Friday, February 4, 2011

Danger: Social Media sequencing & the News Feed

Confession: I'm addicted to this social media phenomenon. I love to tweet about articles or events, share photos, promote local restaurants I love, pan stores and restaurants who don't provide good service, and discuss EVERYTHING on Facebook.   I share photos, link to articles..and stir up civil discourse bridging politics, religion, and economics, sometimes with more successful outcomes than others. I'm able to keep many threads running all at once in my head.

My life is frenetic, from the 4 kids, to church, to teaching, to performing and traveling.. and then there is my real job as a video solutions architect for Cisco.   I am the only person that appreciates or even considers the linearity or totality of all that I read and write.  Sharing ideas and learning from others is central to my existence, yet in that sharing... my friends are at a disadvantage and I must remain constantly aware of how my information will be received.

The tools.. FB, Twitter, and even this blog, don't sync up in any sort of coherent timeline. My worlds exist concurrently, and things which I distinctly remember thinking, saying, and writing simply aren't in the conversation for many.

REAL WORLD: A lack of context is dangerous in live meetings, but the warning signs of disconnect are more readily apparent and can be corrected quickly.

VIRTUAL WORLD: In an asynchronous environment like FB or Twitter, comments and threads can continue for days..  the news feed and the "recent items" continues to populate..  for me, but my friends and readers views are not the same as mine, by design..  Our commentary on the past can be profoundly influenced by events of the current.

As participants and contributors, we must remember how the tools work and that the only unified, sequenced view of our writing and commentary is in our heads.  Be sure your friends have context, and don't judge them because they didn't read or see something you posted last week that was important to you.. It may not have ever shown up on their "News Feed" at all.

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