You are who you follow. Or are you?
- 12 Comment
You know the old adage “you are what you eat?”
Is the same true for our social networks?
Reflecting on groups of people I typically surround myself with (i.e. not in social networks), I see many similarities. Whether we share similar interests, culture, hobbies, jobs or even looks (yes, it’s true) things are, well, similar. This is not to say I do not greatly value these relationships or relish in the fact I share a commonality with so many.
What is interesting is that my social networks do not reflect this life long trend. An interesting, and new, path is taking opening right before my very eyes.
My social networks are much more diverse, eccentric and evolving than those I’ve developed through face-to-face encounters.
How is this happening?
For me it’s a conscious effort. I’m intentionally connecting with people who have different: interests, geographic locations, political views, etc… I’m like a kid in a candy store. The whole world (i.e. virtual world) is a candy buffet and I’m stuffing my face. The trick is to not get burned out or suffer a severe sugar overdose! I want to connect with people, learn about them and share our knowledge.
On social network tools like Twitter, I use the search function and type in a particular word, like “Jerusalem.” I decided one day I didn’t know anyone who actually lived in Jerusalem and it was time to meet someone. I repeated this concept on Twitter and other social networks and amazing things began to happen. These people were also seeking out different people to connect with.
Beautiful relationships are forming and, for me, my life feels even more fulfilled.
If I am who I follow, then I can think of no greater compliment.
12 Comments on this post
Trackbacks
-
Bloggeries said:
The way I look at it is you can never know enough people with similar interests. Everyone who is already actively on twitter shares a common interest. Most people have never heard of it; I suspect most won’t for quite some time to come.
Cool piece Sarah!
October 19th, 2008 at 10:40 pm -
Christian said:
The beauty of the internet is that you are subjected to things that you would not usually be subjected to. You see things and hear things and read things you would never have even known existed previously. I dont go as far out of my way to do it as you have done, but I definitely appreciate talking to people from different walks of life. I find I hammer them with questions about their experiences because it interests me so much, but then they block me and never return my phone calls.
October 20th, 2008 at 12:48 am -
Jenny McCutcheon said:
First off, I love the new blog! You even created a new logo–very nice.
Your perspective of social media, in particular Twitter, is interesting. Twitter truly is a great way to meet a diverse array of people from all over. Like you said, reaching out to those with different interests and cultures allows us to grow as individuals. While it’s great to have that comfortable group of friends that have similar interests and backgrounds as we do, it’s exciting to open ourselves up to new people as well.
As one of your followers on Twitter I can honestly say that you have a real gift for generating excitement. Your energy always shines through in your tweets, and you always make me smile at least once each day.
October 20th, 2008 at 1:25 am -
Katja Presnal said:
I love your blog’s look!
October 20th, 2008 at 1:49 am -
R. Patel said:
It’s true that you can meet great people through social media.
October 20th, 2008 at 6:08 am -
Eric Schechter said:
I think that’s the beauty of Social Media…being able to network with so many different and interesting people, in all types of places, and learning from each other. We might not all be exactly the same (like the same movies, ice cream, or music) but we all share a commonality of being part of a community and having a love for all that is Social Media.
By the way, great post and I look forward to reading more from you!
October 20th, 2008 at 7:52 pm -
Kelly Olexa said:
Sarah, I couldn’t agree more. Very well said.
Kelly OOctober 24th, 2008 at 9:19 pm -
Tim Moore said:
Don’t forget about social networking to keep in touch with the hundreds of people one meets in the analog world.
Sure, I’ve met a few people through social networking, but more meaningful to me has been the ability to get acquainted/reacquainted with long lost friends, and people whose thoughts and I ideas I learn from. Much more pointed than a spontaneous…”I want to have interactions with someone from Jerusalem. NOT that my way is better, just different.
tim
October 26th, 2008 at 9:42 pm -
Andrew said:
Brilliant idea, Twitter searching ‘Jerusalem’!
November 1st, 2008 at 6:03 pm -
SEO Services said:
I mostly attached to linkedin. I got good friends through this site.
November 12th, 2008 at 5:50 am -
Saglik Sayfasi said:
It’s true that you can meet great people through social media.
December 13th, 2009 at 7:15 am -
Aluminum Laptop Cases said:
Sarah that is great that you are able to connect with such a diverse group of people online. You must meet some really interesting people with a lot of things to share.
January 6th, 2010 at 1:30 pm
