On On-Line Social Networking

[mlerules]

I've been ruminating on the purposes and goals of on-line social networking recently as I've been wandering around in FaceBook these past few days. I have some thoughts that'll likely spill/spew forth here before long. This pretty well sums up what I do NOT care for about it.

Why do YOU use FaceBook and/or LJ and/or MySpace and/or whatEVER? What goals do you have in using it/whatEVER (if any)? What needs do you hope to fulfill/have fulfilled? What do you want to, hope to, and actually GET out of it? What's it FOR, in your opinion? (And what's IT?) I'm curious and'd really like to know, as it might help shed some light on these issues for myself. (And because generating and engaging in at least some slightly more in-depth discussion/conversation is something I value and prefer LJ for over FB, at least so far.)

Comments

[ladyaraia.livejournal.com]

Hey beautiful. I have been contemplating this question lately too as I have recently joined both Twitter and Facebook after long saying I would not. I am happy here on LJ so what do I need those *other* social networking sites for?

But the more I thought about it the more I found each one had its own use for me.

And because generating and engaging in at least some slightly more in-depth discussion/conversation is something I value and prefer LJ for over FB, at least so far.
This is a good example of what I mean. I will be using LJ for my big thinky thoughts and longer posts. I also don't filter my LJ much except to my "Friends" in general so it is a pretty personal space for me. I won't let just anyone in. And mostly keeping up with the daily life of the people close to me.

As far as Twitter, I feel like it gives me the chance to post a very little bit of info as often as i like. That is something I don't like to do on LJ. I don't like to spam peoples Friend Lists with short thoughts through the day. But sometimes that keeps me from posting. I don't have time to write out a whole big thing. So, yay, Twitter. Also, I am able to get a peek into the lives of some "famous" people I really admire and *that* too is not weird and stalker-ish. :) (Like Neil Gaiman, LeVar Burton, and Adam Savage, cool stuff!)

And what I have found on Facebook is a really easy way to reach out to those people from my past that I have no other way of finding. The interesting thing I am finding with Facebook is, as long as you have known the person at some time in your life, it is not weird to friend them. There is no expectation of close personal connection like I want before I friend someone on LJ and let them into all of my personal life. Now, because of this, I will not be posting anything earth-shatteringly personal on Facebook. But I have found old high school friends and long lost family that I would have no other way of talking to.

So, probably way more info than you were looking for, but there you go! :)

[lunaticbubbles.livejournal.com]

Out of all the social networking sites, I prefer LJ. I've gotten more use out of it for networking as well as general and in-depth conversation. It makes me feel connected to friends that I don't get to see often. Seeing as I'm not a fan of phones and it's hard for me to stay in communication cause of my own insecurities of thinking folks don't want to talk to me. So LJ provides this space where I can comment and communicate in a manner that isn't stressful or constantly rubbing my insecurities. For the most part anyway. And on the flip side, it also allows my friends to get a glimpse of what's going on in my head with things that I don't normally communicate in person. I like the safety of my computer screen when I'm rambling my thoughts that I'm not comfortable talking about on a one on one type scenario.

Facebook is neat cause it seems a lot of people I use to know are on it an prefer it over the others. Also I find it easier to find/contact people I'm looking for. But at the same time I can make it REALLY difficult for folks to find me if that's what I want.

I can't stand myspace, I have one and don't at the same time and I have one or two friends on there that use it as a means to communicate with me. I made one up for the ferret because I did not want people finding me on there. I avoided it for so many years and just ignore it for the most part unless I'm pinged.

Twitter is fun because I don't have to devote my time an energy for a full post of updates and can do it on the run. It's also fun/entertaining to see what other folks write from mundane silly things to the "OMG READ THIS" type stuff.

Then there are a couple of others where I have accounts and are very group/interest specific. Again, don't really go on unless pinged.

Sooooo... That's a whole lot of stuff that I got carried away with. I guess in order of preference it's LJ, Twitter, and Facebook. The other's I don't use with much frequency at all.

[fearless-son.livejournal.com]

True, the garish, omnipresent adds did drive me away from MySpace, but primarily because they made the site excessively bloated with data, making it slow and difficult to navigate. I find the adds on FaceBook that much easier to ignore.

As for why I use it, it was at first just to keep tabs on everyone else I know who has one. However, I have found it useful for other things as well, such as networking with people at a place where I eventually hope to be employed.

[jimkeller.livejournal.com]

LiveJournal I joined strictly as a mass communication medium. By being able to post once what was going on in my ludicroiusly busy life and tell everyone to just read the damn blog if they only want to know if I'm alive or not, I could save several hours a week that I had previously been spending "touching base" with everyone. Yes, in many ways it depersonalizes the process. But because I can quickly and impersonally (and on my own timetable) see what my friends are up to in their lives, I actually feel more connected than I did before I started and instead simply ignored everyone.

