There are so many social networking tools like Hi5, Facebook, Badoo just to mention a few that it’s almost like you can’t keep up remembering so many passwords and user names. That’s why I try to keep this social networking stuff to the minimum. It is always nice to keep in touch with those friends who are abroad or with whom we can’t meet up on a regular basis even if we live in the same country but then I prefer to e-mail them or keep in touch through the blog.
It is also nice to share pictures online and a couple of messages as well but I find it in general a bit cold and impersonal. I prefer to keep my blog updated and exchange comments with the blog buddies and friends when they decide to pay me a visit.
Sometimes I feel overwhelmed with so many Facebook messages and tests that people send through. I am not saying I don’t like it at all but sometimes it is just too much and I only delete them. I just don’t have the time. Plus Facebook’s layout is so chaotic in my opinion that I easily get lost with so many messages, superwalls, etc.
In Hi5 I have decided to only allow my friends to see my profile and I don’t have too many pictures of myself there anyway. But still. I only accept to be friends in Hi5 with people I at least know who they are. At first I thought that perhaps you could make friends with total strangers but then I noticed that the messages’ exchange was somehow pointless. There wasn’t too much to say and again, I don’t have the time.
When I was younger I had lots of pen friends from so many countries but then I decided to stop all correspondence because I started to work and therefore didn’t have the time. I also noticed that after a while most of the letters lacked “warmth”. We would say the same things most of the time and my life was so routine: “study-work-go out from time to time” that I couldn’t find anything exciting to share.
Going back to the networking, some days ago I read an interesting article about these sites. I agree with some points and I disagree with others. It is true that with Facebook it is less time-consuming to stay in touch with friends but so is the e-mail and at least it is more personalized.
One of my points is that there is no point really in keeping in touch with friends I haven’t talked to in ten years and with whom I just went to school but didn’t really have a close relationship. They are there in my Hi5 however but we don’t exchange any messages. I guess there is not much to say. You can tell that they had a baby or got married because of the pictures but that’s it. Not even with the people who were once my closest friends we are in touch. I tried to start exchanging some messages with some of them but the “sparks” quickly disappeared. They are still there however. But I don’t bother to check my Hi5 anymore; except when someone sends a friend request that is.
I believe that these sites are very time consuming: this guy sent me a quiz, the other one too; this one wants me to “Join a cause” or is inviting me to read an article. I don’t know, I find it a bit impersonal. What do you think? Do you like these social networking tools?
It is also nice to share pictures online and a couple of messages as well but I find it in general a bit cold and impersonal. I prefer to keep my blog updated and exchange comments with the blog buddies and friends when they decide to pay me a visit.
Sometimes I feel overwhelmed with so many Facebook messages and tests that people send through. I am not saying I don’t like it at all but sometimes it is just too much and I only delete them. I just don’t have the time. Plus Facebook’s layout is so chaotic in my opinion that I easily get lost with so many messages, superwalls, etc.
In Hi5 I have decided to only allow my friends to see my profile and I don’t have too many pictures of myself there anyway. But still. I only accept to be friends in Hi5 with people I at least know who they are. At first I thought that perhaps you could make friends with total strangers but then I noticed that the messages’ exchange was somehow pointless. There wasn’t too much to say and again, I don’t have the time.
When I was younger I had lots of pen friends from so many countries but then I decided to stop all correspondence because I started to work and therefore didn’t have the time. I also noticed that after a while most of the letters lacked “warmth”. We would say the same things most of the time and my life was so routine: “study-work-go out from time to time” that I couldn’t find anything exciting to share.
Going back to the networking, some days ago I read an interesting article about these sites. I agree with some points and I disagree with others. It is true that with Facebook it is less time-consuming to stay in touch with friends but so is the e-mail and at least it is more personalized.
One of my points is that there is no point really in keeping in touch with friends I haven’t talked to in ten years and with whom I just went to school but didn’t really have a close relationship. They are there in my Hi5 however but we don’t exchange any messages. I guess there is not much to say. You can tell that they had a baby or got married because of the pictures but that’s it. Not even with the people who were once my closest friends we are in touch. I tried to start exchanging some messages with some of them but the “sparks” quickly disappeared. They are still there however. But I don’t bother to check my Hi5 anymore; except when someone sends a friend request that is.
I believe that these sites are very time consuming: this guy sent me a quiz, the other one too; this one wants me to “Join a cause” or is inviting me to read an article. I don’t know, I find it a bit impersonal. What do you think? Do you like these social networking tools?
.jpg)
15 comments:
hehe nice post! you seem to share the same views with me on this one :)
first off; social networking is time consuming, definitely. I barely have time to keep up with reading blogs and posting comments, even on my own blog, let alone social networking.
I personally prefer to use email as well, since every email is saved and archived on the same system and not running off on different social networking sites.
Back in time, a year or a bit more, I was totally against these kinds of websites, especially hi5 since everyone at school was talking about it.. but peer-pressure eventually gave in and I decided to put up a profile.
And I never made any new friends on social networking sites (none that I can remember of). All my internet friends I made come from blogs and/or forums.. in fact most of my friends on hi5, I know in real life.
And I don't know what the hype is about... I keep on receiving messages and stuff, especially on facebook. I mean, I can't really see what the excitement is about.
Social networking.. I believe that if you want to socialise just get your butt off that chair and start meeting new people in real life.. and not through a computer screen.
