it seems that there are more and more ways of connecting with other people via one's beloved apple product and the miracle that is the internet. twitter, facebook, flickr, blogs, tumblr, but now also pinterest and instagram. and now even etsy has this circles thing where you can see what those in your circle fave (it was about time on that one). but i have to say it all gets a bit muddy and confused. who am i following where? if people call themselves something different on one social media than on another, can i find them?
there are some sites that attempt to consolidate (hootsuite), but i find it clunky and it doesn't make me want to forget about going to the real site (like flickr stackr does on the iPad - i could never go to flickr again and be perfectly happy - at least for browsing - or tweetdeck, which is way better than the real interface for twitter). plus, hootsuite doesn't let me add everything i'd like to - like pinterest, tumblr, instagram, flickr. it really only consolidates twitter and facebook and linked-in and i'm not that interested in consolidating those. tho' there is a tiny overlap of audiences on those three, largely, i consider them different audiences and i don't want to broadcast the same status updates or photos on all three.
i've never really been that comfortable with the term followers - it has a messianic tone that i'm not that keen on. it also can (in the case of blogger after one is named blog of note) place an undue (and perhaps artificial and only in one's own head) pressure to lead. and to be honest, i'm blogging mostly for the sake of my sanity (tho' i do love that there are people reading and commenting on it, don't get me wrong), so i don't always want to have to post cheery, motivational, leaderly things. i'm mostly thinking out loud here.
i think we are moving towards the one set of followers world because more and more sites let you log in using your gmail or twitter or facebook account. i like that, because then i don't have to remember oodles of different log-ins and passwords. that said, it also feels a little bit like the borg are taking over and it's only a matter of time before we're assimilated into the giant hive mind that is the internet. that whole notion of assimilation grows increasingly touchy here in denmark what with our new "integration" minister wanting us all to assimilate (but that's the stuff of another post).
and what affect does all of this opportunity to social network have on the blogging world? i read recently a pessimistic piece on the future of the blog. it had actually appeared in the new york times, so it must be true, right? and i would say that i think the blogosphere has changed since i began blogging in earnest in 2008. a lot of the blogs that i followed back then are now dormant. a lot of the circle i interacted with has drifted away (thankfully not all of it) and i have drifted as well. i read less blogs and comment less, possibly because i'm busy browsing tumblr, which doesn't prompt comments in the same way, or pinning pretty things on pinterest. maybe my bloggy social circle has moved to flickr. and i'm getting the interaction i once got through blogging over there.
or maybe because blogs feels a bit more commercial and like they're trying to capture the attention of those who might award fabric lines or book contracts and less real, nitty gritty and personal these days. and on some instinctive level, i'm turned off by that. i think there is a place for commercial interests in blogging - i guess i love blogs where people share their handmade work and encourage you to visit their etsy shop - because i think there's still something honest and good about that kind of individual creative interest. but there's an awful lot of showing off going on out there.
however, i'm beginning to ramble and this is just the beginning of some thoughts on this whole thing that i've had tumbling in my head for awhile.
and if you want to find me any of the aforementioned places, just look for julochka. i'll probably be drooling over beautiful things on pinterest.
