On Social Media

Ok, I'll admit it. I'm a social media snob.

When my parents were here recently, Dad asked what kind of smart-phones Kiwis were using. It made me realise a couple things:

1) I don't talk much about these things with Kiwi friends.
2) Social media hasn't quite caught on here like it has in the US or Singapore.

Take for instance one of my biggest pet-peeves on social media: those who don't understand how to really use it. No, I'm not even talking about those who go off on their soap-box. Even those rants can be considered proper use.

No, there's one particular Twitter account that drives me nuts with the way they tweet.

nzherald National ‏@nzheraldnznewsPolice identify Arkles Bay body: The body of a woman found dead on the beach at Arkles Bay on the Whangaparaoa P... http://bit.ly/WqGmYk 

nzherald National ‏@nzheraldnznewsAuckland barrister denies drink driving charge: An Auckland barrister accused of driving drunk and carelessly ha... http://bit.ly/V5D5C4  

If news is your business, by all means, make it your business. But recognise that Twitter's 140-character limit has conditioned the human (at least this human's) attention-span for that much information. To have to click on every link to read the end of your sentence is just a little bit annoying.

Ok, end rant.

Anyhow, for the last several months now, I've been mulling over how to use social media more effectively. It began with Katherine's question about how I use Facebook, and the realisation that I've become so dependant on those avenues to communicate with the global village--the local whanau, the supporters in other corners of the world, old friends, new friends, and staying in touch with blood relations. Realising that I'm such a social media snob made me realise that part of the reason I stopped communicating this year was because I keep beating myself up over communicating poorly.

As mentioned in a previous post, one of my goals for 2013 is to live simply--which translates to these outlets as well. So in the next couple weeks before kids' church kicks off for the year again, I'll be working on coming up with strategies to better use these tools to say less and communicate more.

Watch this space.