For those of us who grew up before the dawn of the Facebook era (in fact, back before there even existed personal computers, way before there were computers in almost every home, and way way back before you could carry one around in your pocket...), this online living can seem like a cold, impersonal, inauthentic way of life. The digital world that my kids take for granted and as first nature for them often seems like an odd after-thought for me. While I do a lot of social media for my business, I feel I should do more but I often forget to. If I am enjoying a beautiful sunset or a delicious meal, I usually forget to take a photo. (It's good to enjoy the moment!!) Or if I do remember, I don't want to miss the moment by taking the photo and then having to upload it, so I just skip it (the photo that is- not the delicious meal....)
So I am just curious as to how everyone feels about social media? I am sure there will be a broad range of opinions. Of course, if you are reading this, it means that you do know how to turn on a computer and get on the interwebs, and there are still many who cannot do even that! So congratulations- you are pretty technologically savvy in my book!
And social media keeps changing so fast! Just when I get something figured out, something new comes along for me to learn- I always feel like I'm a step (or 2 or 10) behind...
Take, for example, Facebook- they keep changing it. I have such a hard time figuring out how it works (thank goodness that my children are ages 17 and 22- perfect for helping me through it...)
And I don't like the Timeline that they instituted last year, I find it hard to read.
And did you know that just because you "like" a page- that doesn't mean that you will see all- or even ANY- of the posts from that page on your feed? That's because Facebook tries to figure out what are the most popular posts AND what YOU are most interested in. So here is the dilemma for someone who is using Facebook for their business (like I do)- the more popular your posts are, the more people will see them, so the more popular they will be, so the more people will see them.... Of course this also works in reverse- if your posts aren't popular, no one will see them, which really kills your chances of them being popular, so no one will see them. See what I mean? Frustrating.
So if you have Facebook pages that you "like" [including mine, hopefully :)] and don't want to miss their posts, you have a couple of options. One is just make sure that you frequently interact with the posts from that page. If you "like," "comment," or "share" posts from a particular page frequently, Facebook will know that you are interested in that page and keep showing you their posts. Another thing you can do, which most people don't know about, is set your notifications so that you get a notification whenever that page posts something. To do this, go to the page and hover over the "Liked" button:
When you hover over it, there will be a box that comes up and the first option will be "Get Notifications"- click it. When there is a check mark next to "Get Notifications" that means that you will be notified every time that page posts something. Very easy- once you know how to do it! Of course, you can also turn off the notifications any time, if you want to.
In future posts, I will talk about what I think of some other platforms like Pinterest (hint- love!), Twitter, and Instagram.
So now we come to the question portion of today's post: What are your favorite Social Media platforms? Why do you like them and what do you use them for (business, keeping in touch with friends, inspiration, discussion about topics important to you, etc.)
Are there any platforms that you've tried but just don't like?
Or, do you pretty much shun social media and just stick to the blogs?
PS Be sure to visit The Jolly Jabber (The Fat Quarter Shop's blog) where I am featured in their "Designer Tidbits" ....
PPS! I just found out about this giveaway at Hopeful Threads- sponsored by Fat Quarter Shop. Click here for your chance to win a fat quarter bundle of my Happy Town fabric :D
Other than reading blogs and visiting designer and/or shop web sites, I don't use social media. I find it is a time drain and would rather spend my time stitching or reading.
ReplyDeleteRobin in Virginia
rlbrowninva @ gmail.com
I agree, Robin, that it can really suck up your time! When I have a lot to do, I tend to stay away from my computer as much as possible- there are too many distractions!
DeleteTruth be told, I am not a very social creature. I use social media to keep an eye on my kids and family. I would much prefer to sit down with a friend and chat over a cup of tea.
ReplyDeleteI like Facebook for keeping up with family and friends who live far away and I don't get to see very often. While it's nice to sit down for a face to face chat, it is nice having a place where you can see people's photos and up-to-the-moment goings on in their lives. Of course, sometimes people "share" things on Facebook that I'd really rather not know about ! :)
DeleteI'm a very private person so I took Facebook slowly a few years back, managed my friend requests well and I love it. I have over 300 happy, positive people that I interact with & we really do lift each other up when it's needed or laugh just because. I'm disabled and don't get out a lot so it has really opened the world up to me. I would love to start a quilting blog but I piece & quilt by hand and don't think I would have enough to post about but would love to stay in touch with the quilting world this way.
ReplyDeleteGale- glad you have found a whole new world! Isn't it great that technology allows us to meet people we never would have in the "real" world- I have "met" some of my best friends via the internet.
