Social Media has changed... for me
Social media is the largest phenomenon of the modern era. never before have you been able to connect with your world in this way. You can look up anyone anytime these days like never before. You can stay in touch with your cousin in Tulsa or in Sidney. Social media has changed geography in people minds. No one is thousands of miles away they are yes a finger tap away. All this has been fantastic, however on May 18th 2012 something major changed in social media. For the first time Facebook the largest social media platform ever needed to make money. Because their were investors involved. And while its not true that Facebook did not make money prior to may 2012 it was not something they tried to do.
Much of the work before 2012 was getting people on the platform. I joined in 2007, and many of the "younger" generation joined in the time before 2012. That was a different time for facebook. There were no paid ads or fancy algorithms like today. It was a very simple.
Turn the clock to 2016 where ads could have swayed the American election. I have considered many times how I interact with social media. If I don't like something I unfollow it, I ask faceboook not to show it to me. Social media used to be a pool of programming genius. And it many ways it is, however the programmers have over programmed our view. And we let them! We got on the site. We uploaded the pictures of our babies and cats! We allow ourselves to be swayed. Back in the heyday of social media we all flocked to it because we wanted some kind of connection that we didn't have in every day world.
But did we get a new connection? Rolling back the clock a bit further, the days of Myspace. I signed up for Myspace in late 2004, it was fantastic! I didn't have many friends, or really any at all. Back in those wonder years neither did the people I was interacting with. And soon the people I was talking to became my friends. And for all definitions they were my friends. I talked to them often, usually through instant messenger (another almost gone technology). At the peak of my internet friend story I had 20 or so friends that I regularly corresponded with. I had friends in Texas, Friends in Chicago, California, South Africa, Australia, the UK.From that only a handful have stuck to this day, one friend from Texas has visited me many times and I likewise. Many of them today are connected via facebook. We talk from time to time. Though life is much different. Some have disappeared altogether, never to be heard from. Even with many unfruitful searches they cannot be found. Making me wonder if they were ever real at all. Did someone make them up?
Social media has changed for me, I see it a very different light. I do not see it as a way to make new friends or even a way to keep up with friends. In fact some of my best friends do not even have a social media account. Social media has been a great way in recent years to display my life. Because I am an entrepreneur I see the need to keep my face in the public eye. However every-time I post I have 3 questions I ask myself
Facebook is everything I loved about the internet rolled into one platform. I cannot knock its genius. However the genius behind facebook is getting smarter and they are looking to get to know you to sell to you, to understand you, to know where you are, not to be your friend but rather to profit from your life.
Stay safe
-Nate Sheen
Nate is a cyber security professional in the US, he owns DataCom Technologies an IT Management firm. He specializes in protecting data and assets.
Much of the work before 2012 was getting people on the platform. I joined in 2007, and many of the "younger" generation joined in the time before 2012. That was a different time for facebook. There were no paid ads or fancy algorithms like today. It was a very simple.
Turn the clock to 2016 where ads could have swayed the American election. I have considered many times how I interact with social media. If I don't like something I unfollow it, I ask faceboook not to show it to me. Social media used to be a pool of programming genius. And it many ways it is, however the programmers have over programmed our view. And we let them! We got on the site. We uploaded the pictures of our babies and cats! We allow ourselves to be swayed. Back in the heyday of social media we all flocked to it because we wanted some kind of connection that we didn't have in every day world.
But did we get a new connection? Rolling back the clock a bit further, the days of Myspace. I signed up for Myspace in late 2004, it was fantastic! I didn't have many friends, or really any at all. Back in those wonder years neither did the people I was interacting with. And soon the people I was talking to became my friends. And for all definitions they were my friends. I talked to them often, usually through instant messenger (another almost gone technology). At the peak of my internet friend story I had 20 or so friends that I regularly corresponded with. I had friends in Texas, Friends in Chicago, California, South Africa, Australia, the UK.From that only a handful have stuck to this day, one friend from Texas has visited me many times and I likewise. Many of them today are connected via facebook. We talk from time to time. Though life is much different. Some have disappeared altogether, never to be heard from. Even with many unfruitful searches they cannot be found. Making me wonder if they were ever real at all. Did someone make them up?
Social media has changed for me, I see it a very different light. I do not see it as a way to make new friends or even a way to keep up with friends. In fact some of my best friends do not even have a social media account. Social media has been a great way in recent years to display my life. Because I am an entrepreneur I see the need to keep my face in the public eye. However every-time I post I have 3 questions I ask myself
- Do I need to share this?
- Should I shared this?
- Why does anyone else need to see this?
Facebook is everything I loved about the internet rolled into one platform. I cannot knock its genius. However the genius behind facebook is getting smarter and they are looking to get to know you to sell to you, to understand you, to know where you are, not to be your friend but rather to profit from your life.
Stay safe
-Nate Sheen
Nate is a cyber security professional in the US, he owns DataCom Technologies an IT Management firm. He specializes in protecting data and assets.
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