Jumping into the Social Media bandwagon

I think it’s a good thing that I’m starting to analyse a service before using it. I’ve had a few bad experiences with social services because I impulsively signed up. My inbox was filled with spam messages coming from these services, privacy issues appeared, and if I used some service, it turned out to be a total bore after some time.

The worst decision you can make when choosing from this ocean of social services is to use a service just because “everyone’s on it” and it’s cool. If you are choosing a service, analyse the advantages it can offer you and then decide if it’s worth it.

These should be the main questions you should ask yourself when signing up:

• Why should I create an account on “New Social Network X“?
• What are the advantages of this service?
• How can it help me?
• How will it affect my online privacy?

I might sound a little bit paranoid, but you should have a look (at least a shallow one) through the terms and conditions of every service you sign up on. The reasons are pretty clear if you care about your privacy. Sometimes a service is “free” because you’re letting its owners to scoop through your stuff.

I’ve created a Twitter account in 2007, but I haven’t used it intensively until 2008. At first, I considered it a big waste of time (unfortunately, it still is but I’ve learned how to filter out what I dislike) and posted only a few tweets monthly. For example, I have an account on Facebook. I rarely use it because I don’t see how a Facebook account can help me, as a person, with anything. I have a few friends there, mainly persons that I met in real life, and some strangers who I will probably never meet. I admit the fact that I created a Facebook account just because everyone was there.

I also have an account on Last.fm. I love music, so the main reason for creating this account was to discover new artists and bands. It’s also great for finding out what concerts are taking place in my area, and I even met some persons with similar music tastes.

Anyway, to cut a long story short, you should always ask yourself if a service could help you on the long run (from points of view like meeting people, new job opportunities, entertainment, etc.) and take action accordingly.

posted: 10 May 24
under: Za Web