You know what I love about the internet? Well…there are a lot of things, but this is one I’ve always adored, even when the internet was nothing more to me than Usenet and newsgroups. You can meet people, talk to people, reach people, who wouldn’t have even known you existed ten years ago. Maybe fifteen. Okay, twenty depending on how long you’ve been online (15 years and counting for me).
You know what sucks about the internet? All those new people who you wouldn’t otherwise know, can see any aspect of you that you choose to show them. Some people might say that’s another advantage. The whole “I could be anyone today” type mentality. And I see that perspective, though I’ve never been very good at pretending to be anyone but me online. That’s one trend I never got the hang of.
Except when I play my adorable pink-haired elf and get to pretend I’m a college student (seems as though I’ve been 23 for about two years now), who consumes nothing but coffee for breakfast and beer for lunch and dinner and fools around with her female roommate.
Which is exactly my point.
Sorry, I missed a couple of steps in my explanation, didn’t I?
Once you say it online, you can’t take it back. If I don’t want any of you to read what I’ve said about my elf and her alter-ego, I need to go delete that paragraph before I hit ‘Publish Post’. Once I make it available for public consumption, even if I delete it later, someone may still see it.
Same thing goes for any digital correspondance or communication. Once you hit ‘send’ on that e-mail message, someone is going to see that you were too fuming pissed to think straight when you wrote it, and you’re going to burn a bridge. Once you post that blogger comment, even if you go delete it ten minutes later, someone is going to see it in their news feed the next morning, along with the first few sentences, and know what you were trying to say. Or at least, be able to assume possibly far worse than they would have if they’d just seen the whole post.
I have a saying, and I love it even though it’s never caught on. “Never be a dick in a company truck”. Someday I’ll put it on a bumper sticker, and have hundreds printed, and hand them all out to every jerk who cuts me off and has a logo on the side of their vehicle.
It’s all something to keep in mind in this vast, fun, amazing world of online networking. You’re here to sell yourself. You’re here to meet new people, touch new lives, reach places from your desk that you couldn’t have even flown 20 years ago. Don’t screw it up by letting the thrill of instant gratification grab your temper’s reigns.
/steps off soapbox
/wonders where that came from
/eats a cookie instead and pouts that for the third time in the last week, she got a regular Coke with her breakfast when she ordered diet.
With that out of the way, what are some of your favorite or least favorite things about social media?
Excellent post with more than one useful topic combined. The pitfall of social media is that anyone can see it, for the most part. People don’t think about that when they start posting in facebook, twitter and blogs. I’ve reminded friends even about being professional to at least a small degree (if not more) because you never know who is following. I have agents and editors that follow me, for example.
I do like the ability to connect to others, to take part in events such as tweet chats, and learn. The fact that people can see anything posted on the internet, almost, is a little concerning but not much I can do about that except try to keep things a little bit professional.
I’m very, very grateful for the internet. I wouldn’t be writing without it. I wouldn’t have all the great people I know now, who help and support me.
I’m old, so I don’t have so much of a temper any more and don’t post things I’ll regret.
I have been horrified on occasion when I learn that people I thought were kind and smart turn out to be crazy. It’s like you can ‘know’ someone online for months and then they’ll let slip that they’re going to a skinhead rally or going to spend the weekend in Montauk because the ‘others’ will be landing their spaceship there soon…
I’ve become jaded over the years when it comes to interracting online. There are certain personality traits that lend themselves to me saying ‘whoa’ and taking a step back almost right away.
But overall, it’s definitely a good experience. I’ve had one or two moments where I’ve posted something and gone and deleted it within the next 24 hours. Fortunately those were all on a blog that’s not available to the public. I’ve learned since then to write it down, save it as a draft, and come back the next day to see if I really feel that strongly. I have yet to. (which is why I need to write a different blog entry for today than the one I drafted yesterday. Off to do that now ^_^)