The Changing Times of Social Media

in , , , , ,

Disclaimer: This article is all my opinions backed with nothing except my experiences. Disagree? Great, write it in the comments. I wish I was one of those people that was cool enough to be on MySpace, but my dad was too concerned about online trolls to allow me to be on that site, so I was a late bloomer on social media and didn't get a Facebook until senior year of high school. Despite my late start, social media has changed vastly since I began roughly five years ago. Facebook used to be the mecca of all things social media and nothing else mattered. I'd say Facebook is being dwarfed these days. Maybe not by one other site taking over its reign or its universal appeal, but Facebook isn't quite the end-all-be-all that it used to be. Here's the evolution/devolution of every social media site on my plate:

Facebook: When I joined Facebook, all my friends were already on it, and now 97% of everyone in my age bracket is on Facebook. While that's a whole lotta people, I don't see Facebook as that big of a deal to me anymore. It's a part of my life, but not as consuming or entertaining as it used to be. Since everyone's on it, there's too much happening and I feel like I can't concentrate on anything in particular anymore.

Purpose of medium: I use it to keep track of friends, sort of like a rolodex. It also serves as my photo album, as I never take pictures anymore. Do I post my feelings on there? Hellz no and you'll bother me if you do. It's too wide of a network for you to be splattering yours emotions everywhere. Keep it in check.

Award: My first love. Facebook will always have a piece of my heart but it isn't my primary concern anymore.

Twitter: I actually joined Twitter right when it came out, and then quickly deleted it. I didn't understand it and I had no one to follow that I knew. Then I took a social media class that forced me to get Twitter. And I HATED IT!! People were just whining all the time and sending out stupid links and for the life of me I could not figure out why anyone would be on it. Then I took another social media class and refined my list to useful, newsworthy sources and next thing I knew, I loved Twitter. I love the simplicity. Coming from Facebook, where there's so much happening (events, groups, messaging, posts, polls, etc. etc.), I embraced the condensed nature of the medium.

Purpose of medium: I use Twitter to entertain me, as well as gather news. I follow friends, but mainly I like Twitter for news and entertainment. In good fashion, I use Twitter most to keep abreast of social media and technology changes.

Award: My favorite and most-used.

Instagram: I just got Instagram when I got a smart phone post-grad. AND I LOVE IT. It's a place to put those pictures that are too chummy for Facebook. My entire family is on Facebook, but none of them are on Instagram. I also love Instagram because it's low thought. You never have to read anything. You can just look at pretty pictures and keep it moving.

Purpose of medium: Another photo album that doesn't need to be seen by an entire Facebook network.

Award: The most atheistically pleasing

Foursquare: I am even more of a n00b on Foursquare. And you know my thoughts on it: nice try, but did not materialize like anyone would have hoped. None of my friends are on it, nor do I particularly like checking in places because I am terrified of someone stalking me.

Purpose of medium: I only stay on this social network for two reasons:

1. My boss told me I had to be on Foursqare

2. It helps my Klout score (and for no good reason, I am somewhat obsessed with my Klout score)

Award: Most likely to encourage stalking

Pinterest: I used to be OBSESSED with Pinterest. Absolutely obsessed. I pinned the shit out of everything. I'd waste hours making boards. Then I got bored and gave up and never went back. The end of that. It's probably for the best, as I was becoming a recluse planning my future wedding, babies, and closet on a budget that I will NEVER have.

Purpose of medium: Organize a fantasy life that you will never have and then feel sorry for yourself that you will never have any of it, until you read your "quotes" board and convince yourself that it will all work out in the end, since you're a strong person, or whatever that inspirational quote you pinned a few weeks ago is telling you.

Award: Most like meth, or at least I'd assume, as I've never done meth, but basically the most addicting social media site you can use.

Vine: I've never used it, but I've seen some Vines before and it bothers me that people think they're hot shit because they're "Vine Famous" and then announce it in all of their videos, like being Vine famous is something worth bragging about, when in reality it just means you have no life and dedicate yourself to taking videos of yourself all day.

Purpose of medium: To make videos of yourself to amuse complete strangers with all the strange faces and weird bodily noises you can make.

Award: Most annoying

Google+: Is this even a thing anymore?....

Purpose of medium: Wait so is it still around?...

Award: The Facebook with No Friends Award. It's tough to be social when no one is in that social network.

Lunch Break Confusion

in , , , , ,

Lunch used to be my time to get away from everything in the office and relax. It was my 45 minutes of sunshine. These two past weeks have turned that time into a time of confusion and struggles. Last week it was the stalker, as accounted in Why Can't you just Stick to Stalking Me Online, and this week it was autumn picking on me. I always take my lunch sitting outside at the picnic tables. However, it's rained and been cold every day this week, which poses a real problem for my routine.

On Monday, I was still wary that my stalker would be around, so my roommate brought her family to come eat lunch with me. By Tuesday, she was back working, so I needed to grow up and take lunch alone again. However, it was raining, so I decided just to eat in the office. I was surrounded by my work, so it wasn't relaxing in the least and I ended up working for the entirety of it. I went stir crazy by the end of the day, so I knew on Wednesday I'd need a new plan.

