3 posts tagged “social networking”
For me, web browsing can be like free association, a scattered, tenuous following of links to something vaguely interesting. Sometimes, you come across something or someone extra cool/special/important/interesting/oh my god that's what I want to be doing... and you wonder why you've not manage to find them until now.
I read this post in templedata, followed by spotting this post in PSFK... I remember the My Space vs. Facebook hoo ha that sprung up a couple of weeks ago and finally it occurs to me to wonder who this danah boyd (why lower case?) chick is. So I check out her website and think to myself, mmmm spunky, whilst also noting the her favicon.ico is a rainbow flag :-D Urge to investigate further. Visit her blog. Posts and papers abound on social networking (how am I going to get through them all?!) and then, as I always like to look at the first post in someones blog, I find this one from June 1997.
I'm just going to reproduce it all but please do go and visit her blog, some posts of interest are linked below.
last nite, i had a rather intense discussion with my lover. he was trying to understand my identification with queer, why it is important to me and to others. i had been thinking about this question for quite some time and i finally had an answer for him which i will try to explain to you, the bytes and bits of the internet.
there are two types of identities that one must come to terms - those that s/he defines for hirself and those that the outside world defines for hir. some identities that you hold tight to yourself can be hidden while others cannot. for example, i cannot hide the fact that i am white or the fact that i am female. only in virtual settings is this even remotely possible. thus, when i walk down the street, i am categorized as a white female.
personally, i have the ability to hide the fact that i am not "straight" for some definition of straight. i admit that not everyone has that opportunity but i do. i prefer not to hide it but rather show tokens of my queerness, through jewelry, clothing and hairstyle.
so why do i do this? in an ideal world, sexuality would not matter and people would not be discriminated against based on this identity. but this is not an ideal world. as a result, those who cannot hide and those who choose not to are constantly subjected to prejudices. do not get me wrong, i do not desire the prejudices, but i am not willing to pass as straight in order to avoid them. if i hide my sexuality, i am telling the world that it is ok to push the minority down. i am not standing up for those who are experiencing discrimination and thus, i am just as much of the problem as those who create the system in the first place.
in order for this discrimination to stop, it is important to show strength in the cause. by clearly marking myself as queer-identified, i publicly stand as an individual who is not willing to accept the discrimination that occurs to those who are like me. by appearing at rallies, i publicly announce my support for the cause. by talking queer talk, i publicly show that i am accepting of the difference.
"pride" is essential in the states, because we are always told that we are evil and not accepted. by being proud in your self and in the cause, you make a statement to the world that this attitude is not tolerated. by being proud, you give those who are being pushed down someone to identify with and come to when they are in need. by being proud, you stand as a symbol of those killed in the past and those currently tortured.
in order to accept myself, i need to stand as a symbol against homophobia, even if that means that i myself am injured.
See also: my queer dyke cunt, girls in boy-wear, Globalization of norms: Facebook challenges Arab LGBT group, my queer identity - I could go on.
My new internet crush :-) too bad I wasn't more on the ball or I could see her speak at the Education.au seminar in Brisbane or Melbourne... as it it, I must be content with podcasts.
What with all my websites (some of which have died and perhaps need resurrecting), blogs, MySpace and Facebook profiles, Linkedin blah blah blah - I've been thinking a lot about my personal brand - that is, the image of myself I want out there in the world. My work is increasingly online and while the primary way that clients still find me is through word of mouth, my online brand will become increasingly important. At the moment, it's all over the place - I was maintaining two identities (that aren't necessarily all that separate now): the professional one and the arty farty gay one. Why the separation and is it necessary? I've decided, no it's not especially as there's more crossover now, what were once my hobbies are now part of my career. The only thing that I balked at (for a millisecond) is the gay thing - some of my photographs have lesbian boobs in them after all! Then I thought, well, if a client or prospective employer has a problem with that, do I really want to work with them anyway? Hell no.
Web Worker Daily has some great posts on managing your online personal brand:
It's official, I've succumbed to this social networking thing a ma jig. And the best thing?! It's part of my job! I'm exploring how the University of Sydney, where I work, can best utilise these tools for engaging current and future students, as well as alumni. See, I even speak the jargon now.
Sometimes, I stumble on something probably useless but nifty, something that grabs my attention for about 3 seconds. Here's one: Imagini that offers a new way of communicating with images. I hopped on to create a visual profile by choosing predetermined visual answers to some questions and, look, this is me:
Well, it's not me me but it's a fit in a box me that I kinda agree with. You know.
I'm going for another play to see if it can hold my attention any longer...
Via: Blog Till you Drop! Marketing, Advertising, Branding... Blogging
