Social Networking.

I am totally and completely a social networking fiend [Note: This is what the majority of the world would deem a nerd]. Honestly, these sites are the first thing I check in the morning and the last thing I find myself doing at night. Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, Tumblr, Blogger. I love them! I wouldn't say I was obsessed exactly, but I definitely spend more than my fair share of time roaming around these sites.

I think I love the fact that even though you are behind a computer screen, you are still interacting socially with the people around you. It's the same as one would have gone and say, hung out in a bar, in the olden days (1999). However, the bar is just a little bigger these days. There are more people, broader interests, greater variety, and maybe even a little less alcoholism. Each site, or online meeting place, if you will, serves a totally different purpose. For me, it goes like this:

Facebook--a site for me to keep up with the people I actually do spend time with in "real life". Also, a good way to reconnect with old chums that have been lost along the way (think high school friends). And, lastly, not to mention most shamefully, I must admit it is a great way to stalk other peoples' lives. As I always say though, if people didn't want you to look, they wouldn't put it on the internet.

Twitter--I know a lot of people use it as a more "general audience" tool than Facebook. For me though, I find that my tweets are much more personal than my statuses on Facebook. Perhaps it is because I choose to maintain a private Twitter account paired with the fact that I have less than 30 followers. I feel I can be more true to myself in an environment where only a few people are reading my thoughts.

Flickr--This is my most recent addition to my social networking lineup. I love it because I enjoy receiving feedback on my photos. Also, I really like viewing other peoples' work and commenting on it as well. It is a great learning tool and very unlike the other networking sites I partake in.

Tumblr--I would say I have a love/hate relationship with Tumblr. At first, I loved it, but there is only so much time you can spend editing and updating a page that you feel as though no one views. So, I quit using it for a time. However, I have returned and have a new page now. I'm just using it to post photography mostly. It's mostly just for my own enjoyment and self-accountability, but it would be nice to have others enjoy it as well.

Blogger--It's odd for me to think of Blogger as a social networking site. I know it is, but it is easy to forget that when you are writing almost solely for yourself. I know there are a few people who read this blog off and on, but it is pretty private. Only a handful of my friends know this blog exists and they are a few that I trust deeply. Therefore, I am extremely open on here. I treat it as a semi-private journal and almost always forget that other people will be reading. It's a nice place for me to write and let out my feelings.

Anyway, that's my take on social networking and whatnot. There's no real reason for this post, other than the fact that it was on my mind.