A Minority Opinion

Having been on the Internet for close to 20 years now, being 'wired' is part of who I am (in fact, I remember perusing the first issue of the magazine that is linked to below).  It's hard to imagine a day without checking e-mail or randomly perusing news links and other vital activities once associated only with obsessive compulsiveness.  Yet for being that attached to the Internet, I also realize that this is a decision that may not always be the best thing, and that there are other ways of looking at online interconnectedness.

I have a high school buddy who has given up on Facebook because he is responsible for engaging in social media for networking and business purposes, and has no desire to fill his free time in the same way.  And so in light of his decision, I thought that this short editorial might be helpful in helping us think about what it means to be wired and to have our identity digitized to greater or lesser extents.  

Let the buyer beware.
Posted by Paul Nelson at 9/19/2010 8:42 PM
Categories: Technology, Life, Blogging, Internet
 

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  • 9/20/2010 9:02 PM Carl wrote:
    I long ago decided to separate my online life into work and family/friends. LinkedIn, Twitter, and my blog are work; Facebook is for family and friends. Your high school buddy is missing out... or, more likely, his parents are missing out on his daily doings, pictures of the kids, etc. And your buddy is missing out on pictures and the daily doings of his parents. Maybe he can be shamed into returning to Facebook.
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    1. 9/20/2010 9:13 PM Paul Nelson wrote:
      That's an interesting way of dividing things up.  I think lots of people probably do this to one extent or another, myself included.

      I'm pretty open with my LinkedIn account - I'm willing to network with almost anyone, and use it only for that purpose.  I don't Tweet, so that's not an issue.

      My blog is public, but I don't blog directly about work-related issues.  At least not in a complaining sort of way.  I don't (or try not to!) vent about my work through my blog, on the off chance that a parishioner or less-than-intimate colleague will see it and take offense (perhaps rightly so).  I may ruminate on observations that are derived from my work, but in general my blog is for less specific topics.

      My Facebook account is mostly for friends.  I don't generally friend current parishioners, and I don't currently use FB as a networking tool for my work (mostly because the congregations I've worked in haven't expected or needed that particular tool).  I also do not talk about work on FB.  I have colleagues who post things that I don't think are appropriate about their congregations or their ministry frustrations and what have you.  I don't think FB is the place for that sort of thing.  The one exception is that I've joined the group for the LCMS Young Adult Ministry  effort that I contribute book reviews for.  I joined the FB group, but haven't begun contributing there - yet.  So FB is mostly social for me.    

      As employers get more savvy about how to learn about their potential and current employees, what we choose to post - and how we choose to post it - will grow in importance professionally.  Social media can be a great tool for keeping friends & family updated, but there are certainly other venues for that as well.  As such, I doubt I'll put a lot of effort into shaming him - I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be successful, and I'm not sure I'd be right in doing so!

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