When it comes to the world of social media, I would have to say that I learned what I know through trail and error. I started of on Myspace and then graduated to Facebook. I remember think how great Myspace because you could create your own page and have music playing once it was accessed. The more features that were made available for to Myspace, the more my page evolved. Then I got wind of Facebook and in the beginning I thought what a drag the site was. It didn't have all the bells and whistles that Myspace had, and so I didn't really used Facebook that often. I started hearing about how Myspace was tailored for the teenage crowd and how Facebook was for a more mature audience, so I decided to leave Myspace and make the journey over to Facebook.
After my Facebook transition, I realized how much I really enjoyed my experience. I was able to reconnect with people that I had not seen in years. I found many of my old classmates ranging from elementary school to high school, old co-workers and even family. What I have learned about social media in general is that it is a great way to connect with people that you may not normally speak with on a day to day basis, but still want to have some type of connection to them. Facebook, Twitter and Instagram seem like sites that allow for a "laid back" style of social networking whereas LinkedIn allows for a more professional style of networking. The social media experience will vary from person to person depending, on the wants and needs of the individual. I know many people that are not on Facebook, but are on LinkedIn because they want to be able to connect to the CEO's and Presidents of companies, and should an opportunity arise for employment, they would have a connection to reach out to.
Here is why Facebook is beneficial for me. I am friends with people that I want to be friends with. I have my page, for the most part tailored to my needs. I follow certain media outlets as well as organizations that I like. When my friends comment on certain situations, especially media related, that they could be stating an opinion, or it could be that what they post is actually true. Facebook is often the way that I find out about the death of a well known figure, get updated on sports scores, or something extremely crazy that has happened in the world. Now Facebook is a great way to find out what's going on in the media, it is not my one and only outlet for news. I do follow certain news outlets such as CNN or MSNBC because I know that not everything that you read on social media is accurate. If something is posted and I don't believe in the validity of the information read, I will always check other sources for accuracy. There have been many times that I have re-posted articles without checking to see if the information was true, and I have been called out as well for doing so.
Social media should not be used as a way to obtain credible information unless the source is trusted and reliable. Social media is an outlet to connect with and share information with peers. Again, my experience with social media is to stay connected with people that I generally don't speak to on a daily basis. I know that anything that is posted by my friends on any social media site may or may not have validity and ultimately I am responsible for the content that I read and the message received.
Thanks April
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