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As I shared in my most recent post, I visited DC for a long
weekend to visit friends and to tour a few graduate school programs. What I
didn’t share was for the first time I decided to test out social media as my
main vehicle for connecting the dots with everyone I wanted to see when I was
in town. I know, it sounds a little strange not to send an email or place a
call. But does it REALLY sound that weird? With the plethora of mobile devices
in everyone’s hands social communities like Facebook, Twitter and more are as frequently
accessed as email or text. So I figured, why not? The worst thing that could
happen was I’d spend my long weekend touring the sights on my own.
This next part might sound mildly creepy, but I spent a few
days before my trip scanning the pages and tweets of the folks I knew I wanted
to spend time with. Were they going out of town or traveling for work? Did any
of them have birthdays, weddings or baby showers to attend? Amazingly, I was
easily able to narrow down my larger list to the friends I knew would be in
town and hadn’t publicized any plans yet. Next step was firing off a handful of
Facebook messages sharing when I would arrive, my plans for school visits and
soliciting some good old fashioned hang-outs (the non-Google+ kind clearly). Before
I knew it I had lunch plans, dinner plans, brunch plans, coffee plans and a
trip that was overflowing with friends all connected by social media. I made
sure to check in at my locations, post pics and I was delighted to see how many
friends followed my journey along the way even though they couldn’t be there
with me to enjoy it. Now, full disclosure, I did send a few texts to folks to
let them know I was running late or to confirm an address…but we’re talking 5
or 6 at most. Everything else? Social Sass, baby. Who knew…
Good for you, Patty, for trying that! I have to admit that it sounds like fun. I'm sure your friends enjoyed it as well--getting to take the trip vicariously through your social updates. Did you feel that the trip was less "tied down" because of planning through social media, or did the commitment of having to update your various platforms seem like a chore? I've always had a hard time striking a balance between enjoying my trip and recording it. One time on a trans-Atlantic cruise, I spent so much time writing in my journal that my father told me I couldn't possibly have anything to write about, since I was spending all my time writing!
ReplyDeletePatty, What a great experiment. I find it funny when some people write off social media as if no one is saying or doing anything that will matter in life. I think they miss out on a lot of fun. Sounds like you had a great time and were able to share that great time with a bunch of friends who couldn't be there. How can you go wrong with that? I think I may have to try this on my next trip and see what happens. Thanks for sharing!
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