Alternative Media

I just received the latest issue of Forum, the official publication of an honor society to which I belong, Phi Kappa Phi. The cover story is about "transcending traditional communications through technology." It is titled "Does social media really connect you to humanity? Or does anyone really have thousands of friends?" Besides the fact I think this title is extremely too long, the article is very interesting. I would include a link here, but the magazine is by subscription only. I couldn't find the article online.

The main point I got out of the article is that we need a way to differentiate from our true friends and our "friends of friends" - the people we've never met, but are connected with through the virtual world. The author believes Twitter is the best tool to stay connected, and he thinks it's the easiest to use. (Again, this is just what I got out of the article.)

I don't know if I agree that a way to differentiate is necessary, but whatever new things come out next, I'm sure it will be interesting. I still like Facebook over Twitter because my college friends post pictures and update their current cities and work info. It's an easy way to keep up without actually talking. If that's good or bad, I'm not sure. I don't stay in contact with them directly.

Twitter doesn't seem very popular among my friends. It seems to reach a more professional audience. What do you think?

The author of the article from the Forum article, Dave Taylor, can be found on Twitter here.

Social networking for a different generation

At the OSU Creativity Retreat I participated in Wednesday and Thursday, I got into a wonderful conversation about social networking. I was the only student - every other person was either a professor, department head, dean of a college, etc. Most of them are not into Facebook, Twitter, blogging or any of the like. One lady, not knowing my keen interest in social networking and how it affects different generations, mentioned she recently joined Facebook, but is sad because nobody is adding her as a friend. Another lady said she just added Facebook, but is afraid to add friends because she doesn't want her identity stolen. They had never heard of Twitter and didn't read or publish a blog. One woman did have a Linked In account. I don't ... should I?

I was very excited to explain to these people about the direction communication and marketing has taken. I explained the importance of protecting your information and being careful who you add as your friend. I explained where the privacy settings are located and how to control them. I also explained the wonders of Twitter and told them the name of my blog. They thought it was quite creative, haha.

These academically-minded people were thrilled to hear about social networking and social media as a new innovation. I shared with them how Monsanto, IBM, Boone Pickens and numerous other individuals and companies are using these new tools to help expand their business and contact a new target audience - virtually for free! Yes, these companies must hire someone to use the tools, but the tools are free.

I'm glad more people are beginning to embrace all this new, fun stuff. Maybe they can include some parts in the classes they teach. Wouldn't it be interesting to require a hotel and restaurant administration major to have a blog about what they're learning in class? Or for a child and family services major to write about problems they'd like to change once they have a job? Anything would be interesting to me!

I've shared Twitter with a lot of people recently, but none of them have created an account. I must revamp my elevator pitch of this cool toy! Perhaps I should become more Twitter-savvy myself.

Now, if only I could get my dad to learn how to turn on a computer and check his e-mail ...

How To: Network Socially

Here's a great article I found from ReadWriteWeb titled Five Ways to Use Social Media to Reach People Who Don't Use Social Media. It's a good read if you have time.

I found it through Twitter.

Mike Sansone is the person who introduced me to social networking and I only wish I was a better student for him. It's my understanding that he implements social networking into education. Check out his blog, find him on Twitter, Facebook, FriendFeed, Myspace, etc. He's everywhere.

Just an FYI: I watched the Cowboys/Eagles game last night and was glued to the TV. I hope you all saw it! Are you a Dallas Cowboys fan on Facebook? If you are, you can play the trivia. It's really fun, even if you don't know the answers. At least now I can insert comments into my boyfriend's long lectures on how great the Cowboys are.