I'm with you on this, Wendy. I'm on Facebook mostly to post pictures or to see pictures of my exchange son and daughters or my nephew. But the constant quiz and other invitations get old. I use the blog and e-mail.
happy weekend! good post
Most of these sites I don't like simply because I'm a [web] designer and people seem to add so much crap... [pardon my French] it makes me cringe just to look at them.
Facebook however seems to be less chaotic as e.g. MySpace but I do agree with you it can become the same if people decide to add stuff.
I'm on Facebook but I deleted the funwall thing because I started to get all those annoying chain letter/emails in from people I don't even know...
And to be honest I haven't visited FB for quite some time now. ;)
I think, like you, I'd rather stick to my blog and emails...
Deli....
Amiga Linda....
Gracias por tus palabras dejadas en el rinconcito azul....
No importa que no entienda lo que escribas, siempre es un placer pasar por tu casita y dejarte asi sea un saludito con un besito....
Con Mi cariño
Príamo.
Hi, hope you're having a great weekend.
Personally for me, my real and close friends can be contacted using the phone or even just driving to their houses.
I have to agree with you on the social networking thingy. It's really not my cup of tea. Besides if you really need some socialising, why not actually go out and meet real people? LOL!
GOOD SUNDAY.
Who ..... Still look at the world with the eyes of a child amazed
Who .............. Sa open their hearts to love ..
Who ... Unfolded its wings to discover new heavens and not satisfied the quiet life ...
Who knows .... listen to the words and even more silence ...
Who ..... Always has time for a hug ...
Who .... Experienced pain and for this reason loves life more ...
Who knows ... smile with eyes and hearts know why the price of tears ..... women like me, the first fairs of wrinkles because speak of a life lived full hands ... and men who know how to love for what they are ...
Who ... Has his heart wounded but never tires of travel to the island that is not ...
Who ........................ Has a crazy dream in the tray ...
Who ... No longer dreams but does not give up and try again ... and finally ...
Good day my prejudice souls ... That life is gentle with us and with the people you love ...
TO ALL YOU HAPPY SUNDAY.
LINA
@Hi Ninuhadida! Thanks a lot for sharing your opinions. I met my Maltese friends thanks to a forum and blogging but not because of Hi5 or Facebook. I think blogging is definitely more personal than social networking tools...I am not quite sure if I totally agree with your last paragraph...in the sense that most of the people I can call friends in Malta I met thanks to the internet...I think I will post about it ;)
@Hi Jen of a2eatwrite! I used to post many pictures in Hi5 but then I discovered Flickr so I can have my pictures organized in albums and share them with my family and close friends only. Yes, totally agree, all the invitations and quizes get old :)
@Hi Hazel! Happy weekend to you too!
@Hi Tess! Last night I was deleting all those messages and quizes in FB. I don't use it at all except when they send me a message. I think I will delete the superwall too.
@Hola Priamo! Ya prontito escribo un post en espanol :) Gracias por visitarme. Abrazo,
@Hi Nick! I am kind of confused nowadys re who are my real friends and who are "real" people...my friends in my country are still my friends but given the distance we can't share almost anything except e-mails or the msn...but they are real...and my blog buddies are also real people and I feel their support and help (for instance the insomnia list) because their ideas are important to me...Gee...I will definitely write a post about this thing of real people :)
@Hi Lina! Thanks for sharing your poem with us. Have a nice Sunday,
I meant that last paragraph regarding the social networking thing.. because I met some good ppl from blogging too. but through hi5/fb/ecc i never made any new friendships
I agree..i dont join any networking things either... i only have one person i keep in touch with on facebook and that is my niece...the others are either through my blog or through just photo sharing between me and my bro on webshots..i think that's enough..
@Hi Ninuhadida! I already posted about something related to that because it left me thinking a lot! :) Thanks, that's what I thought you had meant. I haven't met any new friends through Hi5 or FB. I gave up! :) Thanks again,
@Hi Jyankee! Thanks for dropping by and for sharing your thoughts :)
As a matter of fact, I do also feel that the sites are cold and impersonal. It's just there so we can see other people's pictures and stuff...
But I joined Friendster and my closest friends are there, too...and you can write a blog there, too...and I find that I can interact warmly with some of them.
But I agree with you on Facebook. It's really confusing, esp. after you add this and that applications...oh my goodness he he he he...
It is surely much easier to focus on one thing in order to keep in touch with others rather than to have to keep around 4 accounts and be inundated with invitations, messages, and so on! There was a time when I decided to open an account with most of the mentioned social networking tools. I must say that some of the people I know today would have never come to my attention had I limited myself to only one of these sites. I totally agree that some of the sites (such as the hi5 one) make it very easy to add new people to one's list of friends even though one hardly knows anything about those people! It is ironic to see some people with over a thousand friends on their hi5 profile and who probably still feel lonely!
All I can say is that building a true friendship takes time and energy. To me, whether a friendship is nurtured online or not is of secondary importance. At least, the Internet allows us to keep on building bridges with those people with whom we cannot meet on a frequent basis for various reasons (hectic family life, jobs, living in different countries, etc.).
They take up too much time - I abandoned MySpace, more or less, because it seems a place in which too many people are there just to try to 'collect' people as 'friends' without making much, if any effort, to interact with them. A bit pointless. On Facebook, I only have as friends people who I know in my real life, and even then, I ignore requests from people I don't regard as being genuinely interested in me.
To me, Facebook seems pretty ok. I guess it's mainly because I signed up to keep in touch with my children and other youngsters in the family. This way I get to see pictures and get to know what's happening in their lives. I don't spend too much time on it--just look for what the young ones are all doing.
Post a Comment