Social Media Silly Season, When Nothing Really Makes Much Sense

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Here, during winter vacation, with hours to go before I head off with the kids for a  few days, I find myself in the midst of what, I guess, is the obvious hangover to Social Media Week: Social Media Silly Season.

Two stories I saw today make this so:

1.  The invention of true Google Goggles

2.  The correlation between Facebook profiles and job performance

First, let’s discuss the Google Goggles. Per Seth Weintraub’s 9to5 blog, the Google glasses, “have a front-facing camera used to gather information and could aid in augmented reality apps. It will also take pictures.” A post by Weintraub back in December said the “use-case” for such glasses was to “tie into Google’s location services.  A user can walk around with information popping up and into display -Terminator-style- based on preferences, location and Google’s information. Therefore, these things likely connect to the Internet and have GPS.  They also likely run a version of Android.”

Walking around with a computer plastered to my head? Pardon me, but I don’t think so. To me, that would not be Google+, but Google-. That’s as weird as a recent so-called fashion statement I’ve seen on New England ski slopes: wearing a strip of caution tape on one’s ski helmet. (Something tells me it’s not really about safety.)

Now, let’s discuss that second story, about job-enhancing Facebook profiles. According to the story, published in The Wall Street Journal, a small study by Northern Illinois University showed that people who had Facebook profiles chock full of action  -- of a certain type – were more likely to be successful on the job. It said, “Raters generally gave favorable evaluations to students who traveled, had more friends and showed a wide range of hobbies and interests. Partying photos didn't necessarily count against a student; on the contrary, raters perceived the student as extroverted and friendly.” (However, these were apparently students with jobs.)

Which, as this is Social Media Silly Season, sent me straight to my Facebook profile to measure how I stack up. Given that it’s winter, I got pretty good marks -- since, for whatever reason, it’s a heavy travel season for me. From the start of the year, I’ve made references to being in New Hampshire, Tucson, Key Largo and Okemo, a Vermont resort. Check that travel box!

I also posted status updates about: the Steve Jobs biography, the birthday of George Martin, March’s OMMA Global San Francisco, a deceased cat, a (temporarily missing) cat, hiking, my daughter’s birthday and sleepover, the passing of Mets’ great Gary Carter, political ads, my hair, Pinterest, my husband’s recent story on Rupert Murdoch (plug!), the Facebook S1 and the movie “Groundhog Day.” Score one for hobbies and interests!

Oh, and then there was that time when I asked my Facebook friends to cheer me up. That received 22 comments. Friends, friends, friends!

Wow, someone really should hire me.

But then I realized something. I’ve made no references at all to parties recently on Facebook, mostly because I haven’t been to any -- except for my daughter’s sleepover bash. So maybe all of my Facebook activity is really the desperate act of a work-from-home woman trying to remind the rest of the world she’s alive. That doesn’t sound very hiring-friendly.

But then I realized something else: during Social Media Silly Season, nothing much has to make sense.

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1 comment on "Social Media Silly Season, When Nothing Really Makes Much Sense ".

1. Douglas Ferguson from College of Charleston
   

   commented on: February 22, 2012 at 7:03 p.m.
   "Walking around with a computer plastered to my head? Pardon me, but I don’t think so." Oh, I don't know. 15 years ago, could you have imagined most people continously walking around with a tiny screen in their hand, totally distracted from oncoming autos and interrupting face-to-face conversations? Is it such a huge step to imagine the screen near our eyes? Could anyone have predicted that people could become addicted to following the comments of vague acquaintances on Facebook?

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