Since it was cold and raining, I knew sitting outside wasn't an option, so I left my office and ate in my car. I knew I needed to get out of the office, but I already had brought lunch, so i didn't have an excuse to go sit in a restaurant. So in my car in the parking garage I sat. It was weird, so I didn't want to do that again.

Thursday I decided to go pick up my birth control so I'd have a reason to leave for lunch. That excursion lasted all of 5 minutes, so I decided that maybe sitting in my car in a new location wouldn't be as bad. It wasn't AS bad, but still weird.

So here came Friday, where I ended up sitting in my car in yet another different parking lot. I don't want any businesses to think I'm creepy, so I'm trying to vary it up and park far away from the door. As I sit here, I wonder; what do people do for lunch breaks when they can't sit outside? My roommate goes to buy lunch everyday so she can sit inside, but I just don't see that fitting into my budget. There no lounge in my building. And staying at my desk for nine hours without reprieve makes me crazy. I miss in college when there were plenty of buildings you could sit in and wait around in without it being weird.

The only factor making me feel a little bit better about my car lunches is that there's a guy a few parking spots away also enjoying his car lunch. Here's to confusing lunchtimes!

My Experience with Lengthy Resumes

in , , , ,

I used to help in the career and academic center in college and my favorite task was reviewing resumes. It's a really nerdy thing to love, but even now I throw myself at people writing resumes because I want to help them. Part of it is because it's fulfilling to help someone write a resume that will get them a job, and part of it is seeing how they interpret how to craft a resume. On the general whole, most young people don't know what to do on resumes. There are those that put nothing in their resume because they don't know what to put, and then there are those that have a 14 page resume.

Let that sink in.

14 pages.

She was a freshman in college too, so it's not like she was documenting her research qualifications and doctorate theses.

Not only did she have 14 pages, but she was emotionally attached to every page. To her credit, she was involved in a lot, but it got a bit ridiculous citing a D.A.R.E award from elementary school. When I suggested cutting out the dated information, it was like asking I was asking her to slaughter a puppy. I actually started to feel bad asking her if we could cut out her listing of participation awards.

What she didn't see what those 14 pages were making it difficult for anyone to ascertain the important aspects of her achievements. Essentially, she was a hoarder of information and it cluttered all the valuables to the point you didn't even know they were there. Instead of making it look like she was qualified, it made her look disorganized and desperate to prove herself.

After showing her what a one page resume looked like a highlighting the parts of her resume that I would keep, I sent her on her way and recommended bringing in her resume to an academic advisor after she fixed it up. A good ending to the story would be that she saw the light and brought in a one page resume, but I don't actually know that it ever happened like that.

I hope she did take my advice, but if not, I at least hope this memory is an inspiration to ensure that no resume you ever present to a potential employer resembles a novella.

That Day I Spent Trying to Engage Famous People

in , , , , ,

Sometimes I get bored and read articles pertaining to my profession. I found this one awhile back that said that one way to get more followers and a higher Klout score is to engage with people that have more Klout than you. Duly noted. I never really acted on this advice until recently. I thought a less direct way to engage with people that will get my name known would be to use a hashtag that would make me famous. Obviously, I'm taking about the #InsertBandNameTODAY hashtag from the Today Show. (For those of you not familiar, every morning while the band plays, they show tweets that use the hashtag of the name of the band with TODAY at the end of it). After a week of trying to get my tweets on tv with no success, I gave up on that technique.

Then I moved to tweeting about products I liked, such as telling Panera I was craving a sandwich, or that Keurig coffee in the office was a real bonus. That got boring quick, as I'd essential get nothing more than a thanks.

So then I decided to aim a bit higher. I spent a day tweeting bands, celebrities, politicians, basically everyone about what I liked about them. I tweeted to one of the Congressmen that said they'd volunteer to not get paid during the shutdown. I tweeted to Ed Sheeran about one of his songs. I got nothing back from anyone. Then I got sad, CNN was on, and Jake Tapper came on with a bad looking hair do. So I tweeted about it.

AND HE RESPONDED THE VERY NEXT COMMERCIAL BREAK.

Tweet to Jake Tapper

I felt like a dick. The poor guy is covering the government shutdown and instead of me saying, "great coverage, way to ask the tough questions," or something, he gets to look at his Twitter and see me dissing his hair.

Then I tried to mediate it and say that his hair doesn't look that bad. I threw in a smiley face for good measure, only then have instant regret for thoughts it seemed creepy that I just did that. Whoops.

I think I'll stick to not tweeting at famous people from now on in fear I might actually get a response.

My First Time Interviewing Someone

in , , , , , ,

I've been through lots of interviews where people have been asking me questions. From trying to get scholarships for school to getting jobs, I would say I've been interviewed at least 20 times. But I've never interviewed someone else before today. Never before have I been in the drivers seat with someone else's livelihood in my hands. And let me tell you, being the interviewer probably made me more nervous than the person I was interviewing. I wanted to ask good questions that allowed her to explain herself, yet difficult enough questions to reveal something about her.

