Stay Humble, Bloggers: Superficiality and Social Media

Many of you know I am a huge lover, enthusiast and advocate of all things social media. Still, sometimes even I have gripes about its various aspects.

The Web never sleeps, which makes being an active and engaged social media player practically a 24 hours a day, 7 days a week job. It's not enough to maintain your own blog, but you are also expected to be a blog commenter and a Twitter player, participating in conversations and discussions. And while I love blogging, reading others' blogs and tweeting at all hours of the night, sometimes it can be a bit overwhelming.

As Commencement looms nearer and the end-of-semester crunch is upon me, I've been succumbing to a greater degree of stress lately. This past weekend, I decided to take some social media time off, making a quick little getaway to Maine, sans technology. It was just what I needed, but even when I returned, I felt a sort of unspoken pressure to play catch-up in the blogosphere.

This leads me to discuss my biggest social media pet peeve: its element of superficiality. It seems like everywhere you turn, we bloggers are screaming,

"Look at me! Look at me! Look what I've done."

We're out and about, trying to promote our latest content: blog posts, applications, podcasts. Don't get me wrong - I'm definitely a perpetrator. You can find me and my accomplishments all over the Web - LinkedIn, Del.icio.us, Facebook, Twitter, my blogs, etc. - all aggregated on my Social Media Resume. Heck, wasn't that last sentence exactly representative of the type of shameless self-promotion I'm talking about?

It makes sense. If you spend a great deal of time creating content, wouldn't you want people to read/listen/watch it? Still, while I have no doubt about my self-promotion's help in establishing my personal brand and helping me secure my post-graduation job, I can't help but feel like a bit of a braggart sometimes. This bothers me, because the last way I want people to view me is pretentious.

I completely agree that being an active member of the blogosphere encourages the fundamentals of social media. It's when people take it to the extreme that I get bothered. Twitter should not be a popularity contest - who cares if you have 6,387 followers? And personally, I don't think it makes sense to surf the blogosphere with the goal of commenting on ten people's blogs in a given day. It's one thing if something they say is thought-provoking. It's another if your comments are forced for the sole purpose of getting your name out there. This "popularity contest" I speak of reminds me of middle school-age behavior, which weren't exactly the most mature years for a lot of people.

In a nutshell, I think much of the superficiality I've witnessed in the blogosphere lately completely contradicts the transparent ideals social media champions. I hope it starts to anger bloggers in the same way flogs have, and I hope authenticity prevails.

Stay humble, bloggers!

Social Media Etiquette In Real Life

This post follows a heated debate that took place in my apartment last night about social media etiquette in real world settings. The players/positions:

• Me: on the defense of new standards in social media etiquette in the real world
• My boyfriend, James: on the offense against social media, in support of traditional real world etiquette
  
• My roommate, Allie: referee, on the fence

The debate started when we were sitting on the couch watching TV. Of course I had my laptop open, scanning Twitter, searching Facebook - just generally surfing the InterWeb. James gave me that "put your laptop away" look, which sparked the discussion.

I posed the question of what is acceptable and what isn't in real-word social interactions now that mobile Web devices are gaining such an increasing presence. James is very traditional about etiquette. If we're out to dinner, he's totally a hats-off-at-the-table, no-cell-phone-in-sight kinda guy. Although I agree there are certain standards of etiquette that shouldn't be pushed, I'm a little bit more open to a less strict set of rules.

Still, how much is too much when we're reconsidering these standards? Is sipping a latte at a coffee shop with a friend a setting casual enough to whip out your phone to send a tweet? Are instant message conversations on your laptop during a class lecture a no-no?


Obviously it depends on the situation, the audience and the setting. At social media panels and conferences, the above practices are completely acceptable and even encouraged. People are caught on their laptops, Blackberries and iPhones live-tweeting and spreading information. In my New Media and PR class yesterday, I relayed a tweet from @TDefren to my class and professor, and it was perfectly cool.

But what about when we're hanging out with our friends who aren't as social media friendly as we are? When I brought up that coffee shop/cell phone scenario to James, it practically made him cringe. Does this mean we should only save public tweeting for when we are around our social media friends? And even when we are around only our social media friends, do we still run the risk of seeming disrespectful?

I'd love to hear your thoughts. Personally I, like Allie, am on the fence.

My New Adventures In Blogging (Addendum)

I've received word from several members of the Twitterati that they're concerned about my new adventures in blogging and my blogging frequency, probably based on this article and the following video:



Rest assured, I've got it under control - no blogger sweatshops for me!

My New Adventures In Blogging

Some of you may start noticing me popping up more frequently within the blogosphere. I'm thrilled to be taking on several new blogging projects, which will be unfolding within the next few weeks:

• VeggieRun: a new, personal blog of mine launched to fulfill a blogging assignment for my New Media and PR class. While the blog is based on my lifestyle as a vegetarian and a runner, its focus is more generally on health and fitness. Check out VeggieRun's inaugural post for a more in-depth description about what to expect.
  

• Our American Shelf Life: Originally the personal blog of Amanda Mooney, OASL has recently transformed into a group blog I'll be, in part, contributing to. On OASL, I will be joining my fellow pre- and early-professional bloggers (Amanda, Will Wheeler, Sarah Hutton, Melissa Eddy, Amy Yen, Maria Garcia and John) in sharing our perspective as “digital natives.” Read more about our individual stories on the OASL about us page.
  

• Adrants: After my post about Twitter was covered by Adrants, I was invited to meet with Adrants founder, Steve Hall about collaborating with a group of young, social media-savvy professionals as contributors to his popular (slightly rough around the edges) advertising and marketing news blog. Stay tuned to Adrants to see us self-proclaimed group of Adrunts offer our two cents!

• LaunchPR: Soon enough, you'll be catching me updating the Schneider Associates blog, which highlights trends and events in launching products and services.
  

While I'll undoubtedly be a busy blogger bee, I am nothing short of excited for my new adventures in blogging. I hope you'll follow along!