Wednesday, June 25, 2008

I'm Just Not That Social

I've been online for a long time, not as long as some, but still a long time. I remember when AOL was the place to be, I ventured into my first chat room. It didn't take me long to realize that this world was not for me. The chaos of dozens of people trying to talk over each other just made my head hurt. So I used the Internet for other things, knowledge and entertainment and I was happy.

Cut to more than a decade later and I run across Etsy and soon after the forums. I liked the structure and more importantly I had something fundamental in common with the users. I was quickly addicted to this newly discovered social club. Then it started, the many suggestions for networking and advertising. I started with a MySpace page and it was fun for a while, then there was Indiepublic, then Street Team forums, Flickr and the sites just kept coming. In the last week alone I've received half a dozen invitations to join various social networking sites.

Enough already! If I wanted to be this social I would actually leave my house. What's worse is most of these sites are set up just for you to pimp your wares and that gets old real fast. I mean, would you go out to dinner and then visit every table in the restaurant doing product demonstrations and handing out business cards? If you said yes to that question, I think you may have a problem. I know that exposure is the key to getting your name well known and that's the basis for most advertising, but this is getting seriously ridiculous.

I'm very picky about who I hang out with and who I call friends in real life, so why wouldn't I carry that over into the online world. Why should I join dozens of sites and spend my precious time talking to random people just to make a sale when I could spend that time with, Oh, I don't know...my kids. I've found some wonderful people on etsy and in a few other choice places and I think that I would actually spend time with them if they lived near me and I've learned things from people I never would have met otherwise. All social networking isn't a bad thing, but I think we are encouraging each other to do far too much of it for all the wrong reasons.

I think that I have reached my limit for online socializing for now. Maybe in the future I'll find a group or two that fulfill a special need or niche, but until then I'm done. So, if you wouldn't mind, no more "you should join us here" or "this is a great place to...", I'm just not that social.

8 comments:

Gray Eyed Scorpio said...

I hear you.
I too am stingy with my time, sharing it only with those I truly enjoy--and even then only on occasion.

I also understand the feeling that if other Etsy folks were my neighbors, we'd hang out. But I don't have the time or energy for "virtual" friendships.

Unknown said...

*smiles* Great post! I simply stopped most online socializing. I couldn't keep up and it was stressing me out remembering all the passwords and sites and so on. Now I visit the sites I feel like when I feel like it and that's that.

Cheers to less socializing *smiles*

BeadedTail said...

Very well said. I often think that it's so crazy that I sit at the computer for hours doing all my "socializing" while life outside my office passes me by. Time for me to rearrange my priorities.

rose AKA Walk in the Woods - she/her said...

I relate! It's why my blog is about whatever I happen to make - could be a decision, could be supper, could be anything at all, even something for sale on Etsy - - - but I prefer that to be the exception.

:)

Thanks - I sometimes feel alone in that perspective and its nice to know that I'm not!

SarahKelley said...

I'm getting there . . .

Gina said...

Oh me too and I'm not even selling anything! I continually get invites to groups and forums and rings of one kind or another. Your personal info is already at risk online - why increase the potential? I have a friend who joins something and then apparently allows it to import his address book because I'll get invites supposedly from him and I know absolutely that he did not make a point of inviting me. I also do not like the sites that connect everywhere else. I am not interested in the friends of friends. I have tons of friends already, thank you!
:-) Gina

Waterrose said...

See I'm catching up on your posts. I too am done with trying to find the "social networking" group that will help me grow my business. What is ridiculous in regard to most/many of these sites is that we are just cross pollenating. Rather than reaching out to people who aren't artists/crafters we are staying within our own circle. That's part of the reason my blog is eclectic and contains many topics that occur in my life. Plus, I enjoy sharing that info.

Rascallion said...

I totally agree, I am now very selective of where I spend my virtual time.