Subscribe to RSSSocial Networking - What’s Love Got To Do With It?
Technology. *Sigh*. Part of the reason I majored in Communications was so I could avoid as many technology and internet classes as possible. It seems I master one program, only to find out there is an “updated” or “new and improved” one available. I can hardly keep up with these new releases! Anyone out there feel my pain?!
The May 2008 Barna Technology Study addresses the trends of Social Networking. The popularity of this newest phenomenon has been impressed on me deeply: keeping up with 830 Facebook friends is a job in itself! I admit that I first experienced sheer frustration to the hundreds of wall posts and personal messages I would receive. Add that to three e-mail accounts and iChat, and you can see how I could hardly keep up!
This has been my short journey in the social network arena: in high school it was IM, college was MySpace, and after college was Facebook. Now it is Twitter. I am beginning to realize how online social networking is one of the most powerful, and addicting, networking tools around. I love to network and relationships are of the utmost importance to me. I have found if social networking tools are used correctly, they allow me to stay in better communication with the relationships I do have, and also makes me a creator of content, not just a consumer.
Another technology and networking development that is quickly rising is the art of blogging. I fit the typical “personal blog” statistics stated in the Barna: updating less than once a week – yikes! Ironically, blogs are most common among single adults, Northeast residents, homosexuals, those not registered to vote, atheists and agnostics.” I am only one of those things: Single…and hopefully not forever!
Althought I am not the typical blogger, I do like to do it. Many conservative blogs do exist, though not nearly as many as are authored by the groups Barna points out. Why is this so? If Christianity is the original social network, why do churches and ministries not leverage this tool more often? It is an excellent opportunity for leaders to communicate with their people in an effective and efficient manner, and it ought to be used more often.
The Bottom Line is this: social networking is like my old computer classes. One may not want to do them – and even take steps to avoid them – but you must keep up to stay in touch. Just keep in mind that, even with the work, once you get there, something new is already going on. But there is no doubt that it is worth it all to stay better connected in a relational world.
Tags: barna, blog, christianity, Culture, facebook, ichat, Social Networking, twitter