Weddingbells

A friend of mine pointed me towards this discussion forum when I first got engaged.  Initially I visited the site for wedding planning ideas.  At first I just lurked, in fact I did not even register as a user.  For awhile this was enough, I looked at people’s ideas for invitations, centerpieces and dresses but never felt the need to comment or to post. 

Then I started following the etiquette drama that undoubtedly comes with planning a wedding.  I was looking at how others dealt with guest list issues and seating plan obstacles.  Finally, when I was encountering some issues of my own, I registered and began posting and asking for feedback.  I was still a rare poster but I could not back away.  It was clear that I was addicted and there was nothing I could do about it.  I figured that once my wedding was over I would be able to leave the forum gracefully.  However, this was the farthest thing from the truth. 

Not only is there a wedding planning section to this forum but there is an additional section called Babybells that has proven to be far more addicting for me than the wedding component.  When I got pregnant with my son I started actively participating in a thread with other mothers due at the same time as me.  It was a place to discuss and overanalyze what was happening to us with a group of people who were going through the same thing and who really seemed to care.  I could talk or read about things with the ladies on this forum that I had no one else in real life to speak to.  The group has stayed active even after the birth of our babies.  I enjoy participating and seeing how others are handling the trials and tribulations of motherhood.  This is particularly important to me because I am the first in my group of friends to have a baby so there were not a lot of people in my real life that I could relate to at the beginning.  I have gone from a lurker, to an occasional poster to a more regular poster as a result of my participation in this thread. 

Babybells takes up far too much of my time but I just can’t seem to back away.  The question is why?  I suppose the answer is that it fills a need in my life and I get the support and reassurance I am looking for. Seeing that others are going through the same thing as me helps me work through the tough times.  I must admit that now that I have friends with babies and have met mothers with children the same age as my son my need for the forum is much less.  I spend far less time on it then I used to.

Now that I am frequenting the site as part of my social media experience, my approach has changed.  I find myself really thinking about what posts I choose to read and why.  I also am looking to see why some posts get a huge amount of views and responses and why some hardly get any.  I am also exploring the patterns of responses from certain users.  More on these issues as I get a better picture of what is going on.

Blog - Miss.Adventure@Home

I have been following this blog for awhile.  In this case, my interest in it is personal - the author of this blog is the sister of one of my closest friends.  I also follow it because I enjoy the content.  It is a food blog that deals with food that I like and restaurants that I may actually go to.  The author lives in Hamilton so a lot of the featured restaurants are out of reach for me.  However, she does come from Montreal originally so when she is home for a visit some Montreal establishments get written-up.  In some cases, I have actually been to the restaurant with her.  Unlike the other blog I follow, this one only has 27 followers and only generates a couple of comments per post.  I am also drawn to it because of the pictures that go along with the write-ups, it brings the food alive for me.

The interesting this with this blog is how I find myself feeling about how often there is a new post.  I find that the author goes in spurts.  Sometimes there is no new post for quite awhile and other times there are many in the span of a few days.  I find myself irritated if it goes to long with no new post, I guess I am impatient.  On the other hand, if there are a bunch of new posts in a short period of time I am equally irritated but for other reasons.  When there are too many posts in a short period of time I feel overwhelmed and don't take the time to read through them carefully.  There is no winning with me!

Time

When this project was first described ten social media sites did not seem like that much.  However, when I sat down to get started I realized that while I could think four or five right off the bat that I already participate in, getting to ten was going to be tough.  It took me awhile to choose what I wanted to join as there are just so many different options.

I was also not prepared for just how much time all of this takes.  Simply checking in regularly is overwhelming and time consuming, and that is the sites I am already was familiar with.  Starting up new accounts in five other places is taking me quite awhile.  Add to that taking the time to start figuring out how each different platform works and I am spending a lot of time in front of my computer.  I can understand why people who are not motivated to get on board with social media sites would give up - it can be overwhelming to learn how to take advantage of what is offered.  It will be interesting to see if all this time invested will be worth it in the end.  I am sure some of my choices will have more to offer than others.

Blog - Enjoying the Small Things

I discovered this blog via an on-line forum I was browsing through.  It is the story of a Florida mother of 2 young daughters.  Kelle started her blog when her oldest daughter was born as a way to celebrate life.  Her blog gained in popularity after the birth of her second daughter, Nella.  This was the first post I read and I was hooked.  The story itself struck a cord as I read it just days after my own son was born.  I wondered how I would have reacted if I had been surprised with a baby with Down's Syndrome at birth.  I have been astonished at how honest Kelle is on her blog and how much of her life she shares through what she writes and in the pictures she posts.

As a result I have been compelled to read her postings religiously.  And I am not alone, Kelle has over 7000 followers and it is not uncommon for there to be hundreds of comments on her posts.   Until now I have only read the postings and have not really looked at the comments.  However, starting this portfolio I am now curious as to why so many people follow her blog and why so many people post comments.  I am hoping to get a glimpse into the answer to these questions through the comments that are posted.

Facebook

I have had a Facebook account for a few years now despite resisting for quite some time.  I am a high school teacher and was afraid to put too much of myself out there for my students to see.  I also did not want to see what they are posting - a kind of ignorance is bliss scenario.  However, with more and more friends and family moving away from Montreal, the allure of Facebook as a way of keeping in touch convinced me to bite the bullet and sign up.

I keep my privacy settings high.  I don't "friend" any students or past students.  I only post pictures I would have on display in my home or in my office and try to get people to remove any pictures of me I wouldn't want displayed in my home or office as well.  With these "policies" I am quite pleased with my experience on Facebook.  I have successfully kept up with some friends that I am sure would have drifted out of my life had it not been for them popping up in my News Feed and have kept them up to date with important milestones in my life.  My activity on Facebook consists of looking at pictures of my closest friends and playing Scrabble with a few of my contacts as well.  I think I have updated my status only a handful of times but I do post pictures semi-regularly.  I am open to people seeing what is going on in my life, but I don't feel that it is necessary for every aspect of my day-to-day life to be documented on Facebook.  The people who really care what I am doing on a daily basis know that stuff because I speak to them regularly.

I realize that other people have other uses for Facebook and different views about how much of their lives to share, but I am at a loss for why people post some things.  For example, I was reading through my News Feed the other day and was noticing how many people publicize when they are going to be away from their homes.  You really have to be trusting to inform everyone that your house is going to be empty.  Maybe I am paranoid, but that is an invitation to be robbed if you ask me.  I am also amazed at how detailed some people's status updates are.  There is no detailed spared in some people's posts.  And finally, I am also amazed at the comments some people write in response to people's pictures and status updates.  Some people are really not afraid to give their opinion on what others are doing with their lives.  This week I plan to pay particular attention to this.  I normally avoid all Facebook drama and stop reading when a comment stream gets heated, however I will follow  this week to see what develops (assuming anything dramatic occurs).  I will not get involved but I will observe what happens.

Introduction - Social Media Project

I am currently taking my last class for my MA in Educational Technology before I tackle my internship.  The class is called Social Media and our first assignment is to subscribe and participate in 10 social media sites etc and reflect and analyze on our experience.  Here is a list of what  I will be exploring over the course of the semester.  Some of them I was already following and using while others are brand new to me.

1.  Facebook
2. Blog - Enjoying the Small Things
3.  Blog - Miss Adventure at Home
4.  Weddingbells Forum
5.  YouTube
6.  Librarything
7.  Skype
8.  Linkedin
9.  Twitter
10.  Google Talk

Over the next few posts I will be describing my initial thoughts on each of these 10 choices and my experience with them at the onset of this course.