Social network schizophrenia
It’s obvious that I am on a number of different social networks. I mean, check out the little bar a few clicks down, over there —>
One thing that I have noticed as of late is the development of who I am on these different platforms. With sites like Myspace and Facebook, it is a bit easier to define yourself–you are given prompts with fields, and no essential character limit. Plus you have a giant picture which could make it easy for any fella off the street to recognize you. Even with this WordPress blog, I have a section which tells you all about me [whether you like it or not].
My recent character definition has been burgeoning on my mini-blogs. That is, I feel that I have finally differentiated who I am on Twitter versus Pownce. By just looking at the last 20 posts on Twitter, you would think I was a full-fledged bratty, food-obsessed complainer. And I really would’nt blame you. When it comes to Twitter, I find my posts to be pretty…well…bitter.
This is your brain on social networks.
On Pownce, I have more thoughtful and intellectual posts. I write about cool Web 2.0 tools I discover, music that I love, general epiphanies, seek tech support, all in addition to updating my friends on my current human condition. Why is it that I find that I am two different people on these sites? Is it as simple as being limited by the amount of text I am allowed to jot down?
With all the personal spaces out there it might be hard not to be a tad schizophrenic. Each social network is like a different room of a house. Myspace is the backyard, with the raging barbeque and neighbors coming in from the side door. Here, everyone is welcome as there is no shortage of food, music, or scantily clad ladies. Facebook is likened to the living room, where you have a couple of your college buddies over for a glass of wine and good conversation. Upstairs in the bathroom, there is Twitter—where you are looking in a mirror and thinking about what to do next or hearing sound bytes of how you feel internally. Walk down two flights of stairs to the basement bar is the Pownce mixer. The host knows everyone, while you feel as if you have things in common with the attendees, but have never really shared a conversation. But tonight is your chance. You can show all these like-minded people pictures on your iPhone, to ask that techy guy how to partition your hard drive, and crowd around the bartenders laptop to watch the latest installment of Diggnation.
There has to be something else to this situation than the mere interface of these mini-blogging sites. With Pownce, I feel a sense of community. It is usually the next page I look at after I post something rather primal on Twitter. Perhaps I am getting my aggression out on Twitter, while using Pownce as a platform to show my nice, funny, smart alec side. Eventhough Twitter has incorporated the @yourhandlehere feature, I may feel as if I am shouting out my thoughts into a unresponsive void that is cyberspace. On Pownce, I get answers to my queries and comments on my posts.
Am I the only weirdo out there, or anyone else noticing they are leading a social network double life?
Interesting post, but I think it is an individual thing.
Of course, on my WP blog I post mostly long articles, on Tmblr I post shorter stuff(but also catches the WP and Pownce posts), on Pownce I more or less discuss and communicate with people and on Twitter I just keep it short. But, I am who I am on all different mediums. I really don’t feel that I change or act differently.
I think that individuals use the various social networks in diffrent ways. Some are like you and express differrent parts of their personalities on different sites. Some parse things out by function: twitter for what’s going on now, pownce for short thoughts, personal blog for more developed ideas, and Jaiku for pimping the latest blog post/podcast/product/etc; all while maintaining the same personality. So, I think their are different ways to approach expressing yourself across the disparate online communities. I think the main reason for this is multiplicity of personalities instead of things like the character limit in twitter posts.
1. When I post on my blog, I usually post techie stuff, how-to articles or just ramblings or recaps of this and that. My blog is mostly mac-related but it also covers wide range of everything I can thing of. I have a rule that I never blog about politics.
2. Facebook is inspiring. When on there, I can see what my fellow-geek friends are doing,writing,watching etc. Apart from that it provides higher level of interaction because if I feel like chatting one on one with some of my friend(s), I can.I alsocan thow a round of drinks or express my feelings through poke and x-poke apps. In other words, Facebook offers more interaction because of it’s apps and straightforward interface.
3. I use tumblr to distribute my RSS feeds from twitter,jaiku,last fm,flickr etc. People who don’t follow me on all the networks, can simply go to my tumblr page and read / see all my feeds.
4. Twitter is a shout-box. I use it to post links to articles,blogs,software and other stuff that I find interesting. Unlike Pownce, twitter is mobile so you can text your twits from your phone. I don’t use that option but it can come in handy.
5. Pownce is my personal favorite now. I see it like an online forum actually that has additional multimedia features. It’s great for serious geeky conversations say about programming, asking for help or when you really need to write something that takes more then 140 characters and you want as many people possible to see your thoughts, questions or hear your music files. It would be great if pownce had syntax highlighting to make it easier for users to post sourse code.
You haven’t mentioned Yahoo Mash and Jaiku so I will say a few words about those services too.
Mash looks nice and it’s highly customizable. You can twaek CSS and edit your friends profile if they allow you to. It is very nice, but once you set it all up and you are happy how does it look like, you have nothing else to do on it. It lacks interaction between users. That is why IMHO mash is never goint to gain as much popularity as say facebook or myspace.
Jaiku is hybrid between twitter and pownce. A bit confusing to get used to and I don’t like it. Truth is that jaiku has some great features such as fetching RSS feedsand mobile support, but for me it’s confusing to use. I was hoping when Google acquired Jaiku that they will improve it and re-design it but it hasn’t yet happened. To conclude this, yes, I am a different person on each social networking site because because if you would be doing same stuff on like 6 places at once, it would be boring plus each service offers different features. This was way too long reply wasn’t it?
I think that individuals use the various social networks in diffrent ways. Some are like you and express differrent parts of their personalities on different sites. Some parse things out by function: twitter for what’s going on now, pownce for short thoughts, personal blog for more developed ideas, and Jaiku for pimping the latest blog post/podcast/product/etc; all while maintaining the same personality. So, I think their are different ways to approach expressing yourself across the disparate online communities. I think the main reason for this is multiplicity of personalities instead of things like the character limit in twitter posts.
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