When I think about my online social media uses, my mind
first goes to Facebook and Twitter. Analyzing whether or not I am a lurker or
participant on those sites is difficult because it seems to be conditional.
When I am on Facebook, in most cases I am a participant. It
creates a social atmosphere surrounding you with “friends” so it is likely that
I feel comfortable speaking my mind to send a message or make a point, and
reaching out to others. The exception where I do feel like more of a lurker is
where I feel less comfortable or do not have a degree of relationship with a
person. There are some people on Facebook who I would not talk to directly, but
I do have the option of looking at their page and pictures to see what they are
up to without having direct contact with them.
When I am on Twitter, I would say I am more of a lurker
because I have less close relationships.
I have a much smaller network on Twitter so my action consists of more
reading and “re-tweeting” of strangers and less direct conversation. I am also
less of a participant on Twitter because, with this smaller audience, I might
be less likely to try and send a message or cause.
Overall, I think for me it depends on which type of social
media I am using and who it is I am communicating with. Like in real life, I
attempt to be aware of my surroundings and how I will be perceived and it seems
to be no different with social media.
'Huh', is my initial reaction after reading this post. My experience is the polar opposite. When I had a Facebook I felt like a lurker, looking at photos, posts, wall-to-wall and on twitter (my currently favorite) I am constantly interacting with people re-tweeting posts i find particularly humorous or interesting. Saying 'out loud' on my twitter what I see throughout the day or learn that I want to share. So...'huh' is my reaction haha I am going to re consider my stance and be mindful of what people use each site for. I have never thought of Facebook as a site in which people don't lurk so this was very interesting to read!
ReplyDeleteI feel like that I am more of a participant on Facebook and a lurker on Twitter...although I still browse through the news feed on Facebook, there is a much greater chance I will comment on something. With Twitter, I follow a small amount of people and just read the feed. I feel like I rarely contribute to Twitter compared to Facebook.
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