Social Media

Social media is everywhere. It's a big part of how we communicate now and when used right, has a lot of advantages. But there are so many different services it can be hard to navigate. I'm not an early adopter so I'm usually a little late to the bandwagon. I want to make sure something is going to stick before I devote time to it. But at this moment I feel good about my social media commitments and I think I have it down. Here is how I use social media*:

Instagram: I decided to join Instagram after a trip to New York a few years ago. I was hanging out with my two fabulous friends who were snapping and Instagraming like crazy. They made it seem fun and easy so I thought I'd jump on the band wagon. I instantly loved it. As a visual person I enjoy that it's picture based. And because of the relatively strict structure (only a picture with maybe a comment) it's a clean interface. You get a window into people's lives, or at least how they want their lives to look. It's also the first time I've really followed people on social media who I didn't know personally. I use it to share little moments in my life that feel poignant. Maybe it's my baby taking a nap. Maybe it's a man and his dog looking into a gallery window. As most of my day is staring at my computer screen so I don't post a lot, but I like having this venue to share these moment and see what other people are experiencing.

Facebook: I like to keep my Facebook and Instagram separate as I find it confusing if I have the same pictures on both. So while Instagram is for moments, Facebook is for updates. At this point it's almost a practical thing. I have a lot of friends and family that are spread out all over the world and Facebook is how we keep up with what everyone has going on. It allows me to share Pepper updates with Drew's parents who are in Michigan, or her god-parents in London. It's a way I can learn about someone getting a new job or having another baby. And I've recently come to enjoy how people share interesting articles there too. I don't post often, and I've unfortunate become one of those people who just posts pics of their baby, but people seem to enjoy them!

Pinterest: My most recent social media venture, and I like it. I'm an online shopper and always struggled to bookmark things I'd find that I liked but wasn't ready (and will probably never) purchase. Not I can bookmark them! And get suggestions from other people! And search for recipes! Basically it's another great visual way to share things, but this time it's sharing things you find on the internet. Since I spend most of my time online it's become a wonderfully useful tool.

Twitter: I resisted Twitter for a long time. D got on it last year and kept encouraging me to try it. I finally did in order to get updates from a local charter school that was opening up. But, I don't really enjoy it or find it useful. I find that I get the updates and access to people I want through other social media channels. So it ends up just feeling redundant. I have an account, but I never post, and I hardly ever look at it.

In a nutshell: I love Instagram and Pinterest, Facebook feels necessary, and Twitter is not my thing. How do you use your social media? Is there something about Twitter I'm just not getting?

*Right now this is limited to personal use, not for work or business.

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