Facebook, Twitter and other forms for social media seem to be entering our lives for good. I have to admit to being on them about every day. This week I think they have saved me sanity as I have had a backslide…quite literally, as my back seems to have slid out of its proper position and has kept me hostage in the living room for most of the week. But are they the communication of the future, or are they the ultimate time wasters? Or both?

Facebook
I have many uses for social media and definitely am not about to give it up. I am able to follow along with what my friends and family are up to. This has proved to be invaluable in the case of my sons, and my brothers. My oldest son has moved out, and as long as I can pop in and see that he has been active on facebook I know he is okay. I also keep in contact with my remaining family in the USA. They don’t always have time to send me an email, but it is nice sometimes to see that Johnny is online and say a quick hi. Ask about his wife and his job hunt and take an ever so small step into his daily life.

Twitter
But it also opens our lives to many other people. My husband, RennyBA, has 2,519 followers on Twitter, this year between his blog, Twitter and Facebook he had well over 100 well wishes for his birthday this 4th of November. And for all of you who sent him a card or a greeting he was very happy for this. But at the same time, that was a heck of a lot of completion. It’s not always easy for even me to get through all that ‘noise’. How does one compete with that kind of attention?Well one doesn’t, one rises above completion, at least I do.

Facebook game Island Paradise
And then there are the games, which I am hopelessly hooked on. I have cut down upon returning to full time work however. My favourites are Farmville, Island Paradise, Yoville, and Mafia Wars. But I wholeheartedly admit these are mindless time wasters. In fact that is kind of the point, when I am done with my work day my intelligent energy is pretty much used up solving the countless situations I am faced with on a daily basis. I am looking for a totally mindless outlet with an immediate reward. I was never much of a video game player but these facebook people, they are smart. They make games which appeal to women, and which can be played in 15 minutes a day…or you can use more time if you have more time. They are there to get us hooked, and to entertain us.
I have no other response here except to say that social media is here to stay. It is the communication of the future and it does connect us somehow to our past and far off worlds. I have regained contact with people which I haven’t thought of in years, others who I have thought of but lost contact with and wondered how they were, and I have learned new things about people I see every day.
You can’t live with it, you can’t live without it….but you certainly shouldn’t be left out. How do you use your social media? Or do you resist the urge to stay and play? Inquiring minds want to know, I want to know….
If you don’t know what Twitter is….Twitter is a free social networking and micro-blogging service that allows users to send updates via SMS, instant messaging, email, to the Twitter website, or any one of the multitude of Twitter applications now available.
If you don’t know what Facebook is….it’s a great way to meet friends and keep up on what they are doing. Once you add a friend to your Facebook friend list you will always know when they are adding things to their blog or updating their profile. Join Facebook groups to meet people like you, or browse the profiles to find new friends. Facebook’s classmates and co-worker search is good for finding friends too.
If you aren’t connected with me yet you can find me at Twitter by searcing for DianeCas, and on facebook by clicking on the link!
If social media isn’t enough and you want to meet us in person, don’t forget that you have the opportunity by joining the Oslo Blog Gathering 2009!!
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