How do you view social media? Is it, as some would say, an annoying waste of time? A valuable tool? A networking environment? Or something else?
GeriPal, one of my favorite blogs, is encouraging its readers to sign up for Twitter, which is one form of social media. In fact, they posted three separate posts with interviews of influential people, including our friends Christian Sinclair and Diane Meier, about why we should all be using Twitter.
One of the most important things to understand about most social media, and especially Twitter, at least in my case, is that you do not need to read everything. It is nothing short of impossible to do. If you are the sort of person who has to read every word printed in the daily newspaper, then social media may not be for you. If you skim the headlines and read what you find important or interesting, you are on your way.
Dr. Sinclair likens it to a news ticker: read it as it scrolls by, as you are able. If you find something worthwhile, spend a little more time there.
I have found a lot to like about various social media sites, but like anything, they are a means, not an end. They can easily be misused, but in the right hands, they can be a valuable tool. I have said before that these venues remind me of where email and internet access at work were about 15 years ago; no one knew what quite to do with them and now they are part of our daily lives.
Don’t close your eyes or you’ll miss something important these days!
Last Updated: November 6, 2018