h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

There seem to be a lot of discussions about the use of social media, some say it's stupid and a waste of time (some even say that without trying it first ) and others overshare and seem to live virtually.

It's not going anywhere any time soon, so I was wondering (with a possible eye on a collaborative entry sometime...) how hootooers use other social media. Or don't use it.

If anyone cares to share their experiences of social media use? how it's been good or bad, which ones they use, are there any social media sites that anyone can recommend, which should be avoided?

But above all, how do you use social media? It fascinates me

Tried Facebook once. Hated it instantly. Haven't been back since. Haven't missed it. I find it shallow and unfulfilling.

Never used Twitter. Don't even know what the others are called.

I don't understand the appeal of putting my personal life on display for millions of strangers I'm never gonna' meet.

What does concern me is the apparently increasing frequency with which hiring decisions are made based on your social media use. (Or so I perceive anyway.)

Aside from the obvious point that someone's personal life really shouldn't be a factor in such things, it seems to me that (if my perception is correct) it's also hurting people like me who just don't use "social" media.

It's one of my favourite wastes of time

I get to keep an eye on my friends on the Facebook. And on their political ideas, and silly jokes. It's personal, anonymity is rare.

Tumblr gives me better anonymity, I can enjoy puns and visual gags as well as shout out into the void when so needed. Someone might respond, or not. Excellent distraction for bored brain. Gives opportunity for something like dialogue (reblog with comments). Lots of awareness for the whole spectrum of genders, colours, etc. Bernie Sanders is a hit there. Geekery is not frowned upon.

Twitter, I gave up. Some good jokes, some fangirling (from my side), some politics. But it feels more fragmented than Tumblr, dialogue is harder. I haven't closed the account, but I'm rarely there. What I miss most are the Olufsen and Bang tweets. Go check them out.

I use Facebook.

Who do I interact with on Facebook?

I have a limited number of "friends" on Facebook (126). I only accept friend requests from people I know and like, with very few exceptions (I think only 3). My friends on Facebook are generally (a) relatives (b) h2g2 people (c) choir people. Facebook is designed so that I see the things my friends have posted. If a friend posts a lot of boring or unpleasant stuff, I will remove them from my friend list, or if they are a really close friend in real life, I'll set Facebook to keep them listed as my friend but not to show me stuff they post unless I go looking for it.

How often do I use Facebook?

I look at Facebook many times during a day. I enjoy reading what other people have posted - both the personal journals and the things originating with people I don't know that have been passed on by my friends. I also subscribe to a few places on Facebook which are not my friends but publish a lot of interesting stuff - these include IFL Science and an Archaeology page. So my Facebook feed is full of stuff for me to read every day.

There's the occasional ad in there - I know Facebook has to get their money from somewhere so I've no problem with them putting in the occasional ad which I ignore.

I generally don't watch video clips posted to Facebook. There are very few times when I am in an environment where I can concentrate on a video clip and can have the sound turned up without disturbing people around me. Also videos are so slow at imparting information. A 1-minute video will usually have only have about 5 sentences in it, which I could read in less than a second if it was stated in text.

How often do I post on Facebook myself?

I try to post on Facebook every day. If I've a nice photo, I'll put it up. If I've been somewhere interesting, I'll post a few photos or describe it. I'll answer questions my friends ask, I'll participate in some discussions. If people are discussing something that is clearly explained in an h2g2 entry, I'll post a link to it, which Facebook handles rather well.

Everything I post is 100% public. I know many people restrict their posts so that only their friends can see them, but I'm happy that if a complete stranger stumbles across one of my posts they can see it.

So how does my Facebook usage compare to h2g2?

Facebook is easier to use than h2g2; many of my friends are on it but could not be persuaded to join h2g2 for this reason.

Facebook allows pictures - much of what I do involves pictures and I just can't do it on h2g2.

Facebook is much more limited than h2g2: it's not possible to have a serious conversation lasting more than a few posts or a day because it is almost impossible to find anything which hasn't been commented in the last 24 hours - there are no conversation titles and no way of searching. So everything is very superficial, making it a good way of keeping in touch with friends but no use for discussing deeper issues.

Facebook also doesn't allow the sort of imparting of information which is the purpose of h2g2. Sure you can post links to other sites, but linking to another place is not imparting information.

The problem with social media is that it's a triumph of style over substance - something this site used to get the other way around.

It will not always be like this.

Gnomon spelled out my connection with FaceBook very well. The list of friends and contacts is snug - those that I know and care about. How their day and life is going, but not so interested in the occasional strings of posts relating to YouTube or other "memes".

In my case, there were a number of carry-overs from h2g2 that proved to not be quite who and what I thought they were. In time, you see the ugly under-belly side of some folks that you never expected. And atleast on FB, you can just disconnect from seeing their bile. I have never blocked anyone, that seems like little more than an acknowledging of how much they might annoy me. I just disconnect and if they appear else-where, ignore them easily enough.

To be honest, I do now and then disconnect from people I disagree with. On all the media I mentioned above. Life is too short for getting angry at things I can't change.
I've also cut back (some) of my own political views (e.g. I still don't think a tram line in a town of 100 000 people is worth the money) because by now people know my view and will just ignore it.

