Comments for Social Media Junkie

Comment on Putting the Social in Social Media by Leslie S. Klinger

Leslie S. Klinger — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 00:02:16 +0000

Tabitha, your achievements make me proud to have been part of your life. I hope to see you again sometime, at a book event or otherwise. You can keep tabs on me through my website, and feel free to e-mail from time to time!

Regards,

Les (can it really be that long ago?)

Comment on Yes, Virgina, there’s people out there who hate social media. by Dani

Dani — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 04:07:45 +0000

You know, it’s interesting. I really do not understand the hatred for social media, as a whole. You can not like certain aspects or even sites, but to hate the entire medium? It makes me wonder about the people who would say it. Perhaps it’s just too open of a life for some to have? To be truly engaged in social media, you have to have a certain amount of transparency. It’s hard to keep a certain image when you have to be more open and available.

So to answer the question, Danny is right. Explain what you get out of it, but you can’t make anyone do something they don’t want to do. Really, if they continue to hate on social media, those who love it and use it in a positive way know it’s their loss.

Comment on Putting the Social in Social Media by worldofhiglet

worldofhiglet — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 02:16:06 +0000

I couldn’t agree with you more! Of course people can pretend to be anyone they want to online, and that can cause problems. As in ‘real life’ the vast majority of online relationships are based on mutual trust and if someone is going to violate that trust, there isn’t much you can do about it.

I have made many friends online and I DO think of them as friends. Relationships can be real and it is no different than in years past when people used to have penpals that they had never met. You can lose yourself in the Internet, but it can’t take your soul unless you let it. Common sense, as in all things, is the key.

Comment on Putting the Social in Social Media by Alex M

Alex M — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 06:54:08 +0000

I completely agree with this. I’ve been posting in online forums for years now and have made tons of friends this way. I don’t think that there’s anything weird or wrong about this, I still have friends from “real life” too, it’s just a different form of communication. My best friend right now I’ve still only met twice in real life, but she’s helped me out and done more for me emotionally than people I know in real life.

Comment on Putting the Social in Social Media by Nuchtchas

Nuchtchas — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 00:28:10 +0000

Of course you now made sure I had to blog about this too

thanks for this!

Comment on Putting the Social in Social Media by Heidi

Heidi — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 00:01:30 +0000

I absolutely agree. I’ve met such wonderful people online that I never would have had the chance to meet otherwise. People that I can’t imagine not knowing. It’s great to be able to socialize with people who like the same things as you, cause sometimes that’s hard to come by in your own neighborhood, workplace, or even family.

And there are friends that I never thought I could go a day without talking to that I have grown apart from. We just don’t have much to talk about anymore. It has nothing to do with physical distance, that can happen if the person lives right next door.

My mom even has a wonderful friend who she met online that we have visited and she has visited us. Yes, you need to be cautious in some areas, but meeting great friends is an awesome reward.

Love ya Tabz

Comment on Putting the Social in Social Media by Kim

Kim — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 22:09:20 +0000

Awwww. Agreed, you had me tearing up there myself for a bit. Its funny, because I was just thinking about how I never remember if the things we talk about are typed or said, in my head it’s all the same. When I read your writing, I hear your voice in my head and I even see you saying these things. I don’t know why location even needs to be a barrier anymore (although, let me know as soon as that transporter thing works out, I’m so ready for it).

Comment on Putting the Social in Social Media by Tabitha Grace Smith

Tabitha Grace Smith — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 21:06:02 +0000

Exactly so!

Especially for someone who doesn’t have the opportunity to meet people like them (ie. geeks) online can be a great place to get all that geek-i-ness out before you resume life with normals.

Comment on Putting the Social in Social Media by Melia

Melia — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 21:02:59 +0000

Excellent article Tabz. And I’m honoured to be counted among your friends even though we’ve never met IRL. I’ve always believed that of course you can develop meaningful relationships with people you’ve never met.

I was an admin on a telnet MUD for nearly 10 years and my best friend and I met there. She lives in Chicago and I’m in Nebraska. We’ve met in person 3 or 4 times and that’s it, but I know all about her life and she knows all about mine. It’s no different then keeping up a friendship with a college mate who’s moved across country. In fact, she met her husband on that MUD. He’s from England, and she’s a southern gal. They’ve been married for years now and have 3 kids.

In fact, nearly everyone I met on that MUD became good friends. I met a number of them at various meetups (and I could not go to many as they were mostly in England) and some I’ve never met – and some I’ve drifted apart from.

But when you talk to someone, and all you have is text to communicate, I find you end up sharing more of yourself than you would normally. Intimacy can happen much faster. You’re right when you say someone who’s not being themselves online is easily sussed out fairly quickly. I can see how some could be duped, but as your experience online grows, so too does your intuition.

I think it’s a disservice to claim the relationships you form online are unhealthy. I believe that if you maintain a balance between your friends online and your friends IRL, that both are acceptable and possible, and even more enriching.

Comment on Positivity Can Be Hard by Jachelle

Jachelle — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 18:00:36 +0000

I’m right there with you. The last day and a half have been sort of difficult for me to keep a positive frame of mind, but I think the fact that we’re both making the effort to stay positive instead of just giving into the negativity is one of the best aspects of this experiment.

Give Myboyfriend a snuggle for me!