It's a challenge finding a happy mix of tough and informative. Also, I don't want to be THAT person that you leave the interview room cursing under your breath because they were so tough. I can't tell you what she thought of me when she left, but she did end up getting the job, so apparently I did a good enough job interviewing her for my boss to learn about her and make a judgement call. So far she's been an asset to our projects and I've enjoyed her in the office.

Here is my favorite question I asked, why I asked it, and what I gleaned from it:

Have you encountered a time that you had a creative difference with a client or coworker, and how did you handle it? This question is essential for the field I am in, as well as the job she was applying for. We have creative differences all the time in my office, which is never a bad thing. We just are all creative people with unique ideas on how to solve the problem. I wanted someone that would say they would vocalize their ideas and work towards a way to use all of our creative ideas for the betterment of the project.

She didn't seem like one of those people that were rigid in their thinking and do not listen to creative solutions, so I liked her more.

I also think my interview was successful because I avoiding stupid cliche interview questions such as "What's your biggest weakness?" which guarantees that you'll get some bullshit answer that doesn't allow you to gain any insight into their character.

Here's hoping she's a good fit and I can pat myself on the back for interviewing and selecting a winner!

I'm Too Awkward to Network

in , , , , , , ,

Networking is one of those things that you HAVE to do if you want to get new clients, retain clients, meet new companies to work for, recruit people, and basically every other business essential. So, I go to networking events. And it never ends with me congratulating myself for a job well done in the car on my way home. Nope. It's always me shaking my head, wondering how this can possibly be helping my company. Here are three summaries of the networking events I have been to thus far in Richmond:

The first networking event I went to was after work in an area I did not know. I left work, only to realize that I had left too late to make it on time, so the entire time I was driving there I was having bad anxiety for being late. I show up late, only to realize that the start time was pretty lenient. So now I was that awkward person stress sweating in the corner over nothing. I spent the first few minutes mingling and making small talk. Then the speaker said it was time to start, but feel free to grab some appetizers since it was a casual event. So, I take that to mean that I should grab food.

I'm piling up my plate full of cheese, and then decide I want some grapes. Rather than walking around the table to grab the grapes, I just reach over, and BAM: knock over my full plate of cheese. So then I proceed to clean up all the cheese cubes off the floor, while the speaker is speaking. Once I am done, I decide to try again, since I am still hungry.

I get my cheese to my seat safely and devour it quickly to make the whole eating debacle end. The speaker ends and I am ready to get out. I've hit my limit on networking, so I make a B-line to the door. Naturally, I run into the speaker, who thanks me for coming and asks me if I had any questions. I froze on the spot. My mind was blank. Literally nothing was happening up in the barren wasteland of where my brain supposedly was.

"Thank you for the presentation! I was very interested in it," was all I managed as I stumbled back out onto the street. I kicked myself the whole way home for that one.

The second event I went to was a lot less traumatic. I went with a co-worker, so we stuck by each other and I created a lot less of a scene. I can't say this was a successful event since the only person I "networked" with was the woman I already worked with, but at least all the cheese stayed on the table this time.

The third event I went to gave me more social anxiety, as I knew I was going alone again. I literally had a nightmare the night before about what might go wrong. Regardless, I showed up, signed in, and went straight to the bathroom. It seemed like the place to go where being alone wasn't awkward. When I reemerged, I saw a friendly looking lady sitting in a corner alone. Naturally, that is where I wanted to go.

We chatted it up and exchanged business cards. It felt like I was actually networking properly this time. Then we go inside and I have some awkward dialogue with a few older men, and end up with a guy that decides to sit way too close to me. Beside the discomfort of someone within my personal bubble for the entire luncheon, there were only two awkward incidents at this event, which I will count as a victory.

My two awkward moments stem from asking these questions:

1. "What did you study to get a job like that?" On its face, it seems like a normal question, but I made an assumption that they went to school to study something, so there was a long awkward pause when it was admitted that she did not go to college. I tried playing it off, so hopefully it was only a little awkward.

2. "How long have you been in direct sales?" Again, I thought this seemed safe, but nay. This question went over like a lead balloon. The man cut his eyes to me and told me not to ask that. Apparently, men too have a complex when you ask them something that might indicate their age.

So maybe networking isn't my thing right now, but hopefully with a few more experience, I will walk away with more business contacts and less embarrassing stories to tell people.

Are You YOU on Social Media?

in , , , , ,

My friend and I were having a chat over lunch once about how people act on social media and it got me thinking, do most people use social media to express things they wish they could in real life, or are they the same person online as they are in real life? I tend to think of myself falling in the latter category, where I am the same person online as I am in real life. I tell the truth, I compliment the same things, I whine about the same things, I talk about the same things, my voice is the same, etc. What you see online is essentially what you'd get in person.

However, some people disagree. Someone I was friends with used to say that what they said on twitter essentially didn't count towards who they were in real life. They used twitter as an outlet for things they can't say in the real world, or don't actually apply to their life.

So what do you think? Are you YOU on social media, or is there some sort of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde thing happening when you hit your computer?

Let's get a good poll going! Also, leave comments, especially if you think you're different online than you are in real life. [polldaddy poll=7406652]

5V5FS4T8ZECN