Is Social Media Dangerous?

I am trying to walk the line between "Everyone needs a LinkedIn profile to be legitimate in business" and "I sincerely fear that Twitter is dangerous for my health."

I know Twitter is an effective marketing tool for some and probably would be for me, but I am seriously concerned about the effect on my brain (and yours) of shorter and shorter attention spans. I tried to explain my thought yesterday in an interview with Jim Blasingame of the Small Business Advocate. Not sure yet how clear it is but you can read Jim's summary and then link to our interview at the end of his blog post here: http://blog.smallbusinessadvocate.com/home-based-business/can-social-media-be-dangerous-to-your-small-business

Post your comments here or on his blog, if you feel moved to do so.

Comments

[TurtleBlueBird]

So we've gotten to the point where a reasonable reserve or being willing to take some time to assess whether a tool will actually work in a particular situation given an individials's actual capacity to spend the time - that's heretical?

I guess I'm heretical too, Ilise. The minute I hear "Everyone has to .... whatever," I immediately say, "Whoa....can I know that that's true for me?"

(And older relative always tried to push their opinion by bringing in "They." "They do this and They do that." I guess "Everyone" in the new "They.")

EVERY marketing tool is effective for someone. The question we all have to ask ourselves is which few are right for us as individuals. Shouldn't it be about rightness and choice?!!

[Stacey Morris]

Great interview with Jim! You nailed it about shorter attention and thinking spans.

Too much petty stimulation, like mind-blowing by 1000 cuts. Yesterday I found myself emailing someone, texting someone else, and talking on the phone to a 3rd person - simultaneously!

It's become almost impossible for me to sit still for any length of time without "something on". I worry about the kids today - how will they ever learn to sit down quietly and think something through? We're all just reacting to these constant minor inputs.

PS-about Twitter, Jim talked about how he posts "valuable information" tweets. The problem is his tweet has to compete with 100 others on one page. Twitter just looks like an electronic classified ad section.

[Stacey Morris]

Forget microblogging...now you can nanoblog!

http://kenmccarthy.com/blog/?p=132

It's nice to see younger people have a sense of irony about all this.

[Vivienne Scholl]

I understand that Twitter can be a great tool for some. I'm on it myself. I use it sparingly and only follow a few people — people I know and/or those who have I feel have something valuable to say. However, I share your fear, Ilise, about what this type of communication is doing to our brains. It's a gradual devolvement, so we may not see effects for a few years, but I do think we will see them. I think it's really important that we retain a high regard for real quality communication and share this with the next generation.