Have you noticed that there are too many social networking sites out there these days? Between MySpace, Facebook, LinkedIn, Plaxo, Twitter, Reunion, and any other number of “hey, look at me!” websites, keeping up with everything is beginning to get a bit tedious. In fact, just the other day I deleted my Plaxo account because I couldn’t imagine why I would need it at all.
As for something like Twitter, I have no idea why anyone would be so crazy about that service. From what I can tell, Twitter allows people to post periodic updates on what they’re doing. If you’re “following” (i.e. “friends with”) that person, then you get updated as to what they’ve uploaded.
Really?
Is that what we choose to spend our time doing these days? How self-important must someone be to think that they need to update the world on their status every few minutes? Better yet – who has the time in their day to put up so many updates?! “I just got to work,” “My job stinks,” “Can’t wait for lunch break,” “End of the day is coming,” “Driving home now,” “Making dinner,” “Getting ready for sleep to do it all again tomorrow.”
SHUT UP, ASSHOLE! No one gives a shit about following your tweets about your mundane life!
The big competition in social networking sites seems to be Facebook and MySpace. I think what draws people to Facebook is that it isn’t as flexible as MySpace and, thus, not as potentially annoying. There is nothing more aggravating than going to someone’s MySpace page and having them blare the latest death metal song at you or some type of mopey, stupid love song. If it wasn’t for the fact that one or two of my family members are on MySpace and not Facebook, I’d delete my MySpace account completely and stick to Facebook.
I’ve begun to think about whether or not my LinkedIn profile is even worth it. LinkedIn is supposed to be for people who are trying to reconnect, but generally in a business sense. However, Facebook pretty much offers the same service. So I’m not sure if it’s worth it to keep a LinkedIn page up and running. Sure, I have some nice recommendations of my work on the LinkedIn page, but I can always get that somewhere on Facebook.
Anyway, I wonder what other people think about the social networking sites. Do we really need to have so many of them out there or have we reached overkill? I think it’s probably time to thin out the number of social networking sites out there…
I think twitter.com is a very interesting website, although I don’t have an account there. It’s not really any of those social network sites that are doing something wrong, as all they’re doing is creating great innovative ideas that allow people to stay in touch. It’s the idiots using them that are creating the problem. They take something like a facebook status (which is pretty much all twitter is, only you updated it more often), and turn it into the key point of their day. That’s a bit too much.
However, these social networks can be used much better. For example, I enjoy “following” the twitter accounts of certain “famous” people who know how to use them. I’ll give an example in ESPN’s Lisa Salters, who works the sideline during NBA games. Her twitter account is at http://www.twitter.som/saltersl. She twitters every few minutes during games when she’s free (they had a game a few weeks ago where she was doing it every few minutes because it was a main plug during the game) giving the fans a great inside of what just happened on the floor. She provides a unique take on what goes on during time-outs (she would even go as far as give some details on what coaches said or what words teammates exchanged as they head to the bench) or share a cool fact that you wouldn’t get unless you were at the game (how a fan made the half-court shot during a commercial break). She also knows how to put to use the messaging feature on twitter well, allowing her “followers” (i hate these terms twitter uses!) to suggest questions for her to ask the coaches during the interviews, or players as they walk by. She responds back to her readers who might ask inside stuff.
When she’s not doing an NBA game, she could go days between updates, or maybe once every other day sharing a key NBA fact she’s learned from interviewing or talking with a player. It just provides a great inside that fans often wonder about. We need to see more of this and less of the “I’m hungry,” or “I just left my house to go jog” type of crap!
Yeah, I don’t know. I’m just not into the whole, “What is so and so doing AT THIS VERY MINUTE!?!?!”
And I have to imagine that this whole Twitter thing is going to be corporatized in no time. Once some old school higher up and Disney or ABC realizes that their ESPN sideline reporter is doing something that is essentially a personal thing on their time, they’ll want to control it. Eventually you’ll see these people have their updates become more like advertising and then the whole thing will die out.
I’m very “meh” on the whole Twitter thing.
It’s true. It’s not the sites themselves that are the problem since you can choose what to use and what not to use. It’s the endless troop of no lifes who populate them that are the problem. It’s the same situation with blogs. There are some very fun, interesting and informative blogs out there like this one and I’d like to think mine, but there are a lot more that are so far beyond useless that words to describe their lack of value to the world have not yet been invented.
I’m personally not a member of any of the social networking stuff, mostly because I’ve worked very hard over the last 10 years or so to rid my life of many of the loons I used to know in my school days. Nearly everybody I actually want to talk to I know how to find, and I’ve heard through those people about who has found them on Facebook or the like. Armed with this knowledge, I don’t feel too bad about staying away from it all. Why undo in 10 minutes what I’ve accomplished in 10 years I say.
Why do we need ANY of these social networking sites? They’re just for vain people to put up pictures of themselves and keep everyone up to date with a minute by minute account of their boring lives as they think they are so important that others actually care what cereal they plan on having.
What happened to actually getting out there and having a life? meeting new people and catching up with old friends by ringing their ONE phone number/ ONEne email address and arranging to meet up face to face.
I know so many people who spoil a good night out because all they do is take pictures of themselves ”having the night of their lives” (clearly not) or post comments about how amazing their night is, seriously?..people should be making the most of life not wasting it on these sites. They are more bad than good, its just one big popularity contest that causes arguements between friends and partners over trival things.
Theres no mystery anymore, all you have to do these days is go on someones facebook and you know their life story and some..is there any point in even dating them after that, i mean you wont have anything to ask them because you know it all..might aswell cut that stage out all together and have a virtual wedding or something.
In my opinion social networking sites take something away from the bigger picture and society as a whole.