Posts Tagged ‘Social Networking’

 

Introverts vs. Extroverts: Who Benefits More from Social Media?

Sunday, October 30th, 2011

When you think of social media, who do you think gets more out of it: introverts or extroverts?  You hear the word “social”, and it makes you think of gregarious individuals that like to get out of the house and meet new people.  But, you also get a picture in your mind of someone sitting at the computer by themselves.

According to Facebook, there are currently more than 800 million users on the site.  Given that information, it’s obvious that both introverts and extroverts enjoy engaging in social media.  But, are there differences in how they use it?  Before we answer that question, let’s make sure that we understand what it means to be extroverted or introverted.

One of the biggest misconceptions about introverts and extroverts is that most people believe extroverts are loud and like meeting new people, while introverts are quiet and want to shut out the world to be by themselves.  This is certainly true in some cases, but that is not the definition of what it means to be one or the other.

It all has to do with mental energy.  An extrovert is someone that is energized by groups and meeting new people.  An introvert is energized by solitude and having time to be alone with their thoughts.  Notice, it has nothing to do with what a person likes to do.  Plenty of introverts like going out with friends and meeting new people, but it is an activity that depletes mental energy.  Similarly, there are plenty of extroverts that enjoy time to themselves, but they will seek out activities with others to energize themselves.

Given that information, here are ways that introverts and extroverts differ in their approaches to social media:

Introverts

One of the biggest benefits for introverts is the fact that they can interact with others, but enjoy being by themselves at the same time.  This is a perfect situation for someone that likes to meet new people, but finds the process to be mentally draining.  Also, introverts tend to keep their thoughts to themselves in public situations, but social media allows those thoughts to be set free through twitter or blog posts.  Because they do spend so much time alone with their thoughts, introverts often have interesting insights on subjects because they’ve taken the time to thoroughly mull it over in their mind.

Extroverts

One of the biggest benefits for extroverts is that they simply have access to so many people and conversations.  They approach social media differently than introverts in that they use platforms like Facebook and Twitter to find or suggest ways to get together in person with other people.  For instance, an extrovert with nothing to do on a Friday night may look for discussions about a band playing that night, or contact several people in an attempt to organize dinner plans.  All in all, extroverts may spend less time on social media sites, but they certainly benefit from them just as much as extroverts.

The great thing about social media is that it allows different personality types to use sites like Facebook and Twitter in different ways.  Introverts can spend time alone, but still nurture relationships.  Extroverts can easily meet new people, and stumble upon opportunities that they would not have known about otherwise.

Foursquare’s Best Feature

Friday, August 19th, 2011

Foursquare is an amazing service.  It allows you to check-in to your favorite restaraunts, stores, or parts of town and leave comments about your visit.  People everywhere are connecting in new ways and having fresh experiences based off of recommendations from Foursquare.

Businesses are changing the way they interact with their customers, too.  Comments about poor customer service or bad food can be posted in real-time, and businesses must up their game to ensure that their patrons are leaving positive reviews on the site.  For example, there is a new Tex Mex restaraunt in my neighborhood with excellent food.  The problem is, it takes FOREVER to get your food.  It doesn’t matter if you are the second person in line.  It will take 20 minutes to get your food and pay.  Their system is inefficient, and it shows.  As I check-in on Foursquare and leave my comments, I notice that I’m not the only one that is frustrated by the wait time.  Several other patrons even commented that they won’t come to this restaraunt if they are fairly hungry, simply because the wait time is too long.  In an age where 9 out of 10 new restaraunts fail, it’s important that the owner pays attention to these comments and makes the appropriate changes.

This is one of the main features of the service, and it makes Foursquare worth the time on its own.  But, there’s so much more.  It’s fun to compete with people to become the mayor of places like your local grocery store or gym, and users enjoy earning various badges for checking in at certain places or times.  The best feature, however, is one that very few users are even aware of.

If you see that one of your friends has checked in and left a glowing review of a new restaraunt, you have the ability to add it to your to-do list.  That’s the part that most users already know about.  Odds are, however, that they haven’t experienced the extra step that Foursquare takes in an effort to bring people together.  If you and one of your friends both add the same item on your t0-do lists, Foursquare will send an email that explains how both of you have marked this as an experience you would like to have, and they suggest that you go together.

The first time I received this email, I was blown away.  I immediately called my friend and explained what had happened.  He said that he had seen the same email, and we proceeded to make plans to check out the new hot spot.  We had a great time, and it probably would not have happened if Foursquare hadn’t made the connection for us.

Afterwards, I immediately began thinking of all the potential connections that this virtual icebreaker could make.  Imagine if a prospective client of yours happened to mark the same to-do as you.  You now have an excuse to call them to set a meeting.  Or, better yet, imagine the excitement if you saw that you and your love interest were both interested in checking out the new Italian restaraunt in town.  You can call him or her and explain that it must be fate, and you should make plans to go together.  You both have a great time, decide to date, get married, and live happily ever after.  Okay, maybe that’s a stretch, but it could happen!

So, keep checking in to your favorite places around town.  You never know what connection you’ll make next.