The entanglement of social media grows.
We all had to have blogs and then certain types of blogs, like WordPress. And then we all had to be on Facebook and not long after we all had to be on Twitter. This was followed by a need to be on foursquare and then an insistence we all have QR codes. Now we’ll all soon need to incorporate Google+ and so the entanglement grows.
Despite all our talk about simplicity and usability (the latter not so much anymore), we continue to impose layers of complexity on our social tools that entangle us like pretzels gone mad.
The irony is that much of that entanglement is a result of trying to keep things simple.
Our sites are littered with icons for the various social media platforms that are out there so a visitor can share a link with others. But it is getting to be like trying to buy shoes for walking or running at a sports store.
The walls are cluttered with hundreds to choose from. Some are for walking, some for running sprints, some for long distance, some for combinations of both, some may be for running in different time zones … and so on. And each comes in oodles of styles.
We stare at the walls blankly, overwhelmed by all the choices, and often end up saying, “I guess I didn’t need new shoes after all.”
I’m as guilty as the next person when it comes to layering complexity. Want to leave a comment? How would you like to do that? Use your Disqus account? Open ID? Facebook? Twitter? In theory, it is easier to just use one of those accounts. However, that ease is lost in the complexity of trying to decide just which one of all those social media platforms to use. You have to go through a grocery list of them.
And heaven help you if you assign different purposes to your various accounts and use one to comment or link when it’s intended for another account.
You could say one for all is best but then that works best if you’re a one trick pony: your business is your life or you have only one interest. I like social media items but I also like old movies. Most people I know that like old movies have only mild interest, at best, in following social media news. And most people I know that are interested in social media couldn’t give a damn about old movies.
It seems best to separate them but then that adds a level of complexity.
I suppose I could go on, but I think my point has been made. I also think there is a follow up post in the works because while I wrote the above yesterday, I didn’t look it over again until this morning after having read Chris Brogan’s post, Social Media Fatigue. I guess I’m one of those people he is referring to.
But the post and it’s point have me thinking because it has reminded me that the platform is secondary. What you write and why is the important thing.
Yes, I’m sure there is another post coming …икониПравославни икони
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