At the moment, I have no social identity. I don’t mean simply that I have not revealed it to you or anyone else on the social networks, but that I actually have none.
Of course I have a real identity, I AM and I EXIST.
In this blog I am going to talk about how CONTEXT, INTENT, and EXPECTIONS shape the results of a social interaction, how that translates into the e-world, and how the social identity is related to all this.
IDENTITY
Definition: “…the sense of self, providing sameness and continuity in personality over time…” (dictionary.com)
Who I am as a person is conveyed and perceived by other people through my interactions with them.
I am multi facetted and multi dimensional. In real life, as I go about my interactions with multiple people, it is the contexts in which I interact that emphasize facets of my identity and govern the expectations of my interactions.
CONTEXT
If I am at a trade show and I walk up to a booth, who I present myself to be is different than when I rent a movie from blockbuster. But more than that, the social rules that govern the expectations of how I interact with that person change.
For instance, if I skipped introductions and outright asked a move store clerk, “Is Zombie Land out yet?” they would most likely respond without any hesitation. Then I would be able to easily leave the conversation there and move on, no introductions and no departing ritual.
However, if I did the same thing to a woman I did not know in a grocery store, I suspect that might be perceived as odd and she would at the very least be thrown off her guard. Though it would probably be fine if I asked her “Do you know what time it is?”
So the context of an interaction helps to define the social expectations of the interaction as well as what facets of my identity are revealed. I think another big part of being social is intent. Each context helps shape the expectations of the intent of the conversation.
INTENT
Say I am back at that grocery store and I walk up to that woman with my hand out for a shake and say, “Hi, I am Matt”. I think she might be a little guarded – I would be. Put a suit on me and a clipboard in my left hand and I am almost certain she is thinking “What is this guy selling?”
When we engage in social interactions that defy the expectations and rules suggested by the context in which we are interacting, we put people on their guard and questions like “Why is this guy talking to me? What is he selling? Is this guy mental? Is he hitting on me?” run throw the mind of the other person on some level.
Social Networking is Being Social.
In the right context, I can be very social, have lots of conversations, meet lot’s of people, connect people to other people, share my knowledge, and have a lot of fun. I am in fact, in the real world, a social butterfly. Trade shows, parties, charity events… basically any kind of social setting where the context is defined and thus my intent for my conversation is at least somewhat clear to the other person.
I have not done much with social networking because until now I did not realize that I did not understand how to deal with context, intent, and expectations in the e-world. Why would I randomly select a friend on face book ask them to add me? Why would THEY think I was doing that? Why would they add me? What would be the point of just being added or adding facebook friends without any kind of real connection?
I think now I can define my intent and thus give me a reason for starting conversations. The point, simply put, would be to be social. Say hi just because you can. Conversate because it’s interesting. Share because it neat. And so on.
Although, without some idea of whom I am, it would be difficult for people to want to be social with me. In the grocery store, that woman can see what I look like, how I walk, how I dress myself, hear how I sound, how I talk etc., Blank profile pages say nothing. And thus, I need a social identity.
So, What is My Social Identity?
That’s like asking “Who am I?” People need to get a sense for who I am and why I am being social in order to interact with me. I have 2 followers on twitter right now. One of them tweets on making big money from home, the other tweets on everything. I am assuming the first person is following my tweets so I can basically follow him. I don’t think there is any real care about who I am and what I have to say, it’s a one way relationship for a monetary gain. I got this from what I perceived his social identity was.
I don’t, yet, know what I need to do to define my social identity other than:
1. Accurately fill out profile pages.
2. Share my intent for being social
The first one, sites like facebook and myspace will help me decide what to share – it’s a cookie cutter process.
The second one is crucial. I think you can get intent from all sorts of things. I perceived my follower’s tweets on twitter’s intends to sell me something and that’s why he is following me. I don’t like to be sold – I also don’t like to sell, and I should cover that in a different blog.
I think I interact better when I feel both sides understand WHY I am being out going. I think I can make that clear by sharing the following principles:
I believe in the power of connection.
I believe in community.
I think people of liked minds and interests should know each other and interact. I think it’s fun. I am also am keenly aware of the joy and value of connecting other people to each other and being able to help one another out with problems, issues, etc.
So with that, I am going to go put a basic identify on my social sites, and go from there.
Thanks for reading!
- Matt
Posts
