Sunday, July 17, 2011

The New Age Is Upon Us (Apparently)

So I am now officially on Google+, which is apparently going to take the world by storm and destroy all other forms of social networking. Honestly, after playing around with it for a few hours, I can't decide if I'm impressed.

Yes, it will allow you to put different people in different circles (two of the pre-made ones when you first sign on are "friends" - who are the people you feel you can share "personal, deep" information with, and another is "acquaintances" - who are people you know but wouldn't want to share a lot with)... umm, is there really even a point to having people who you wouldn't consider a friend on there?? 

Personally, I feel like this is just going to allow people to be more fake. I mean, you can create a circle of all your church friends and then every day post really inspiring, "look at me I'm such a great person" posts up, and those people will think you live every day like a saint... while in another circle of "college buddies" you're posting the pictures of the insane party you threw last weekend. It's like having twenty-something different personalities, and there never has to be a "real you" that you are with everyone. 

Personally, I'd like to be a "real me" all the time.

Sure, it makes it easier to chat with groups or let certain people in on plans, or things like that. But I don't know. 

Plus, I feel like it's a lot less secure than Facebook. People you don't even know can add you to circles, and if you don't know them, you can block them, but you can't reject them putting you in one of their circles (so even if you block them, you remain in their circle, and they can still message you or send things to you)... and personally, that makes me a tad bit uncomfortable.

I debated making a page for the blog, but I'm not sure of it. I don't know if that's even something anybody is going to do. I feel like a whole new wave of unsecure networks is coming around. And honestly, I have WAY too much history on facebook to leave it. Pictures I don't have saved anywhere else, statuses my husband tagged me in way back when we first met. 

That's why everything has to be so secretive these days, you know?
I mean, I don't even have my first name on this blog.
And the vast majority of people on here will never even know it.
We are out here putting our lives out there, trying to find people to listen.
To care.
To understand.
To relate.
To sympathize.
And yet, we have to protect ourselves from people more than ever.
Ironic, isn't it?

What do you think about all this new social networking? What do you think about our privacy as individuals vs. our "for-the-world-to-see" lives? Just some food for thought on this Sunday evening :)

3 comments:

  1. Well first, I feel stupid cause I can't figure out how to use it. I can only see how to edit my profile, nothing else.
    But from what I heard about it, I agree about the friends circles and leading to being more fake, and teens being able to get away with a lot more crap they put online.
    Ya I really don't feel like transfering my tons of fb pictures over. Thats four years of pictures I have on there.

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  2. That is a really interesting point about the circles that I never thought of before. I am not a huge fan either. But, I also remember it took me a while to get use to facebook as well. I'm not really convinced it will surpass facebook.

    Also, if you go to your circles, then people who put you in their circles (assuming the person you want to block did that) and click on the person and then click on more actions on the right hand side of the page. There should be an option to block them. I don't know how that effects them putting you in their circle because I don't know a whole lot about how it all works yet. But, I would think that would prevent them from seeing you or sending you things.

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  3. Hi! I can't see it replacing facebook. I don't have time to do both and if I have to choose, I am leaning toward FB. New follower from the military monday blog hop! I would love for you to stop by http://aboutamom.com to say hi & return follow! :)

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