Sociomechanica

Here’s a unique idea about jealousy and social media, from neuroscience blogger Jonah Leher:

“Because these online tools collapse the space between people – we can experience a kind of intimacy with perfect strangers, learning about their breakfast routines and airport delays – we bring ourselves into “competition” with a far larger group. We’re suddenly comparing ourselves with people we’ve never met, and never will. While this pseudo-closeness can be fun, I think it also comes with some anxiety inducing side-effects.” [...]

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A friend of mine recently had a negative experience not necessarily caused by social media, but certainly amplified by it. In response, she decided to “delete herself”—her words—from the social media sphere, at least for a while. No Facebook. No Buzz. No Twitter. Nothing. She’s not alone. As social media matures, more people are wondering [...]

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The other day I passed a restaurant sign—a permanent sign, no less—that said “Better than authentic.” Think of that for a second: “Better than authentic.” Is that possible? Furthermore, is it even desirable? The answer on both fronts, of course, is no. And here’s why. For years, many communicators—marketers, for the most part—sought to circumvent [...]

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These days when one talks about social media, people are more likely to think you mean Facebook or YouTube or Digg or any one of hundreds, if not thousands, of flashy Web-Two-Point-Oh-ish websites. The thing is, social media has been around for a long time. Really any medium that allows people to generate their own [...]

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Earlier this week, I attended a workshop about using social media for business. It was mostly geared to business owners who were exploring the medium, and talked a lot about branding your social media alongside your business. This was all fascinating, even though it was a bit more basic than what I was looking for. [...]

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