tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8468699.post8660203079712837796..comments2017-08-04T09:05:49.536-04:00Comments on "...it just says 'M'...": New Media - Social MediaNicholas Grecohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12159802575350677365noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8468699.post-38425851481919027202013-03-18T15:17:55.785-04:002013-03-18T15:17:55.785-04:00I acknowledge the power value of social capital, b...I acknowledge the power value of social capital, but I am not really a social capitalist in the way of actively looking to increase my social capital. I imagine my social capital is fairly low since I have tendencies to reclusion and have always been fairly selective about the people I spend time with; I prefer bonding capital over bridging capital so much that I put almost no effort into bridging capital. I currently have 114 Facebook friends - if I quit Facebook, my social capital would necessarily diminish according to the empirical research in the article, and I would also perceive some of this loss in my social life because I do use Facebook fairly frequently to communicate with the people that matter in some capacity. On a practical level, Push Select maintains a private page where we pitch ideas at each other, my tabletop RPG playing circle has a page to coordinate where and what we will play every week, and I send files and important notifications to people over Facebook messages occassionally. On the personal level, I frequently chat with friends on Facebook and will comment on statuses or pictures that strike my fancy. I am more of a lurker though as I do not often post content of my own. So, yes, online communities do make it easier to maintain connections with people.<br /><br />I agree with the findings (holy charts, Batman!); I have never known anyone who friended someone on Facebook that they did not already know in person. Facebook seems to be used not to enlarge a social network but to enhance it.Phil Wiebehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11255460683986550805noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8468699.post-2449621852687912982013-03-18T15:17:29.258-04:002013-03-18T15:17:29.258-04:00As far as I'm aware, I only use one major soci...As far as I'm aware, I only use one major social media platform: Facebook. According to my timeline, I have had my account since 2007. I had it in high school because 'all the cool kids were doing it' and as a responsible user of a new technology I made sure to post witty and edifying comments and upload only beautiful and educational photographs and videos. Just kidding, it was pretty much the same fare that teenagers post nowadays. After graduation, I kept my Facebook on the rationale that it would help me keep in touch with my friends who had been flung to all the corners of the globe. Although I rarely communicated in any way on Facebook with most of the people I was 'Friends' with, I liked having the option. It was also secretly satisfying to be able to experience their lives vicariously without having to interact with them on a meaningful level.<br /><br />My reaction started slowly. Upon discovery of the 'Hide from Newsfeed' option, more and more people who were ostensiby my friends were sent out of sight and out of mind until only the couple dozen that really mattered remained. However, I eventually realized that this was all a bunch of nonsense and that I was hanging on to a past that did not exist anymore. I really only needed Facebook as a line of communication with a few close friends, so I took out the friendcleaver (it's like the banhammer) and my friend count dropped from a bloated 660 to a trim 100, in accord with a lowball figure for Dunbar's number.<br /><br />In view of this account, I don't think I really believe in the online community in the sense of 'believe' as 'support, advocate, have faith in.' Online community can exist, sure, I just don't really want to be a part of it. Myspace is as dead as disco and Google+ was DOA; Twitter is cool if you already possess a horde of people who really like hearing what you have to say or use it as some kind of legitimate enterprise; LinkedIn would be sweet if I mattered as a professional; Youtube's functionality is awesome but the people who comment on Youtube videos are surprisingly abhorrent; Pinterest is a black hole; Tumblr and Instagram seem to be mainly populated by dirty hipsters with vain and naive notions of artistry; it's just downhill from there. Some of my friends, who may be more internet-savvy than me, swear by Reddit and 4Chan, but I find both sites' navigation and format un-intuitive and their 'online community' to consist of people I do not really want to associate. I'll be honest - although I've posted on many a forum in my time, I have never felt part of any kind of community in the sense that beyond the practical exchange of information I did not feel any bond of kinship that made me cherish the website not for the purpose it served but for the people who posted it on it. I do believe in online communities as actual communities, though; I'm not just interested in being a part of one. I've got too many communities to deal with in 'meatspace' already.<br /><br />Phil Wiebehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11255460683986550805noreply@blogger.com