I love social media. I find it fun, intriguing, educational, inspiring and engaging. I love connecting with former colleagues and classmates and childhood cousins who’ve moved far, far away. I love discovering new websites and authors and bloggers who I never would have found before on my own. I love seeing what items my friends really like and they find useful – assuming those are true from the heart recommendations.
But the popularity of social networking sites has it’s “other” side, too. It has amped the volume of people speaking their minds which isn’t bad, as long as it’s not misused. Twitter, Facebook and discussion boards provide platforms for people to immediately broadcast what’s on their minds – “I loved it” ”I hated it” ”#FAIL” “Anyone out there listening?”
What do you do when one of your online friends asks you to re-tweet or re-post their anger or frustration with someone or some company? Do you do it just because it’s someone you know? I think it is more common on Twitter than on Facebook to see that plea “Please RT this!” I find these requests interesting but a little unsettling. I now have to know all the facts about their story.
But there are what I call the bandwagoners – people who jump on a rant, most not knowing the full story. Re-tweet it and re-post it multiple times and the next thing you know there’s a full online movement that may or may not be justified. I’ve seen too many times where the noise-maker rattling the cage is not quite so innocent as they portray to be.
The knee-jerk online reactions bother me. I’ve been on both sides of the equation. I’ve been the consumer with problems and I’ve been the PR side trying to fix things. Neither side is comfortable.
I love reading consumer-centric columns and blogs that work at solving people’s problems. Greg Dawson and Christoper Elliott are my steady reads.
So why is this today’s topic? No particular reason. It’s just something that’s been on my mind and finally put it down in writing.
Sometimes the negative posts just make me cringe. I have a small handful of friends on fb that I’ve had to HIDE because of their constant negativity…and I wonder do they feel silly later when they calm down or have their problem resolved.
Peace, Love and Mickey Mouse!
Yes, socially media is such a great way to stay connected but there is also a lot of drama. I agree, it’s important to read the whole story before you jump on a “bandwagon!”
I completely agree with your rant, Leanne. Social media has made it WAY too easy to say what’s on our mind. We forget to filter our thoughts or even take a step back to look at situations objectively. A lot of comments that people make routinely online are things that they would never dream of repeating in person.