Archive for the ‘Dilemma’ Category
Communication is the enemy
Oh hai. Looks like I’ve been away for far too long and this place doesn’t seem to reflect me anymore. Well, there’s pretty much ONE other place you can find me lately - except for the lovely UnseenRomania - and that is… the mighty TWITT-ER!
Some say it’s no good and vicious, others spell addiction all over, but they do agree on one thing: Twitter is it! This cute pixel-birdie has become a massive aggregator of web 2.0 VIPs and events, being the latest most popular sh*te in micro-blogging (the spring to ~1 million users in just a few months speaks by itself).
A huge number of desktop, web and mobile apps have been developed from its API (e.g. Twitdir, Hashtags, Twitterposter, Twitstat, TweetScan etc etc etc) - all serving the ultimate purpose of making Twitter a friendlier and more useful place to be.
Forget about Second Life. Forget about blogs. Forget about IM and even e-mail! Twitter does it all - from instant to private interaction and multiple replies - you name it! Of course, it sometimes crashes under the heavy weight of live micro-coverage from popular events - but who wouldn’t, when Steve Jobs is speaking? (And LeWeb3, MacWorld keynote, TED, SXSW… are just a few of them.)
Yet, there’s one itsy-bitsy tiny-mini micro-problem:
Numb.
As in “No Christmas spirit, nada.” Wonder who gives me what as gift…
Is Social Media killing our society?
One thing I realized that I didn’t need a confirmation on, which became really obvious in the past few weeks: Social Media have one major problem. They relinquish users from real life* and immerse them in a virtual customized space that supplies their needs but is incapable to quench the thirst for more.
People who use MySpace or Facebook or Twitter or Upcoming or whatever social networking tool - have the same basic needs: to connect with other people who - because of distance or other communication barriers - they cannot reach in real life. Or to have those friends they cannot meet anymore - ‘cuz of a messy schedule - close at hand (my case!).
But in their desperate need of trying to cope with reality’s challenges, users become transfixed and sometimes get so deep into “socializing” that even when the opportunity presents itself, they can’t have coffee with a friend as they’re too busy updating profiles or twitting about adding up followers.
Don’t know how we’re gonna solve this. I guess it’s up to each and everyone to set a limit on how much time these social apps can eat a day.
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*Romanian readers.
Gândul zilei.
Sunt unii oameni pe care îi părăseşti la fel cum i-ai lăsat…