DeleteI love Pinterest and use it for fun and a "little" for my blog. It seems my life has been in somewhat of a limbo and it shows on my blog. I'm not one to share personal things on my blog but instead share with a few select friends that I trust. So until things settle down I won't be using social media much for blogging purposes. I do enjoy Facebook because I can see what's going on with my family and friends...You know I LOVE Instagram but don't care for all the spam and such on there. It shocks me to hear that you feel 2-10 steps behind... I truly always felt you were 10 steps ahead and would love to have the knowledge in many areas that you have!
ReplyDeleteHa ha Robin- I feel behind in the sense that things change so fast, and also when I compare myself to the younger generations who are right on top of the latest and greatest new technology and social media platforms! If weren't for my kids and my husband who reads up on a lot of technology stuff, I would know NOTHING!
DeleteI do look at Facebook each day, mostly to check on family members to see what they are up to. I don't post anything often at all. I keep up with blogs by looking at my blog list whenever I can and that is about the limit for me. I have to save time for the sewing and stitching I don't have enough time for. I see enough of my computer at work.
ReplyDeleteI agree, Sherry- too many other things to do! But most of what I do as far as social media is related to my business. If it weren't for that, I probably wouldn't do much at all. I wish I had more time to read other people's blogs though.
DeleteI don't have time for all of it...I have face book and the blog only... I got on face book because my kids encouraged me.. But I have found out they don't like face book anymore...they are rarely on it.. So I have been thinking about closing it down to.. Blogging world I have met so many neat fantastic people and would like to keep it just like that.. I would rather keep in contact by phone or person with my close friends and family...I like to hear their voice instead of the computer.. You can write that your doing fantastic but when you hear their voice you can tell it's not that way at all...Like I told my kids I would rather hear their voice... So we call all the time instead of texting like we should...we do text a lot but we make sure we hear each others voice...Lisa
ReplyDeleteOne thing I don't like, Lisa, is when younger people (or, frankly, older people too) assume that EVERYONE is on Facebook and use it for all of their important news and announcements and invitations. You know, like when you find out 6 months after-the-fact that someone got engaged or had a party or something and when you ask about it they say- "I put it on Facebook!" :)
DeleteTechnology has changed the way we do most thing from keeping up with relatives and friends to doing business and keeping up with news,current affairs and the weather.
ReplyDeleteYes it certainly has made the world much smaller. No wonder time seems to speed by so much faster than it used to!
DeleteI have a love hate relationship with the social media. I'm a small business major and Co-Founder of "Reading with Dogs" which has a Facebook page. Social Media is necessary in this day and age. I love it because it connects me with my audience and I can post what's "going on" or ask for help. I don't spend that much time updating things a few times a months maybe or slightly more. I hate it because the platforms are changing each day. My problem is that these platforms aren't easy or aren't natural to navigate. Each time I go on to post something is different and it takes me longer to post. Lets not even get me started about building a Web Page or Ecommerce site. With all these advances in social and web pages this stuff takes time and energy to figure out, and it's not always fun. My personal FB page is just for me to see what everyone's up to, I don't post there hardly at all either although it's much easier than my organization page because it's still on "old school FB"
ReplyDeleteI know exactly what you mean. As I mentioned, I would be on social media (and the internet in general) much less if it weren't for my business. But, the advantage is that it's certainly much faster and cheaper than the days of snail-mail marketing and advertising.
Deletei check face book in the evening and blog in the morning ... i have ravelry and flickr for when there's a reference to them to check out. i do not pin or tweet or message other than email. they're time consuming! my kids, grankids and greats are on fb; they do not call or write often. i am not surpised that there are a great number of us [seniors] on fb for the same reason i am. i blog to keep track of what i'm doing, follow others for what they're doing. this, i enjoy!
ReplyDeleteI have heard of Ravelry but don't really know what that one is. Maybe just as well- I don't need anything else to distract me....
DeleteI like to read blogs when I have the time and I LOVE pintrest!! I keep track of tutorials and fabrics I like or want. That way I dont have to go searching everywhere to find out where I saw what. I dont like instagram or twitter and dont bother with them at all. The only time I get on Facebook is to play games :) There is just way to much to keep up with and would take forever to try to do it all. I rather spend the time doing sewing ! It seems once I start browsing the time flies by and I have really nothing to show for it.
ReplyDeleteI'm a Pinterest fanatic too! (I was just thinking maybe we should call ourselves "Pinheads- what do you think? Do you think it will catch on??)
DeleteI like to read blogs when I have time and I use LinkedIn for business and every so often use Facebook. I find a lot of social media a big waste of time. People post items for the sake of posting and miss out on enjoying what is happening real time. I use flickr and occasionally pintrest.
ReplyDeleteI'm on Linked In for business too but I just don't have time to go there very often. I keep thinking I really need to update my profile, but just haven't found the time yet :)
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