Living on Facebook

I am a relative newcomer to Facebook and I know people love communicating through this medium, but I have come to question whether it does more damage than good.

On the plus side it is an easy way to stay connected with friends, and like everyone else I enjoy the occasional cartoon and the philosophical posts.  But it can skew how you view other people’s lives.

From the outside looking in, it would appear that everyone has the “perfect” life, the perfect partner, the perfect children and a wonderful career and home.  But is that true?  Let’s face it, we can post what we want people to believe, when deep down we’re lonely, hurt and life isn’t so peachy.

My other concern about Facebook is some people just live there instead of in the real world.  Measuring their popularity and how much they are loved by the number of likes they get or “friends” they have. 

Now that’s sad. I know I for one don’t do too many likes when I do go onto Facebook as usually I am just scanning to see what is current.

I use Facebook to inform and pass on great articles, thought-provoking quotes and the odd laugh.  Yes we promote our programs, but I wouldn’t want to bombard people as frankly that can backfire on you as, to folks like me, that’s a turn-off.

Like all social media, it is a fine line.  Much depends I guess on why you use it.  What concerns me is the power and impact it can have on your self-esteem and your relationships with your “friends.” 

Guess I am an old-fashioned gal.  I prefer to get to know people face-to-face. I give myself a day off from time to time, so I don’t get suckered into the Facebook vortex.

What do you think?

You've got mail

I wish I had.  

But these days people communicate with me in so many different ways, which I find makes it harder to track communication and time consuming as you have to check not just your inbox, but LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook. And then there’s those who text.

Personally I prefer to get an email in my inbox as that way I can have a paper trail whereas with Facebook, for example, the message space is SO small, it is hard often to see, read or send a message back.  Or maybe that’s just my aging eyesight.

As for Twitter – why would you want to message someone with just 140 characters?? While I believe we should be brief and to the point… this is over the top.  Although, having said that, I did that very thing this week, but only because that seemed to be the only known address I had for the individual in terms of reaching her.

LinkedIn at least allows you more space, but to be honest I don’t check my messages there on a regular basis, so if someone is trying to connect with me and needs an immediate response, they could be out of luck.

The other challenge is trying to remember which way others want to connect with you. Several on my team only use Facebook messenger so if I need to get hold of them, sending an email is a waste of time.

So just to be clear … if you want to get hold of me … email is the method of communication of choice.  And if it is super-urgent, you can always go the old-fashioned route – and phone meJ  

On a Learning Curve

Did you know that Thursday is the new Friday? Neither did I. But I am learning a lot through working with the young women on the launch party and launch of Company of Young Women.

It’s fascinating to better understand what impresses and attracts them to events – so different from us boomers. And as for Facebook, I am still grappling with the pokes and someone writing on my wall. I guess I will get there… eventually.

I see Company of Young Women as a wonderful opportunity to learn from and support young women as they work their way through the ranks. And who’s to say who will learn the most!

So stay tuned for the launch party… one thing I do know, it won’t be on a Thursday!