I'm not overwhelmed in terms of this course (I'm actually finding it interesting and just wish I had more time to dive into the material). No, I'm overwhelmed in terms of the number of social media tools that I am currently trying to juggle. Facebook, Google +, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Diigo, Feedly, Skype, and more are all running in the background...and there is no possible way that I can keep up with it all. Unlike Vanessa, I am the type of person who needs to read everything in depth. I am afraid I miss things. I can't just let things go. So, the idea of sorting through a dozen different feeds stresses me out. These potentially useful tools have ended up seeming like a nuisance!
I quickly realized that this is one of the key reasons that I have pretty much limited myself to Facebook, Skype, and Steam (a social gaming service) for most of my Web 2.0 life. I do not have the time to log into to all of these different services and view the content on each page. And then I sometimes worry about people trying to contact me on a service that I do not use often (i.e., when people want to friend me on LinkedIn, which I rarely use). I like to keep everything in one place if possible. Rationally, I have gravitated to the services that will connect me with the most people and do things that will benefit most. Facebook connects me with nearly all of the people I care about, so other, similar services are more or less redundant. Skype allows me to video call with the people I care about most. Steam provides me a social outlet for my game playing. The other tools are only marginally beneficial.
Does anyone feel similar? Does information and tool overload stress you out? Or do you not worry and just take in everything you can? I sometimes worry that my approach to social media may limit my ability to develop useful networks, such as a personal learning network. What do you think?
I feel similar, but I will say that some of the tools I've started playing with for this class are helping me manage the overwhelming feeling I am missing out on important information and great ideas fellow classmates are posting on their blogs. My Digg reader is really helping. I've had to set mini goals for each day so I feel like I'm on doing well. For instance, a goal is to randomly read at least four blog posts per day and comment on two, so that the desire to read everything is must little more manageable. Tweetdeck is helping me focus on SoMe as well, keeping the info feeds manageable. I'm also giving myself permission to try out different tools, but not really engage in depth in each. Choosing a few to get to know well is helping me get comfortable with using them.
ReplyDeleteYour post described exactly what I feel right now. I tried to keep up with all these social media tools, and yup! Information overload! It's easy if you are lurker and not trying to build a network but it is hard if you want to keep all platforms running at the same time.
ReplyDeleteI think Allison shared some good tips here. Today I start her mini goals and find it working. :)