Growing Up Social

It's funny to think back to a time when social media was not a constant presence in my life. My initial memory leads me to Facebook, but the truth is AOL was my first encounter with instant messaging and social media. I remember the thrill of being able to have conversations with friends, without fearing my parents would pick up the phone or overhear. Or the excitement of chat rooms, knowing some were forbidden. Friends and I would find ourselves in a world we did not even know existed and the fact that we could do so, under our parents nose, was exhilarating.

In college, I was lucky to be one of the first rounds of schools on Facebook. At that time, instant messaging wasn't an option, we still relied on AOL for that. But now we had the ability to peek into people's lives, friends and strangers alike. Looking back, its interesting to observe how so much of my introduction to social media seems scandalous. The idea that social media offered an opportunity to venture into the unknown or risky without being followed. The freedom to snoop without getting caught. Eventually, though, as social media became more mainstream, it began to lose it's edge. Perhaps knowing that people are more aware of the content they put out or that it isn't as exclusive has helped it lose its luster. Or perhaps, as I got older, I have become more immune.

Today, my experience with social media is primarily business related. Having grown up with social media, its almost ironic that it's now so strategically used as a business tool. As part of my job responsibilities, I manage a daily blog, growing Facebook fan group and the latest company news on Twitter. On a personal level, I have a LinkedIn Account, because it simply seems necessary, although I haven't fully understood why. I registered a personal Twitter, Blog and Google+ account simply to reserve my name, with no real intention of using them. I am most actively on Facebook and even then, its primarily to continue to peek into other people's lives. Today I participate because I feel the need to, more so than the desire. That I will possibly miss out on something if I don't. To claim my identity before someone else does. I wonder where it will take me next.