994944800039noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8568656610692395739.post-67643178069093529532010-09-06T20:34:01.130+08:002010-09-06T20:34:01.130+08:00One last thing - assumptions that people you meet ...One last thing - assumptions that people you meet 'in the real world' are more real friends than people you know online bothers me (e.g. the Telegraph "FB friends are virtual" article). <br /><br />"While "people obviously like the kudos of having hundreds of friends" the reality was that their social circle was unlikely to be bigger than anybody else's. " - isn't that begging the question? You're just defining "social circle" so that your conclusion holds.<br /><br />There may well be a general correlation, but this assumption totally ignores the fact that online connections open up a whole world for some people, which is very much real - whether that's because you're the only DS9 fan you know, or because you're mobility impaired and can't get out and meet people very much.Jingle Bellahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18140666771612038714noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8568656610692395739.post-9779641299613174932010-09-06T20:27:09.995+08:002010-09-06T20:27:09.995+08:00Thanks for writing about this in a non-polarising ...Thanks for writing about this in a non-polarising way - most articles I've encountered on social media are either totally hyping it up, or totally dismissive and claim that the internet is annihilating our ability to react to people in realtime (sigh.).<br /><br />I use twitter very occasionally, blog pretty frequently (as you know!) and use facebook a lot, although as Eudoxia (which is an adopted pseudonym that I really like). I think that online communication provides 2 main things (as opposed to offline communication): a chance to put your views and opinions out there in a new way, and a chance to network with a lot of people without being a nuisance or taking up a lot of their time or yours.<br /><br />Views and opinions: I've written stuff on my blogs / read stuff on other people's blogs or facebook notes about politics, religion, marriage ... stuff that had we discussed it in person, could've gotten very awkward and confrontational. But by being able to discuss it online in different spaces, it changes things. Someone coming up to you and telling you that they think that all religions are bunk (for example) is confrontational, that same someone posting that on their blog (not particularly aimed at you) is not.<br /><br />For networking (and I mean that in a broad sense), facebook has been a great way for me to be in touch with people I don't really know well enough to phone or email personally. It's also a great way of putting a call out when you don't know who'll be able to help - something like "Does anyone have a really good recipe for macaroons?" might be answered by anyone - a friend who doesn't cook but their sister made some, for example. Or something like "I want to learn German, any advice? I've never studied it before" is something where similarly a lot of people might have really useful information - but you wouldn't go up to 100 people you vaguely knew and ask them all about learning German. But you can do that on facebook, and it's fine - and people will be very interested in helping (at least in my experience).Jingle Bellahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18140666771612038714noreply@blogger.com