I use Facebook to keep in touch with my family,in particular the younger members such as nieces and nephews where ever they are in the universe.It's also useful for chatting with old work colleagues.

However I use it to remember my now deceased elder sister whose FB page is still hanging there.

I've used Twitter for work related reasons to follow key people/institutions in my field, have discussions, join conversations, have interesting/important news and views brought to my attention. I've also used to publicise my blog, and also to share other interesting things I've found. I throw in some light-hearted stuff too to keep it interesting and to help build relationships.

As a result I'm now part of a number of professional networks that either I wasn't in or (more likely) didn't exist before. I've been asked to give talks, I've had my blog posts republished in more significant blogs, including my industry's trade journal. I've been able to share my ideas, have them challenged, and learn from others.

It's been great.

oh that's fantastic! I love to hear how social media (especially twitter which I absolutely adore) works out for folk.

A bit short of time. But: on Friday i was at the Opera (Wagner, The Flying Dutchman at the theatre in Duisburg). The theater is really hot (I know from experience) so I was lightly dressed. It also has a mental seat numbering system which meant that lots of us were wandering around trying to find our rightful seats.

So - when we sat down, and it was really boiling by then - I tweeted the opera company about
a) the awful seating numbering system
and
b) the heat

and they tweeted back and said they can't do anything about the first, but the second... and VOILA! the aircon came on

I'm trying to wait until I feel I really *need* social media. I will know when that time comes.

The biggest knocks I've heard about it are:

1. People put sensitive personal stuff there, at risk of having it get misused or worse by unscrupulous people. I assumed that the people at most risk were naive youngsters, but, no, it turned out that the kids were totally up to speed on security; it was the middle aged people who forgot to be careful.

2. You can get sucked in and end up spending a lot of time with very little to show for it. There might be a learning curve here, though. Maybe it's like anything else that you get enthusiastic about. At first, you go overboard, but over time you find your level, and learn to take only what you need and want, letting the rest of it go.

I agree with the getting sucked in thing. You have to wade through such a lot of garbage on facebook so as not to miss the genuinely interesting things.

I use facebook to keep up with family and friends, it gives a sense of being more in each other's lives than we maybe can be in real life. That's not to say it replaces real-life contact, just supplements it. For example, I speak to my brother or his wife most days and see them at least once a week, but on facebook we can comment on stuff, tag each other in things we think we'd like, stuff like that. It's nice.

I also use it to keep up to date with old school and family friends who I was previously on a "cards at christmas & on birthdays" basis. Now we have the illusion of a closer friendship even though we never see each other, and again it's nice to have that contact.

I go to slimming world, and the consultant who takes my group has several others. We have a joint secret facebook group which we use to share recipes, ideas, pictures. I've made some on-line friends there who I've later met when I've had to attend another group. Even though I'm walking into a room full of strangers, I already feel like I know many of them. That is also nice.

I'm on twitter but almost never tweet myself. I have barely any followers and only follow a handful of people - including 2legs and Az from on here .

Speaking of Az, she's an example of social media transforming her life. She's built up a whole business which is largely thanks to the likes of twitter, so I do think it can be a really useful tool. You just have to know how to wield it.

As Sho obviously does - what a great result at the opera

Deb

List me under don't use it.

Traveller in Time somewhere inbetween
"This site used to be classified under social media . . .

Any other I only read as visitor."

h2g2 is a social medium if you use it to have conversations.

Very true

In that case, H2G2 is a social medium for me.

I consider H2G2 a social medium as well. And I spend enough time here, despite its hanging on by its fingernails, that I would be afraid to join fb in case I started frittering more time away there, too.

None of my family are on fb - on principle. They are all very media savvy, and all refused to get mobile phones for quite a few years when it was the done thing. (Their laptops run on Linux.) I must correct that slightly: they are not regular users of fb, and they only joined because they were forced to by a choir they were in or in another case by a voluntary organisation they were working with.

I once followed a link to a fb page and was shocked to be greeted by pictures of at least 12 people whom "I might know". I wasn't even logged in, well, I'd not joined, so how could I have been. I knew about 8 of the 12 faces. That put me off for life. If they know about me even when I'm visiting anonymously, then it's just too creepy.

Recently however, I was forced to join Whatsapp. (Choir, work mates) Since then the data consumption on my mobile has increased considerably - after a week I was getting messages from my provider telling me my quota had already been used up. I shall remain in Whatsapp to receive news from the above-mentioned groups, but I now have data traffic switched off except for a few minutes a day, and try and use it only if I'm on a wifi network.

Privacy issues!

Last October my son upgraded me to Windows 10 and as part of the package installed Facebook for me. I now look at it every evening.
I use it to see what my family are up to (the oldest grandson did the weather forecast on Irish TV for St Patrick's day[in Irish] and I got to see a video clip of it immediately.)
I use it to keep in touch with friends and work colleagues from around the world and especially to converse about the awful political situation in Hong Kong.
I belong to a local history group and Friends of Lincoln Cathedral as well.
There is no personal information about me. The advertisers find me a bit difficult to reach: for the first couple of months I was sent a lot of nappy adverts. I don't mind the diabetes ads, and I may be persuaded to take out a subscription for the Economist I'm surprised in a way that I haven't had running things as I get messages from both sides of the world from dedicated trail runners.
I don't belong to other things except h2g2.