Take a look at this incredible video. It will blow your mind.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIFYPQjYhv8]
Now come on … admit it … you were grooving to the music by the end of the video weren’t you? Weren’t those stats amazing? If facebook were a country it would be the fourth largest?! I am thinking that social media is not a fad and I totally agree with the youngin’s … I hate email … email is passe. Please answer the poll included in this post after the jump.
[polldaddy poll=1876935]
Hat Tip: Mashable
Original source: Socialnomics: Social Media Blog
and proud of you!
[...] HT: Randy Thomas [...]
[...] cacchio sapevo che costava poco là, ma non COSÌ poco!! [ # ] Cheerleader is my social mojo. Is Social Media a Fad? (Groovy Video) – randythomas.info 08/14/2009 Take a look at this incredible video. It will blow your mind. Now [...]
The problem is that social media is, at its core, a bad idea. In the same manner as products have become increasingly throwaway (why use a cloth diaper when you can just throw out a disposable?) and things that used to be passed on are now incredibly momentary (CDs -> music downloads that are continually deleted/added to). People just don’t like long-term commitments — not in marriage, not in ownership, not heirlooms… Nothing.
And that problem exists in social media. The sites won’t exist forever. Something better will come along to replace Facebook (just as FB replaced, for many people, MySpace). When that time comes, all the messages, friends, and so on on Facebook will be lost unless a super easy way to download/export them is available. E-mail, at least, is very portable. It can be forward to an entirely different server, it can be archived, backed up, and saved forever. To me, that’s a huge thing, and it’s a big advantage over social media.
Not that I don’t spend way too much time on Facebook.
I agree with Rick on some aspects: namely that another site will come along and we will think of Facebook in 10 years’ time as we now think of AltaVista. (Alta what? Exactly.) However, I believe at our core, people do not change, and will seek those more meaningful relationships. Twitter, for example, is only a tool, and it may spark deeper discussions off-site for those who wish to explore issues more deeply. To me, Twitter and, to a lesser extent, Facebook, are merely sites that help me reach more people.
However, if Facebook were a country, I would call for free elections. This site ignores groups that number in the millions that complain about its service, and I have recently been dealing with false accusations over copyright infringement, on the basis of a presumption of guilt. Facebook seems very unaware of the rule of law, and if it were a country, it would rate somewhere near Burma in its lack of accountability and its conduct toward its users.
As to email, I receive a few thousand messages a week—still not a patch on a Berlin journalist I know whose emails now number in the five figures. But 2,500 or so are too much for me, and email is almost a turn-off. Twitter helps me feel partly connected, as long as one bears in mind what Rick says above.
Wow. That’s a great and thoughtful comment. Thank you Rick.
But I think throwaway diapers are a good evolution of poopy things
I was telling a friend the other day who asked flippantly (in a good way), “What would we do without email or the Internet?” I said flippantly (hopefully in a good way), “We’d have Beethoven, Mozart and incredible artists like Michaelangelo.” So I totally agree with you too a point.
I don’t think social media is a bad idea at its core. I think it is a good idea because it has obviously tapped into something that people are longing for. Do they recognize or steward it in a right way? On the risk of generalizing I would say no. They, we, do not recognize the basic relational nature things like facebook and twitter are tapping into. If we did and are healthy, we can use it for great good. But to be swept away by it is bad bad. And that is what I think is happening for most.
I also think, speaking about my own personal online angst, that is what I am currently trying to rebel against and make quality sites that last while using the other tools that are fleeting. Evaluating what is what and using them (the services) knowing their purpose and limitations.
I saw this on Mashable the other day. It is called SocialSafe and is supposed to be able to download all your facebook information. I haven’t tried it and it isn’t free … but I have two years worth of stuff on there so it might be good to try.
It’s great to see you Rick.
That’s funny. I remember AltaVista. It was SO cool at the time and that time was SO very short. I also utilize Twitter and Facebook similarly.
And YES Facebook is not run like a country. I have to keep reminding myself it is run by a bunch of just out of college kids … er… young adults.
But … Burma? … really 
?
I hate email. I don’t think I get as much as you Jack but it’s enough that I can’t keep up with it. I am just done with it but can’t get away from it.
I agree with Rick. We live in a throwaway society. And Christians can be tempted to go with the flow. I wonder if too many people,Christians included, are spending too much time following other people whom they will never meet at the expense of developing lasting non-virtual friendships. To me, all the tweeting, facebooking,etc can degenerate into a form of idol worship very quickly. Those kinds of relatioships are by nature transient and require of the user nothing in return–no sacrifice involved, no accountability, no commitment. And it can also leave us with little or no time to develop an abiding relationship with our Creator.
Yes, social networking has a great potential for good. For instance,I would have never met you, Randy or reconnected with people from my past, but like anything else, man, being the sinner he is, so easily transforms good to bad
Very well put. So … what boundaries and expectations do you have in place to offset the lack of offline relationship and potential “idol worship?”
I’m expected to act on what I say?
Actually, until mid June, I allowed my life to be filled with too many long days at work. And since February, I have brought food and companionship to a friend in a rehab facility. But on Wednesday, my friend died from pneumonia and MERSA. And I left my job in mid-June. I do meet former coworkers for lunch weekly, talk to others via phone, take to lunch and counsel another coworker who did not leave her job voluntarily. I also read my bible daily along with two devotionals, interact with others on the Living Hope Haven threads,take walks in the desert, and read christian non-fiction. I plan to take several road trips–to Seattle, to the Midwest,to Florida in the next year, and I’m considering taking a trip to Israel with Chuck Swindoll and Insight For Living this next Spring.
You challenge me and affirm me, and I so appreciate it!
For me, FBing and blogs can be addictive. I’m sure there are many that are very worthwhile, but I plan to follow only yours regularly. One crazy, over the top, but lovable guy is all I can handle