Facebook I joined for professional reason. Because the kids love it, we sort of had to be there. The days when the public sought out science educational materials are gone. Now we've got to go where the kids are and convince them that the Universe is every bit as interesting as Britney Spears' underwear (or lack thereof). I've quite enjoyed it for the ability to truly "network" ... there are people I know (and have known) from all walks of life there, and because I treat it as a professional page and discourage anyone from posting anything inappropriate, it can truly serve as a one-stop, multi-functional page. One of my coworkers complains that it's his personal page and he's uncomfortable with all the professional contacts friending him, so not everyone agrees with me. The ads don't bother me, really, because it's a free service and it's my option whether to click on them or not.

MySpace, on the other hand, has annoyed me with its pop-up advertising, poorly coded pages, auto-playing music and video, etc. to the point where I barely touch it any more.

I've also toyed with LinkedIn and Friendster, but did not feel they were superior to any of the others (LinkedIn at least is intended to be a professional network, so there's no battle for appropriateness, but at the same time being there is like being at work and so I have very little incentive to do so).

[mlerules.livejournal.com]

So, probably way more info than you were looking for, but there you go!

No, this is PRECISELY what I was hoping for - thank you SO much for sharing your thoughts/feelings w/me. Much of it resonates and rings true for me. You've managed to articulate well some thoughts that'd been swirling through my mind recently and I really appreciate it!

[mlerules.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts/feelings about this w/me. It really helps me to get outta my head and learn what other folks're doing/thinking 'bout all this. HEE re: the ferret's MySpace!

[mlerules.livejournal.com]

Thanks for replying. I appreciate knowing what/how folks use these things for - it helps me figure it out myself.

Good luck w/the job networking!

[siouxiequeue.livejournal.com]

Hmmm... I'm pretty dang new to FaceBook too, and am thinking a lot about usages... it's really a totally different forum than LJ... here's my nutshell...

LJ is a great forum for ideas and thoughts, writing and emoting and having conversations. It's set up as a "Journal" - so it's good for recording these things. Clunky for pictures, though. I like it for the depth of content, the ability to filter recipients, and it's nice that folks can speak out without feeling exposed personally...

FaceBook is all about networking and connections. You use your real name, so it's possible to find people you haven't seen in a long time - (see my previous post for how good I feel about *that* feature!) it's good for little note-lets and for sharing pictures, especially - pix are easy to upload and mark up... but you will want to use something else for copywritten images, so rumor goes. The status is fun, you can "look in on" friends really easily...
There are tons of memes, toys, bots and games on Facebook, which I'm starting to find distracting; I think I'll pick one or two that are fun, and block the rest - not to be unfriendly, but they're kind of content-less blabber that get in the way of the interesting stuff (I'm loving the photo sharing, did I mention that?) - and let people send me a note if they want to send a kiss or a smack on the butt...

Very cool tools, I think the trick is finding how they work best for you (yes, I know that's the whole reason for this post..heh)
*love*

[mlerules.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much for this - greatly appreciated.

[satyrblade.livejournal.com]

I use four different blogs/ profiles because I've got friends and connections all over the western hemisphere and can't keep up with (or keep track of) them all without an extensive online network.

Besides, online profiles allow to stay in touch better, organize things faster, and learn about stuff more rapidly than any other medium in existence. The bigger your net(work), the more you know about, the vaster your resources, and the quicker you find out what's going on... or spread the word about important situations on your own end. (Witness Sooj's predicament and our community response.)

[satyrblade.livejournal.com]

Oh - and for the record, I vastly prefer LJ.... which, given their recent labor problems, I have very mixed feelings about!

[avhn.livejournal.com]

I've found Facebook is useful for finding and keeping in touch with people you otherwise wouldn't - which has the added benefit of sometimes realizing that while you weren't on the same path to begin with, they've come closer to yours now. I also love the ability to share pictures and see pictures. While that is possible with LJ, it takes a lot more time and, in my experience, happens less.

As a college student, facebook is incredibly useful (possibly necessary) for finding out about events going on that aren't hosted (or attended) by those in my immediate circle. It's also a great way of getting in touch with people from classes whose last names I may or may not know.

Finally, to echo what everyone else was saying, it is a lot less personal, and I feel more comfortable friending a wide variety of people.

(And the ads don't really bother me, since I have a ton of ad blocking plugins on my Firefox, so I don't even see them.)

[lorriet.livejournal.com]

I use facebook for light, twitter-like interactions. Plus, it is a quick way to see what's going on with people, events, etc.

Livejournal is more about me, sharing my thoughts, expressing myself, and a little more in-depth. For me, they are two very unique interfaces.

[deviantgrrrl.livejournal.com]

I still have an Orkut and Friendster account, but neither has been checked in years. I am very, very anti-MySpace. Truly, it's everything that was wrong with the internet in the late 90s: blinky, flashy, I'll force my music and ads on you. Um, no thank you. And I don't want to deal with the inherent drama of MySpace, like ranking friends and the question of whether to friend someone or not. I've got to say that my negative attitude about MySpace has carried over to FaceBook, which I have never even glanced at. I'm over most social networking, except LJ.

