The problem with social media . . .

. . . is simple – there’s too darn much of it.

In the olden days, you could either send letters or show up in person. Then the telephone was invented, and you could send letters, show up, or call. Eventually, it became rude to drop in on someone, and then everyone got email. So you could send letters, call, or use email. And then everyone added a cell phone to their lives, so you could send a letter, call the landline, call the cell, or use email. After a while, so many telemarketers were clogging phones that  no one answered them.

And then, and then, and then: IM. Texts. Facebook. Twitter. Pinterest. Skype. Blogs. Not to mention letters, phone calls (to people who would recognize your name on the caller ID), and email. And yes, I’ve been known to walk to a neighbor’s house and knock on the door, as old-fashioned as it may be.

The major complication is that we no longer know the best way to reach someone. Some of my friends prefer to use their phones. Some never answer. Some delete all their unanswered emails once a month or so, so miss the window and you miss them. Some live on Facebook, others can’t stand it. What to do, what to do?

A very patient man named Graham Sinclair has been trying to get in touch with me for almost a year now, and we keep missing each other in a way that seems straight out of a romantic comedy. But really, he just wants to talk about sustainable investing! He uses Twitter, I use Facebook. He uses Skype, I use email. Can we ever get our acts together?

I don’t know. But I do know this: there has to be a shakeout in communications, because there has to be standardization if anyone is going to be able talk to anyone about anything. And get some work done at the same time.

A white woman with green glasses and gray hairAnn C. Logue

I teach and write about finance. I’m the author of four books in Wiley’s …For Dummies series, a fintech content expert, and an avid traveler. Among other things.

3 Comments

  1. Hi Ann, You need a program I wrote for windows called CallClerk – when you get a phone call on your land line, it sends you an e-mail and posts to your twitter account – except if its a telemarkter in which case it just blocks the call.

  2. I totally agree! I run into this issue a lot when trying to connect with sources for articles that I am writing. I solve it by belonging to pretty much all channels and communicating in the sources preferred media.

  3. Morning Ann, popping in from Blogthon 2013. This is all soooo true, we now have way to many communication channels. It’s a nightmare trying to keep up with them all. I have to admit to not answering my mobile if I don’t recognise the number or if it says ‘blocked number’. I’ve virtually given up answering my house phone as I’m fed up with calls from companies here in the UK trying to say I can claim for this, that and the next thing!

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