There is a great article in the July issue of wired magazine called "Self Service" The sub-line reads, "Go ahead and tweet your own horn online - just don't be a jerk about it. The article examines the question of: "When you boast online, are you participating in a brave new social future, or are you just being an ass?"
Is bragging part of social networks? Is it one of the things that makes them thrive? Are we so desirous of people knowing not only that we are engaged in fundamental worthwhile activities (small note I am leaving for my internship on Wednesday and will be working on this class at the same time as the internship so pity me) that we are willing to hang anything out there where people will say "good for you", or "loved your post".
Do we need this. Perhaps we do? My psychology classes taught me that everyone needs attention. Perhaps blogging, tweeting, facebooking, etc. is the new way to fulfill these needs. If it is than Facebook may be here for a long long time. . .
I don't think it is such a bad thing for people to call attention to themselves in the web 2.0 World. As we have been reading this week, most everyone has an equal opportunity to participate, but only a handful of people account for the majority of activity. As an occasional blogger, I do find it satisfying when people read my posts, leave comments, and tweet about what I have written. But since I am neither a celebrity or influential in the learning industry, that doesn't happen unless I do some self-promotion through twitter, LinkedIn or other places. I figure if that if I have something to say that might be of interest to someone, what is wrong with me helping them find it?
ReplyDeleteI also think people who have their own businesses need to call attention to themselves. They'd be crazy not to take advantage of the free advertising they can get through social media. It is the way to go.
Mike said it well. Around the country there are numerous small-business development workshops going on as we speak (so to speak) in which owners are being advised to use W2.0 tools to increase their visibility.
ReplyDelete(Good luck with your internship!)
I will admit that there are days when I've logged onto Facebook and thought that status updates were just one big attention-seeking contest. I have quite a few friends on Facebook (no, I'm not trying to brag via social media right now) including undergraduates who boast of their weekend adventures and an old acquaintance who posts about every lovely thing he is able to purchase. And then there's the whole "vaguebooking" issue (I'll write a post on my blog about that, I think), so naturally designed to attract comments (which are a form of status unto themselves). Obviously I'm distinguishing personal bragging from professional marketing or leaving links to a blog post of interest.
ReplyDeleteI think you really make a great point here. You are so right that people likes to get attention. When I using Facebook to edit my status or upload pictures, I desired to get many comments from my friends.
ReplyDelete