Sunday, April 03, 2011

Anti-social media

One of the best things about social media has been its ability to bring together people who would otherwise never meet. Is that being lost?
Tinu, Becky McCray and Andy Hayes at Blogworld 2010 by ShashiBellamkonda, on Flickr
Connected across boundaries:
Tinu Abayomi-Paul, Becky McCray
and Andy Hayes at Blogworld 2010
[(cc) Shashi Bellamkonda www.shashi.name
Social Media Swami Network Solutions]

I asked about the upcoming tweet-ups in a city, only to be told they didn't really have any tweet-ups now. There are plenty of social get-togethers organized on Twitter, by different groups of people. If you know those people online, you're welcome to come.

Where's the chance to get to know new people? How does a new person even find out about these things without knowing the "in crowd"?

Where's the big, open, welcoming event, designed to cut across those boundaries of class, social strata, and geography?

If you are using Twitter to communicate only with certain "in real life" social circles, you are missing out on something that has been a miracle in my life: the ability to connect across social and geographic boundaries.
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6 comments:

  1. Andy HayesApril 3, 2011 at 3:06 PM

    Hey - I know that guy up there!

    And yeah, this kind of behaviour is really annoying. I've found a bit of that here in Seattle. Boo.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Bob DunnApril 3, 2011 at 3:08 PM

    Thanks for this great, to-the-point post. It's says it all. If I had the mentality you mentioned, I would have never met you! And what I love is, you walk the talk.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Todd JordanApril 3, 2011 at 3:12 PM

    Several folks who wanted to be part of tweetups seem to devolve into this as well. They organize friends, who happen to be on Twitter, and say it's open if others want to come. Less about new folks and more about Twitter friends. Not saying it's wrong but it's less tweetup and more just friends.

    Circular? Ha. Just annoying. If I happen to invite a Twitter friend over I don't call it a tweetup.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Becky McCrayApril 3, 2011 at 3:16 PM

    Of course, this is a big reminder to me to have that open attitude, to welcome others in, and to reach out. It's not just about the current social circle.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Shashi Bellamkonda April 3, 2011 at 3:34 PM

    I am so happy whenever Becky rants I am part of it even as a person who took a picture. Without offline meetings it is difficult to validate , continue anf flourish offline relationships

    ReplyDelete
  6. Becky McCrayApril 3, 2011 at 3:37 PM

    Hi, Shashi! I'm glad you take and share so many great photos. :) And I think I get your meaning about meeting offline to strengthen those online relationships. It's up to us to be open to thoe new connections.

    ReplyDelete

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