on Twitter - on my personal rather than work account. Yes, I have two. I caught up with the overnight news and what my friends in "Upover" had been doing. I sent a friendly tweet or two and responded to a couple of messages. I know where some of my friends are going in their tomorrow and what they will be doing. It is friendly and pleasant. I will prowl in again for a few minutes later today - their morning - and catch up again.
I flicked over to Facebook and left a message for someone who is not on Twitter. I have glanced at the posts for the blogs I follow. I may get back to those later in the day if I am waiting for someone to respond before I can go on working at something else.
Once a week I prowl into Ravelry - a huge site for knitters and crocheters. I check my messages there (again from other friends in Upover) and the groups I keep an eye on. I might look at something else if I have a moment to spare. That is it.
I do not do "LinkedIn" which is apparently another sort of networking device. I looked at it. Several people have suggested I join it but I feel enough is enough. I do not want to spend my limited "social" time on the internet looking at such things.
All this happens not because I am very disciplined. I am not. It just happens that I do not have the time.
I have been told that "LinkedIn" could be a useful way of meeting with other professionals. There is something called Google Plus which I have not even looked at. I have a nasty suspicion it too would just add to my work load...which is too big now. I really do want to cut back. I want more writing time. I am old enough to retire - especially from high work load job I do not actually get paid for. (No, that is not caring for the Senior Cat. He is easy to look after. It is the world of humanitarian emergencies which causes the problems.)
I must admit the internet makes my life much easier - I can prowl into almost any university in the world, find an e-mail address and make contact with an academic. It is probably just as irritating for them. I am conscious of that and I try to keep requests for help to a minimum. The vast majority are very good tempered and helpful.
But, all this apparently professional socialising is not for me. It might be if I was at the beginning of my working life but I do want to retire at some point - or at least reduce the workload. I have seen too many people who have never done any of the things they wanted to do because work got in the way. I am afraid it might happen to me too.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
2 comments:
I so agree that 'social networking' can eat into time doing real things and needs a firm boundary round it. it's fun in short bursts, and can be funny - but there seem to be people who spend most of their time on Twitter and Facebook. My name is on LinkedIn, but I've no idea how to use it. Haven't registered with Google Plus, And then there are all the writers' websites, with forums full of self-advertising.
But there is a real world out here, with real people who love us. I know the internet has its commercial uses, and can be a fun. But there is a limit - I'm with you on this, Cat.
Thanks Jo - am prowling off to talk to an actual human
Post a Comment