Why do I like LJ? Well, it makes me feel like I'm still a part of the lives of many that I don't see or speak with often. What do I dislike? The drama of whether to friend or unfriend someone. I've also found that it's really hard sometimes to shake an impression (positive or negative) of someone based on a post or series of posts. I'm working hard to keep in mind that LJ is full of "this is what I feel at the moment" posts, which are not necessarily home truths.

[anansi133.livejournal.com]

I had a similar thought when I last logged on to OKstupid. It suddenly occurred to me, why am I letting a machine do my flirting for me?

Granted, these other 'services' aren't as sexually motivated, but 'flirting' can be in all kinds of ways not sexual. And Madison Avenue media machinery doesn't scale well to the individual.

[crboltz.livejournal.com]

I use LJ as my soap box for political opinions, recipies, occasional rants, and small updates on my life. I joined FB recently, and what I find amazing is the quick connections to various people. Because you allow (or can allow) friends to see data like physical address, Email, phone, and I work in an industry where people move a lot, I found it a great way to keep my palm pilot up to date It also allows me to contact professional contacts when i'm going to be "in the area" etc. I do post some not terribly private life updates, but for the most part I use it as a combination twitter/address book. Overall I'm not big on twitter, because I would feel bad not twittering for long periods of time, and frankly, my life isn't interesting enough to twitter a lot.

Overall, my LJ is rather personal (even the public stuff), and my facebook is professional/private -- I kind of treat like things I would say hanging out with co-workers after a show. It is also great to keep tabs on my former students -- That I way I know when to hit one of them up for a job :)

Sorry for rambling, but my tummy is rumbling and that makes me unfocused.

[mlerules.livejournal.com]

Thanks for your input. I appreciate it very much. 'Twas your nice story about reconnecting that reminded me that I had a FaceBook account, actually. When I headed back yonder, 100+ gifts/quizzes/&c. awaited my return/attention. ACK - I haven't and likely WON'T deal w/them. (And methinks I'd rather deliver kisses & smacks on the butt in person rather than virtually, anyway ;-)

I, too, particularly enjoy the photo features. (And many thx for tagging some of mine by the way, when I had to rush out after only getting partway through the stack I'd uploaded - you're a dear!)

[mlerules.livejournal.com]

Thx for your thoughts - appreciated. Yes, I've been thinking about the Save Our Sooj thingie, too, which made it so much easier (logistically) to deal with on-line and get out the word.

Re: staying in touch BETTER - there's breadth and then there's depth. I very much enjoyed the first conversation(s) we had and connections I felt we made, early morning at FWorlds, w/out lots of others about and w/out distractions beyond the beauty of the day dawning...THOSE are the moments I treasure and enjoy so much...the deeper ones. A poke on FB or even a comment on LJ ain't quite the same...but they are better than a poke in the eye or nothing at all. :-) And we've got busy full lives, so the little touches do matter (and the taking the time to respond here matters - thx again).

[mlerules.livejournal.com]

Thanks for your thoughts. Wow - I can scarcely imagine how different college life must be now. Now thinking of FB as a Really Big WhiteBoard on your dorm door...

[mlerules.livejournal.com]

Thx for your thoughts. I'm getting a lot of reactions like yours - and they parallel some of what I've been leaning towards. FB/Twitter: breadth & facts v. LJ: depth of thought/feelings.

[mlerules.livejournal.com]

Thanks for responding - it's good to hear your voice (as it were) and thoughts. Still hoping you can make it here in '09 - there's lots to see and do and experience and methinks you'd have a good time. *hugs* Oh, I've penciled in MEF for this year, FYI...not inked in, but certainly a possibility.

[mlerules.livejournal.com]

Heh, I hadn't actually hard OKStupid before - GOL (Giggle Out Loud) ;-)

Seems to me that OKC provides you w/Flirting Fodder, but it's still up to you to do something w/it (with them). Otherwise you have to Get Out and Find People, which ain't always easy to do, 'specially given poly and whatnot.

*****

So, the question remains: what do YOU use LJ for and/or WHY do you use it?

[mlerules.livejournal.com]

Thank you for your take on this topic - appreciated.

And please, you need never apologize to ME for rambling...it's one of my hobbies and I like it when others take it up, too, even if just for a short period of time (such as when hunger hits ;-)

[siouxiequeue.livejournal.com]

there's a nifty little button at the bottom of the "requests" that say, "block application" - it'll get rid of all the requests of that type. I got through mine in about 3 minutes... then I can see the requests I *want* to see...

[mlerules.livejournal.com]

Thx - yes, I noticed the Anti-App group that suddenlynaked joined, browsed through a bit, and found out about the button.

*must now reconcile small hints of guilt for ignoring people's attempted nicenesses towards me*