I'm happy to present guest blog number four!
Guest Blogger: Sean Sporman
Social Media: A Force for Good
The Internet is truly a marvelous invention. The World Wide Web is perhaps one of the best, most life-changing inventions of the past half-century. It brings a seemingly infinite amount of information on a seemingly infinite amount of topics to one's fingertips with a few clicks. Worldwide communication with very little to no delay is possible in many forms. Fans of practically anything that can have fans can gather together online to share and express their interests.
Of course, one major part of the Internet, especially in the past few years, is social media. Almost all TV commercials and even some billboards now have “Find us on Facebook and Twitter.” Literally hundreds of millions of people are on both of those aforementioned social networks. And, despite criticism in some circles, I would argue that social media can truly be used for many good purposes and is much more than the waste of time that some on the outside perceive it to be.
I have been in a long-distance relationship for nearly four-and-a-half years. I met my lady through one of the more “retro” forms of Internet social media, the chat room. We became the best of friends and eventually, a couple. She lives thousands of miles away, and thus, we must fly out our respective states to visit each other. In the interim, we use the Internet to keep in touch.
Aside from the cell phone, the two of us use Facebook to communicate, especially during times such as when I am on my lunch break at work or when she has some spare time at her college. Facebook's chat engine may have gone through several changes over the past couple of years, but its a great (and free!) way for us to keep in touch when we can't call each other. We have also just recently begun to use the wonderful Skype for video chatting.
In addition, Facebook is a wonderful tool for keeping up with classmates. No longer does one need to wait for the high school reunion to know what your former fellow students are up to—you can reconnect with them easily through Facebook—from former best friends to those you only knew briefly. I can say that I have become even better friends with some people from my high school that I only had one class with one year thanks to Facebook. I am also happy to keep in touch with many college friends as well, no matter where they may have moved to.
I also use social media for something a little different than most on a daily basis—daily weather status updates. I've long dreamed of becoming a TV weatherman—and hope to become one soon. I follow the weather every day, and a couple of years ago, began the idea of weather updates for my friends and family through Facebook (and Twitter). I started off with special watches and warnings during severe and winter weather, but eventually began doing daily forecasts.
Amazingly, what I thought was a little thing that perhaps a few friends would read turned into much more! I've been told by many people that they check my status updates on weather instead of more conventional means! I have had parents of old high school friends add me for my weather updates. Even the creator of The Social Spaz herself has told me she reads my weather updates daily. While she was chatting with me about writing a guest column for this site, Tyler told me that her step-sister wanted her to go to my page to see if it was going to rain that evening! If I may say so, I think that's pretty awesome right there.
I even provide daily weather forecasts for a friend in Canada, and have had a friend from Wales ask me about the weather on occasion. I especially hope that my severe weather updates during events with possible tornadoes, hail, and strong winds help to keep people safe and provide them with important information.
Aside from providing friends and family with weather information, I really enjoy the chance to cheer friends up on Facebook when I can. I make an effort to tell a sick friend that I hope they feel better soon. And, I always enjoy wishing a friend a Happy Birthday on Facebook.
I've mentioned previously in this column that I've wanted to be a TV weatherman. I was thrilled to be a part of one of the best college TV stations, TrojanVision at Troy University, for nearly four years while a student there. At first, I would use Youtube and post through Facebook some of my broadcasts so I could share them with friends and family outside of the TV market area. I later began to upload broadcasts for other friends of mine so that their friends and family could see them. Even after graduating and having people I had never met do broadcasts, I continued to upload for others—adding them as friends on Facebook and then sharing the videos on their “walls.”
I received some wonderful comments of thanks for this, including ones from their parents and siblings. But, I was happy to do it, since I knew how cool it was to be able to share my TV broadcasts with those unable to watch them live. I recently uploaded parts of a university pageant for two friends of mine as well, including one friend I made through Facebook and later met in person to give her a bag of Halloween candy.
Of course, I am just one person in a huge social world. I haven't even used Google Plus yet, and am still growing a small following on Twitter. I have no doubt that there are others out there that have equally pleasant and positive experiences with social media, which allow people all across the world to connect in increasingly advanced and unique ways.
I want to thank Tyler for allowing me to share this column with all of you, and I want to thank all of you for reading!
I started Almost There with a desire to be more creative and inspiring. Not that what I wrote here was boring and lame--I just wanted to bring some happiness in the form of grabbing little pieces of everyday love for life.
