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Social Media and why for me?

I joined and left Facebook a while ago and use Twitter on matchdays to get early news of the team - that's it.
I am not a chatty gregarious type of person and not interested in celebrity, but do understand why social media is important to others, especially those who have family and friends scattered all over the place.
So is there more to the social media than just chat and what someone had for breakfast, am I missing out and if so on what, and what the is **** googleplus?
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Comments

  • Being in the middle of an unfolding natural disaster, I have only just realised how important it is !!
  • Is that the oil and gas situation Oakster?
  • It's the now, and the future, one can either embrace it or fall by the wayside.
    FB for friends Linked In for business!
  • Im 18 and hate all of it don't use it at all, most of my mates all use it daily except one and me and him seem to have alot less drama. Linked In is the only one I use for work!
  • I have just had a brilliant idea.. I'm going to invent a machine that allows you to actually speak to other human beings.. I could call it a telephone! It'll make millions I tell ya.
  • Quite simply, social media, right across the board, (Facebook, Twitter, even Instagram and recently Vine) has become and will become even more vital in particular fields as far as business is concerned.
    And from a personal usage point of view it is informative and sometimes....fun!
  • Twitter can basically be used as a news site, if you follow the right people you can get breaking news before it appears on tv, which means you don't have to have sky news on 24/7. Same with sports news (though the 5% of good information is usually drowned out by the 95% of people making stuff up for followers.)

  • Twitter can basically be used as a news site, if you follow the right people you can get breaking news before it appears on tv, which means you don't have to have sky news on 24/7. Same with sports news (though the 5% of good information is usually drowned out by the 95% of people making stuff up for followers.)

    Yeah, music news wise it is very good too. I also like being able to see Charlton players, bike racers, golfers and DJs have a bit of needle between each other.

    Twitter I have less people on as well so can get away with being a lot more profane, or personal when winding someone up.
  • Personally, i think it is all a bit of a fad to a certain extent.

    It has changed people's lives and the way they communicate imeasurably, and there is no doubt it will never go away now.

    However, it is possible to have too much of a good thing. People's usage tapers down over time after periods bordering on the addiction, enjoyment levels in anything can only be sustained for a certain period of time before they dip. The same way that most TV shows are only 'brilliant' for a few series before your enjoyment starts to wane a little.

    The other main long-term problem with social media is the fact that it gives friends a platform and communication you never had before. Sometimes that is not a good thing and in far too many cases, you get to see aspects of people that you don't like and would have been better off not being exposed to.

    I'm fascinated with where its all going to be in ten years time.
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  • With twitter, I now know what half our teams' living rooms look like.

    That makes it worth it.
  • I firmly believe it's the next stage in human evolution. My Kid's generation appears to have mutated to the extent that vocal cords have atrophied and their communication centres are located somewhere in their thumbs.
  • I think there's a well-defined demograhic underpinning use of social media. Over 40s don't do it, don't see the need to and many just won't. I'm in this group. It may be because i grew up in the cold war era that I feel very sceptical of mass communication and the eve's dropping capability it gives to the state. The Snowdon whistleblow case showed these fears are not unfounded either.

    http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/greenslade/2013/jun/20/theguardian-edward-snowden
  • I think there's a well-defined demograhic underpinning use of social media. Over 40s don't do it, don't see the need to and many just won't. I'm in this group. It may be because i grew up in the cold war era that I feel very sceptical of mass communication and the eve's dropping capability it gives to the state. The Snowdon whistleblow case showed these fears are not unfounded either.

    http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/greenslade/2013/jun/20/theguardian-edward-snowden

    I'm over 40 and so are a lot of the people on my facebook which is not surprising really.

    I think that the "silver surfer" phenomenon shows that older people do use the internet and some social media. For no other reason that so much communication is pushed through twitter etc and that retired people have more time to surf the net.

    And anyone under about 60 will be part of the first generation to use computers at school or work.

    As for LL's original questions, social media can be fun and a good way to stay in touch with some people. It can keep you uptodate (I follow BBC breaking news for example) with news and special interests (Charlton, music, politics, etc). You can use it for work too and in some jobs it is important but it's not essential and if you don't use it you're not "missing out" imho, just limiting the ways that you can interact with others.

