Saturday, July 16, 2016

Being Social Ain't Easy

To share or not to share? That is just one of many questions that invade my thoughts as I navigate the various Web 2.0 tools for this course. In my attempt to keep up with my with social media, curation, bookmarking, and anything-else-you-can-think-of tool, I have become completely overwhelmed about what to post, when to post, and where to post it! I was somewhat private on some social media platforms that I had before enrolling in this course, but now I am trying to find ways to extend my personal learning network and engage with more people via the web. So that leads to constant conundrums about the the best place to post the best content to maximize engagement. I have literally found myself bookmarking a web page in Diigo, tweeting the link on Twitter, pinning the link on a board in Pinterest, and sharing the same web page on Facebook. One time, I almost retweeted my own tweet after reading it and thinking it sounded like good information to share. SMH! 



I have found myself in a constant state of checking websites and smartphone apps over and over again to see if someone has replied to a post or liked a picture or viewed a post. The more I check, the more I want to keep checking to make sure I'm not missing an opportunity to engage with others. I even signed up for Hootsuite -- a social media management system -- to help me streamline my various social media accounts and get analytics for each so I can gauge the level of engagement happening. At this point, I have managed to set up three different tabs and linked a number of my social media accounts with Hootsuite, in addition to watching countless tutorial videos on how to use Hootsuite (and still feel like I don't quite get it). HELP!


I am seriously suffering from social media overload. I find myself saying "it's just too much" way too often. I even mentioned to a friend that I was literally having a social media anxiety attack (or at least that's what it feels like). At the end of the day, I do believe Web 2.0 tools create great learning opportunities, but with every gain comes a little pain!



8 comments:

  1. I have to agree with you! Yesterday was a day and I felt totally overwhelmed. Sometimes the body demands attention and you have to disengage from Web 2.0. The pace is hectic but the learning experience is great. As you said, with every gain comes a little pain! Your blog posts are amazing by the way! I think you're definitely a blogger!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for the comment about my blog. I am really giving some thought to continue my blog after this class, but we'll see. LOL.

      Delete
  2. I really like that you shared the ASAP Science video. I have watched so many of their videos!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I feel the same! I'm always logged into so many sites at once and trying to keep tabs on how many places I've shared something, and constantly going back and forth between them trying to take advantage of those opportunities for engagement. It is dizzying. Thanks for Sharing Hootsuite! It sounds like a welcome relief from these "social media growing pains" we seem to be experiencing.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Let me know if you end up trying Hootsuite and what you think. I was a little overwhelmed when I tried to use it, but I may give it another try.

      Delete
  4. Hi Chandra!
    I feel the same. This summer is a season that I feel overloaded from social networking because I am out of the states. I do frequently use social network services when I go to campus. But now, I just 'like' or 'retweet' during the summer break. Perhaps when the fall semester begins I will become an active poster.

    ReplyDelete
  5. It does sometimes feel like social media overload, doesn't it? I was so grateful when Dr. Dennen posted that it's totally ok to feel overwhelmed and take a day off. It felt like permission to give my brain a rest. Yesterday, I was at home and thinking that I needed to sit down and look at some of my platforms and apps and then I thought, "No, Dr. Dennen said it's ok to not to do that right now". And, so I went for a long walk around the lake with my daughter and my husband...sans smart phones. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes. Unplugging is definitely the answer at times. Hope you enjoyed the walk around the lake with your family.

      Delete