I have several blog post ideas in the hopper, but nothing that is far enough along to be ready to be finished and posted today. So, this weekend I changed my Facebook status to “seeks inspiration for his Out Front Blog post on Tuesday,” just to see what would happen. The result? A comment from an old friend who is waiting for me to follow up on the Q&A we discussed weeks ago. A comment from a former client who suggested I look at the “Buy Gay” fan page on Facebook. And a reminder that social media is evolving every day.
Social networking is often maligned as “too much” conversation or “unnecessary sharing” that is akin to “virtual pollution.” And some of it is. But among the Twitter updates on what people think of the line at DMV or Facebook comments about the weather are numerous examples of the significant ways in which communication is changing.
Instead of driving us further apart, I can’t help but wonder if all of this communication isn’t bringing us closer together. Making communications easier – particularly with friends and family in disparate locations – can improve our relationships by ensuring we’re able to engage with people we might not otherwise have time to remain connected to. All of this “following” and “friending” can have a positive outcome: it can help keep us aware of what those we care about are up to and what matters to them. And in the broader sense, particularly when friends of our friends see what we’re talking about, it can help break down some of the misconceptions about who we as LGBT people are and what we care about.
Yes, it may sound ridiculous to suggest that reading about someone’s thoughts on the line at the grocery store might help improve understanding, but bear with me for a moment. What if by demonstrating how much we have in common, we’re demonstrating the value and worth of each of us as humans and fellow residents of the planet? What if the commonality of our concerns is helping to ease the fear of the unknown that we all know is the root cause of some of the fear, hatred or mistrust of LGBT people?
I’m not suggesting that Twitter is going to save the planet or that Facebook will set us free. But perhaps the continued evolution of how we communicate will, over time, improve the understanding of our differences and help us evolve as humans too. It’s worth a thought.
For now, I’m going to keep the conversation going – sharing knowledge and perspective should be helpful, at least when it’s combined with the musings of so many others with the same good intentions.
Are you tweeting? Do you follow outfrontblog on Twitter? Are you on Facebook? Are you a member of the Out Front Blog fan group? We invite you to join us in this ongoing conversation and we look forward to hearing from you.
There's so much to consider here. I find that social networking is keeping me connected to people I may otherwise loose track of, events I might not know about and a window into opinions that help me understand. You've just begun to scratch the surface here. Keep discussing and surely we'll be diving into the deep end.
Posted by: Renee Rosenfeld | March 17, 2009 at 09:50 AM
For me as a government wonk social media saves hours of precious time. Today on Twitter I've had a discussion with an MP about the G20 and whether smoking is being allowed (it isn't), I found some good background to a regeneration project and over on my FaceBook I good a great update from our Ambassador in North Korea. At the weekend I cried of pictures of my new friends baby, got details of a party I'd missed and learnt about a new Pride event needing help.
Social Media is currently entering somewhat of a second phase. Back in the days of MySpace and others we setup a static page with some funny photos and some text about us and waited for our friends to "link". Nowadays its not so much about the information we post-up but the information we can get from our contacts or links. To get the help I've mentioned about I'd need to group email all possible contacts: wasting their time and diminishing the likelihood of a response each time. Now I just post on Twitter and links and strangers alike respond if they can, and if they are watching.
This new social media is a great way to get your message to the world and receive replies on your own terms. It must work: I came to this blog-post by following @outfrontblog. You can follow me at http://www.twitter.com/truthmonkey
Posted by: Colm Howard-Lloyd | March 17, 2009 at 11:32 AM
And the lesson above is never to cut and paste your Twitter link if you didnt get the one you want. You can follow me at http://www.twitter.com/colmhowardlloyd
Keeping and Verifying Your Online Identity as the next blog subject perhaps?
Posted by: Colm Howard-Lloyd | March 17, 2009 at 11:36 AM
Wow. Well said. Although some have said that Twitter almost seems like a step back from television and other instant media, but I agree that it is allowing us to connect in new ways. Thanks for your insight!
Posted by: Ashley Showen | March 17, 2009 at 10:49 PM