    What it shouldn't be is a replacement for talking to people but then you can say the same for email, imo a far more over used and abused method of communication
  • I'm 48, I use Facebook all the time. Handy to keep in touch with people as I live abroad, I am interested in certain aspects of the lives of many of the people I am friends with, from those I have not seen since school to those I met this year. I have some very bright friends who introduce me to interesting ideas that I would otherwise miss, music I would not have heard and films/TV shows that might have passed me by, as well as lots of amusing silly stuff that makes life a bit more fun. I have some idiot friends that I enjoy a gentle wind up with, and some gullible friends who re-post every bullshit thing they read about aliens or Muslims, and I enjoy shooting them down in flames by showing them the facts.

    There was a family in my mates bar a few nights this week whose 16ish year old daughter did not look away from her phone the entire time they were here. The answer to that of course is to take it off her in social situations for her own good...
  • edited June 2013
    I'm over 40 but im also not a "silver surfer"!

    Id hate to be growing up in this social media age, being 18 and out in clubs and some of my party tricks being broadcast to the whole of FB... doesnt even bear thinking about.

    I find it very sad that kids wont pose for pictures as they dont want you putting them on FB and embarrassing them with them.



  • There was a family in my mates bar a few nights this week whose 16ish year old daughter did not look away from her phone the entire time they were here.

    That's the thing I don't understand. People seem to have forgotten how to use the off button. It's like their device is more important than what's going on around them. You see this at football with people having spent £25 odd quid to sit in the cold with their face glued to their iPhone's screen and having no idea at all about what's happening on the pitch. It's almost like instant scores from elsewhere are more important than Charlton's performance.
    It's also really rude and pisses me off when someone interupts their face-to-face conversation with you because they have some incoming notification on their device.
    I like tech and tend to be an early adopter but I'm not signed up to social media. I guess that's probably because I have no particular interest in the minutiae of people's lives.

  • I think there's a well-defined demograhic underpinning use of social media. Over 40s don't do it, don't see the need to and many just won't. I'm in this group. It may be because i grew up in the cold war era that I feel very sceptical of mass communication and the eve's dropping capability it gives to the state. The Snowdon whistleblow case showed these fears are not unfounded either.

    http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/greenslade/2013/jun/20/theguardian-edward-snowden

    At just over 40 I must be an exception. ;)
    I use it quite a lot, originally finding and entering my dogs into shows etc. I'm still in touch with Baileys breeder via fb, all his medical problems were researched using other peoples knowledge. We successfully pursued someone to the court steps on the strength of information given to me on fb concerning misdiagnosis/unnecessary suffering of one of my dogs, only for them to back down and settle out of court with a 5 figure offer. I've learn't a lot and are still learning a great deal from some very nice people on there, like a lot of public forums there are some right head cases and few of them have found me. Very rarely athough like on here do I let my guard slip and talk personally, people I have found think they are your friends and it attracts some oddballs.
    Use to keep in touch with your family, although the first person I blocked was my sister! For being rude to a friend, I fecking hate bullies: )
    Athough my daughter is on there we rarely speak via FB, as said "we have phones" I enjoy a laugh on there especially when I had a few beers a bit of banter, I don't enjoy having someones opinions force fed to me, if I agree with them or not. So pictures of animal cruelty, wars etc have to go. I don't shut my eyes to it, I know it goes on but FB for me is escapism from all that.
    alright "Hun" ;)
  • I think there's a well-defined demograhic underpinning use of social media. Over 40s don't do it, don't see the need to and many just won't. I'm in this group. It may be because i grew up in the cold war era that I feel very sceptical of mass communication and the eve's dropping capability it gives to the state. The Snowdon whistleblow case showed these fears are not unfounded either.

    http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/greenslade/2013/jun/20/theguardian-edward-snowden

    Couldn't agree more re the demographic. I am firmly in this category but it has nothing to do with the "Cold War" or any other conspiricy theory. I just don't get it.

    Yes I use technology at work, I couldn't actually do my job without it nowadays, yes I look at CL and post now and again but I do not see that as social networking, more I use this site as a source of information about CAFC and to be honest if the OS was fit for purpose I would be on here a lot less than I am.

    As far as the rest of it goes I have a T.V for use as a source of entertainment when I have nothing else more interesting to do, very rare, as previously discussed on here I do not down load music or indeed listen to it and have no device on which to do either. My phone is just that, a phone, on which I talk to people and text and I only text because of my children's mutation as mentioned above.

    Give me a pub with real people, CAFC, a phone and my old fashioned camera and I am sorted. I do not need to part with my hard earned to enrich some uber geek in California who hasn't actually moved outside his bedroom since age 14.
  • I'm 16, I got Facebook for the first time in November. I used it alot for the first 2 months but hardly at all since then. I just don't get it. I prefer to actually see people not type my life to them and it seems that I'm in a small minority when it comes to this. Then again I'm addicted to another site called Charlton life.....
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  • I personally hate Facebook. I'm 19 now but got it a few years ago when it was the fad. Never really liked it, never got addicted like some people did. I always thought this whole "friending" someone who you don't really like or don't really care about is pretty pointless. I speak to the people I really actually care what they have to say by texting or just meeting up so only use facebook for organising things which might need consultation (used to organised housing for next year).

