Debate Now Is It Generational or Fundamental, How meaningful is social media?

[Shrimpbox]

I am taking a deep breath and retreating from the usual heartburn of other forums to,address a question that has been vexing me. Recently I watched a segment on CNBC about twitter buying periscope. The man doing the talking was the third most successful VC investor in the country so we are not dealing with pajama boy. He spoke excitedly about how transformational this union was going to be and even suggested that this is the future of video reporting. Under an avalanche of so called technological progress I find myself questioning my status in the IT universe.

So my question is not are we in a social media revolution, but rather is this a revolution of substance. I have a Facebook page but have never written anything on it, my daughter created it when I was told that the project I was involved in mandated I be associated with social media. I find Facebook to have gone over to commercials and is in most cases nothing but institutionalized gossip. Yes there are benefits to older people and ways for family and friends to share pictures, but I find most of Facebook is a celebration of stupidity. Twitter I don't ever plan on doing. I stick my foot in my mouth enough times without broadcasting it to the whole world and if USMB has taught me anything it is to not put my initial reaction to something in words without a cooling off period. But I worry that I am letting my age dictate my learning. Am I not accepting this new technology because I am resistant to change or am I in my wisdom recognizing that this is a colossal waste of time that is really dumbing us down instead of broadening my horizons. There are so many apps mushrooming up when do people have time for a life?

Are we in a tech bubble? Do any of these tech marvels have staying power and if not how much status should we confer on something that won't be here in five years. I am long of tooth so I am especially interested in the millenials responses.

Twitter and periscope: hype or history?




You all know the rules. Be nice!

 

[Pogo]

What the hell is "Periscope"? Never heard of it.
Who's "pajama boy"? What's "VC"? I haven't heard that term since the Sixties.

I dunno Shrimp, but you know more about these things than I do and I don't think you're missing anything.

"Social media" is a completely ironic term. It's "antisocial media" if it's anything.
Direct answer -- no, there's no substance in it. That's why I never bothered with it. When addicts .. uh, I mean friends were badgering me to join Nosebook, I asked each one, "what will this give me that I don't already have?" Nobody ever came up with a good answer. I said, "exactly".

Watching Nosebook addicts in their stupor told me all I needed to know anyway.

 

[Foxfyre]

I have a Twitter acount but have never really used it and rarely ever visit that site. Our Church started it as a 'community building' thing for the membership, but it never caught on. Doing the same thing on Facebook has had better results.

I don't know anything about Periscope or My Space or any of the social media spots like that.

As for Facebook, it has been a tremendous success for my friends and family. Pretty much the entire family is on it. We have our own private group to use for organizing family reunions and such, but most of us just post publicly and it has allowed us to reconnect with each other, keep everybody updated, and get to know distant relatives in a way we never would have had opportunity to do before.

Likewise I have reconnected with colleagues from years ago, classmates from my youth, and stay in touch with distant friends much more informally and effectively than would be possible by any other means. It has drawn us all closer and created a 'kinship' that I don't think would exist without Facebook.

Nobody on my Facebook 'friends' list engages in bullying and hateful posts except for a very few who like to post the hyper-political stuff--I don't do that and don't comment on the posts of those who do. I counsel all to post nothing on social media that you would not be 100% uncomfortable with anybody seeing. And certainly post nothing that could be used against you by anybody.