At this point I’d say they haven’t had much of an effect on my life or work. I took a class on Web 2.0 tools from Infopeople in late 2007, for which I tried out delicious, Bloglines, and LibraryThing, among others. My primary response at that point was, “I don’t have time for this”. Using those tools was a distraction from the business of my life, not an enhancement or a simplifier, so I stopped using them soon after the class ended.
When my older son turned 13, a year and a half ago, friends invited him to join Facebook. I signed up with him, to see what was going on in his online life. My Facebook ‘friends’ are real-life friends and family, and I appreciate the updates on what they’re thinking about or doing. When I was a young adult, my grandmother wrote frequent letters, telling me what she was doing, and giving me little updates on my cousins’ activities. She’s not here to do that anymore. Facebook updates fill some of that gap, although with a rather different feel from my grandmother’s letters!
I read other people’s posts on Facebook, but I don’t write much myself. I’m not extremely social in person, either. I’m an introvert, and I need lots of recovery time from the stimulation of interacting with others. I tire easily in crowds, and overload quickly in shopping malls or busy websites. I read once that the difference between introverts and extraverts is that the former derive their energy from time alone—“yes, of course” I thought—and the latter recharge their personal batteries by interacting with other people. This was such a bizarre notion that I turned back to the cover of the book to be sure it was written in English. (So it was: Raising your spirited child: A guide for parents whose child is more intense, sensitive, perceptive, persistent, energetic, by Mary Sheedy Kurcinka.) How can that work? Does water flow uphill for extraverts, too? Apparently other people are more different from me than I had realized.
Which leads me to wonder: do introverts and extraverts use social networking sites differently? Apparently others have pondered similar questions, such as are introverts more active in social media than extroverts? It also leads me to wonder: how much online social interaction do I want in my life? I can easily see myself becoming overcommitted, feeling pressured by (an imaginary?) social obligation to keep my various accounts updated.
In any case, I’m more interested in social software for library use than personal use—I think I could handle blogging as a work activity. Right now, though, if I want to use Web 2.0 tools to enhance library services at my small branch, it would need to be on my own time. We’ll see—after a semester of learning about the possibilities, I may be ready to let social software tools into my work life.
I very much identify with your sentiments about being an introvert. Except for the personal details, I feel like I could have written this entry. The question you pose, "How much online social interaction do I want in my life?" is basically the one I ask myself each time I'm tempted to get a Facebook account; the answer so far has resulted in resistance every time. I find the idea of so much social interaction (even if it is online) a bit overwhelming, just as I would if I were talking on the phone or seeing friends in person every day. Using social software in my professional life does somehow seem different; I think I too could handle being more socially engaged in this capacity. I guess only time will tell!
ReplyDeleteThat's an interesting point about the introverts and extroverts. I generally consider myself an introvert, and I have to say that facebook especially has helped me to keep in contact with people I wouldn't normally have taken the time to call or write. Sometimes this is a good thing, like with close family and friends who live far away. It's also useful for staying in contact with classmates (as you know :D). But sometimes it gets to be a bit much...all of the people from high school I never talked to, the friends of friends, the distant relatives. It gets to be a bit overwhelming. Many people obviously enjoy the constant stream of information from acquaintances, but I frankly find it annoying. I wonder if that's an introvert thing?
ReplyDeleteFiltering is definitely tricky--I've been filtering up front, by not putting much info on my profile. I haven't connected with high school or college classmates, for example. I might like to catch up with a few of them, but the thought of adding another 20-40 friends, each of whom might be posting frequently--not to mention connecting me to still more people--is completely overwhelming.
ReplyDeleteIt's either an introvert thing or a limited social-interaction processing capacity...that sounds like an introvert thing, all right.