    Twitter on the other hand I love. I follow a lot of Charlton fans who on game day provide me with a lot of different opinions which I love to read. I'm located in Bristol for university so only manage 10-15 games a season & the coverage from media is pretty poor so this is perfect. It's also great to see breaking news football or general news. It's more up to date and like someone else said you don't have to refresh a news site to find out what is happening. I'm not someone who "buzzes" off celebrity stuff but I do enjoy seeing banter between the players & can kind of get to know the players which is nice.
  • Is that the oil and gas situation Oakster?

    Floods in Southern Alberta including Oakster's home town of Canmore. Downtown Calgary has been evacuated as well as several other parts of the City. Hope you're safe and well @Oakster. It's all dry here in Edmonton so if there's anything I can do to help out a fellow Addick let me know.

    http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/story/2013/06/21/alberta-flooding-calgary-canmore-high-water.html



  • Over 60, and frankly got bored with facebook, probably close it by the end of the year. Closed twitter account last year, use flikr posted less this year, not updated link'in, post less and less on here, and the other websites. Still view youtube..... for music.
  • A lot of the criticism of Facebook appears to be down to the way one uses it. You don't HAVE to friend people you don't know or like Jaddick. :-)
  • I hate when people say 'I don't like facebook because I like to actually see people and talk to people'. You can do both you know. Social media is just an extra tool so I don't see why you wouldn't use it. It's not like you have to pay for it like a phone or a car.

    My favourite thing about facebook is photos. I enjoy going through my old holiday photos etc.

    I also enjoy going through my female friends' holiday photos.
  • I have just turned 65 and opened a Facebook account in 2010 prior to the 2010 / 2011 Ashes tour in Oz. I spent nine weeks out there and saw every ball bowled in all five tests. I used Facebook as a sort of daily travelogue with photographs which family and friends could access if they wanted to. Of course I used SKYPE to speak to my wife but the time difference sometimes proved tricky. I now only use the account to look at uploaded photos of the family who are spread all over the Globe. Health permitting my wife and I will be undertaking a 12 month trip around the world during 2015 and will use whatever social media is available to keep in touch with family.
  • Facebook is good to keep up with friends you aren't near to...and Twitter is useful for information and seeing people make fools of themselves!
  • Aha Algarveaddick fair enough. I got nagged all day by my friends to get it as if I was missing out on something so I got it. Then people who I know, don't dislike but not great friends with so I can't really decline, sent me requests and post all day long about their problems in life. I first got it during school so it was kind of a big thing if you declined someone's friend request too. I'm sure someone on here can sympathise :P

    Another thing I forgot to mention I disliked about Facebook is the indirect statuses. They know the person it's about is seeing it, why do I have to as well.
  • Is that the oil and gas situation Oakster?

    Floods in Southern Alberta including Oakster's home town of Canmore. Downtown Calgary has been evacuated as well as several other parts of the City. Hope you're safe and well @Oakster. It's all dry here in Edmonton so if there's anything I can do to help out a fellow Addick let me know.

    http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/story/2013/06/21/alberta-flooding-calgary-canmore-high-water.html
    Cheers for that........not good by the look of it.
  • Is that the oil and gas situation Oakster?

    Floods in Southern Alberta including Oakster's home town of Canmore. Downtown Calgary has been evacuated as well as several other parts of the City. Hope you're safe and well @Oakster. It's all dry here in Edmonton so if there's anything I can do to help out a fellow Addick let me know.

    http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/story/2013/06/21/alberta-flooding-calgary-canmore-high-water.html



    Thanks Exiled - has been a stressful 36 hours to say the least. Not much we can do now but sit it out - cut off in all directions & the river in town is close to bursting it's banks which will cause additional misery to many. Calgary looks like it's getting hammered as well, and places like High River are beyond belief. My house was saved by the incredibly well timed installation of a flood defense barrier to divert water flow coming down from the mountain we live on - just a week before this deluge otherwise I dread to think what would have happened...

    Hoping @CalgaryAddick & Gavin Peacock are both OK.

    To the point on Social Media - the twitter feed & facebook pages from the local Emergency Services & the Municipalities have been priceless in terms of giving out advice & squashing rumours......

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