8 Character Synopsis from our Social World
I LOVE social media. I’m on board. It’s a way of
communicating, in multiple ways, to multiple audiences in a style I love – the
written word. I’m not going to spend hours on the phone. If I write a letter or
a postcard – terrific, but I’ll never send it and besides, I’ve got better
things to do on holidays than write a bloody postcard. Birthday cards? You’ve
got to be joking – I have loads written and they are lost in dark places. I
need immediate communication, and the favorite part of living today is, it’s finally
here.
Social media allows me to share my life with the most
important people to me who happen to live all over the world. I get to share my
knowledge with people in my industry who (I hope) appreciate what I’ve got to
say, and give me the chance to build credibility and a solid reputation. And I
get to communicate with people I’ve never met, sometimes touching their hearts or
relating to them by sharing an experience they’ve had as well. It’s nice. I
love it. So many new things are possible because of it.
But I’ve noticed people interact with social media in
various ways, and some people have very strong opinions about it – not always
good. When people are negative about it, to me it seems they’re missing the
point. But they’re not me and I’m not them, so are they missing any point? We
have our communities spread far OR close, and not everyone wants to go big, so
it’s going to mean different things to different people, and that’s all part of
its beauty.
As such, I’ve created my own ‘labels,’ for people based on
how they do or do not engage in a social world. Obviously this is my
observations based on my own community, but I think I cover just about every country,
race, religion and culture within my network, so a good test case, yes?
The Lovers
This group are born communicators. They share the things
that make them think, laugh or even the stuff that outrages them. They value knowledge
and believe sharing different ideas can change the world. They’re typically
open to different opinions, argue passionately, love the collaboration they can
create across the world, and most of the time, provide good fodder for their
friend’s timelines. The great thing about The Lovers is they’re also terrific
supporters. They’ll love your kids photos, your latest meal and if you want to
launch a blog or a Facebook fan page, make sure they know about it, ‘cos
they’ll “Like” it – appreciating how hard it is getting this kind of support.
They don’t just communicate out with the world, they actively participate in
it. Naturally, I consider myself a “Lover.”
The Self Promoters
Then we get The Self Promoters. These folk are on social
media channels and quite active to boot, but it’s all about them. They’ll share
pictures, adventures, blogs, events they’re in and more, but they’ll never EVER
(well rarely) “like” anyone else’s work, share anyone else’s work, or
acknowledge anyone else’s work. Sometimes it’s ‘cos they’re just too busy, but
the reality is, they see social media as a
one-way-street-for-information-distribution, and they’re all over it for that.
Be sure to protect your heart from disappointment when they don’t acknowledge
your existence.
The Lurkers
I know these people exist, because every time I turn up at a
BBQ or a party they’ll bloody tell me everything I’ve been doing in my life,
but NOT ONCE did they ever comment or acknowledge my existence online! They
don’t participate, merely observe the lives of those around them, and sometimes
it’s because they’re shy, sometimes it’s because they don’t see the point, and
sometimes, it’s just ‘cos the world has to have it’s voyeurs… it’d be boring
without them right?
The Addicts
The Addicts typically cross a lot of social media channels,
and the one thing they love to do is combine them all together. So these are
the ‘Four Squarers’ – checking in somewhere and letting you know where they are
– e.g: “Gertrude has just checked in at Fur to have her snatch waxed” - awesome
Gertrude! Or they’re all over Twitter having conversations all night with
complete strangers about whatever it is they talk about. An Addict can usually
be unveiled when revealing “they just needed to take a break from social media”
– something that never lasts long. I ain’t a huge fan of the stranger chattage,
so this group are a curiosity to me.
The Pooh Poohers
Probably my favorite group is this one. The Pooh Poohers are
on social media, they participate in social media, and many of them are quite
active on social media (usually via very selected channels), but equally, they
use every bloody chance they get to tell you what a load of shite it is. I find them a curiosity within the mix,
because they are utilizing it, but equally deriding it? Anyone care to explain?
Karl?
The Yeah Whatevers
Remember when mobile phones came out in the late 90s and a
lot of us rushed off and got one? Then the next round of adopters got one? Then
the next? Then there was this 4th group and they were all like “why
the hell would I want one of them?” This demographic could typically be
classified as 30’ish male professionals (and I did agree with them on why the
hell would I, even though I had one), then 4-5 years ago, they cracked and the
final frontier of phone adoption was won. After that, they were incredibly
annoying and couldn’t be without their phones – interacting with them during
dinner (but not on Facebook), interrupting conversations to take calls – yawn!
Well those people aren’t on social media yet either, and you know what, they
will be! These are the people at dinner parties who tell you why they aren’t on
it, and everyone else tells them why they should be on it, and I usually just sit
there thinking there is no escape in the
long-run sunshine!
The ShitGrenaders
This group are not always conscious of their actions (or
words) and are the ones who inadvertently drop comments that are racist,
sexist, un-nationalistic, and generally, not acceptable by many people’s
definitions. The comments are usually posted without much expectation of
response, but when people do start responding, often with vitriol, wow the
ShitGrenaders can be a little bit surprised by it. In many ways, this is a good
thing, because it helps all of us understand what is and what is not
acceptable. Sometimes people really just do not know how their comments come
across, but The ShitGrenaders certainly learn pretty bloody quickly.
The Newbies
I think my favorite group - because they are so cute - are
the brand new people on social media. They’re straggling in these days, with
the vast bulk of humanity already engaged, and the Newby posts their first
comment – to which most people go “about bloody time you joined us,” and then
they do some tentative stuff after that, before going a bit quiet for a while
to observe what others’ are doing. Alternatively, they post absolute bollocks
and before they know it, people jump on them, making them go quiet again. It’s
a bit of a scary world for The Newbie, because they are entering an established
structure, but don’t worry about it friends – there are plenty of dicks taking
part, and we all cock up at some point with a lapse of judgment here and there.
That’s life.
So are you willing to share who you think you are? AND of
course, “who” have I missed?
Yours, without the bollocks
Andrea
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