Is social media worth the time?

Today is my first anniversary of being on Twitter (courtesy of whendidyoujointwitter) and that's a good opportunity to have a closer look at Twitter and the rest of the social web and if it's worth participating. And the answer is yes, for the following reasons:

• The argument against Twitter & Facebook I heard the most, is that it's not interesting what people have for breakfast or if their cat rolls over. Really? I am actually interested what happens in the live of my friends and seeing status updates makes it easier to feel connected. And even with people I don't really know: at it least it doesn't hurt. And, on a larger scale, I think there's no place to literally feel the pulse of humanity better than looking at a broad Twitter timeline.


• Social media is about communication, communication is about spreading knowledge and knowledge is the single greatest power in society. While there are cases where too much (half=)knowledge can negative effects(see #swineflu), in the end, only good can come out of spreading knowledge.


• Increasingly, I believe, there will be no way around having a strong web presence that makes you interesting for others. Why should a employer bother with interviews, if she can just lookup the information in the web? And no, trying to keep a low web profile or hide behind anonymity won't be an option for long: If you cannot make your self interesting in the web, companies and some individuals won't be less interested in you.

So this is not about some new hip toy for teenagers, this is how an increasing part of our communication will conducted and how future communities are structured. Ignoring this is a mistake.

Comments

[Elke Nominikat]

This all is nothing new to me since you and I are discussing these topics on a regular basis. Always interesting, sometimes even quite emotional. Took me a while to embrace facebook or twitter but do now and can see their purpose. With one opinion though I'd like to stay strong though: I find it boring if people update THE VERY SAME stuff to facebook AND twitter. Gimme a break please! Be original! Don't be a marketer pestering your clients with the same message over and over again. It doesn't get better that way! So for me it's all about how to use these possibilities without being boring and without spamming others. THAT's the challenge!