OMG....got to be connected!

As I procrastinate from writing a website analysis paper by checking out Facebook, I started thinking about how important this sense of "cyber" connection has become to many of us. I remember reading a year or so ago, about a new disorder called "disconnect anxiety" - I realized then that it applies to me - hopefully not as a full-blown disorder, but definitely there's some anxiety! I hate not being connected. For me, just knowing that I'm a click away from interacting with someone is comforting. We are so used to being constantly connected, if not through our laptops then through our mobiles, that we've created a need for it - and not just connection in general, but specifically wireless. Can you imagine not being able to sit anywhere and connect? Crazy.

Anyway, that brings me back to interaction - that for me is what solidifies the connection need - knowing that if I feel like having even a low-level interaction with someone, I can, just like that (...snap... if my connection is fast....snnnaaaaapppp... if it's not). It's funny how platforms such as Facebook have become part of our lives. I heard some college students joking about it last week. As they came through a door, one guy said to the fellow behind him: "I'd hold the door for you, but we're not friends - at least not until Facebook makes it official." Joke or not, it's a pretty powerful statement on how that particular platform has infiltrated so many lives. And, considering that many people have Facebook friends they never speak to in real life and may have never even met (I have 3), it also shows that we are accepting people into our virtual lives on a much more casual basis than in reality. Why is that? Is it all part of the need to be connected to someone, anyone?


So, if this need to be connected, to interact remotely, is strong enough to create a disorder, doesn't it make sense that there's something to be had for using social media for marketing purposes? Of course it does. Businesses should be looking at whether developing an online community is beneficial to their particular type of organization or not. Last week I posted a podcast to one of my class sites (http://3comsin.com/node/279) talking about how Urban Outfitters has embraced just about every social media platform out there. It's pretty impressive how this retailer has made every aspect of the site interactive. Explore www.urbanoutfitters.com to find out for yourself.


By the way, if you think you have an issue with disconnect anxiety, here are some "survival" tips from Mashable you might want to check-out: http://mashable.com/2009/12/24/survive-disconnect-anxiety/

Totallie my opinion. What do you think?