Question, is a tomato a fruit or a vegetable? Does anyone really care? Well, today, we do. Since, I’d like to underscore perceived individuality, let’s cue the Web 2.0 Test Kitchen theme music. We’re looking at identity and no matter how you slice it; you’ve got to be you. Ugh, was that too much?
The two domains a tomato resides in are culinary vegetable or the classification of botanical fruit. The latter is the legitimate answer to the query with much appreciation to botanists for setting us straight. However, am I now expected to see the tomato as a fruit? I don’t think so. I’m not going to mix it up in a fruit salad as the berry they say it is. It’s hard to disassociate its virtues as it’s a recognizable force in a vegetable ratatouille or as the base in a vegetable stew.
So, did I miss something? Who are you really, tomato? Now, obviously the tomato is not a sentient being with personal identity issues but allow me to fill in for that role.
I have started to believe that it is OK to let these networked worlds converge. Since, I work in technology and web development, I have colleagues that are friends and friends that are colleagues, if that makes any sense. For me, there is some overlap between networks. So, why not, right? I’d like to think that I could navigate these two worlds in the same shoes, so to speak. It’s a matter of how I manage them. For instance, all of my social media accounts are under my real name (not a nom de plume) and show my real likeness. I believe this makes me more approachable. An interesting note, the closer the contact in my network, the less complicated the platform. My closest contacts (in either network) use SMS or call me up directly to keep in touch.
As I continue to expand my professional network, I’d like to think that I could still transverse any barriers with my personal network and vice-versa. As for now, it doesn’t seem burdensome. I understand that the relationships on social and professional networks will ebb and flow just like real life encounters.
The two domains a tomato resides in are culinary vegetable or the classification of botanical fruit. The latter is the legitimate answer to the query with much appreciation to botanists for setting us straight. However, am I now expected to see the tomato as a fruit? I don’t think so. I’m not going to mix it up in a fruit salad as the berry they say it is. It’s hard to disassociate its virtues as it’s a recognizable force in a vegetable ratatouille or as the base in a vegetable stew.
So, did I miss something? Who are you really, tomato? Now, obviously the tomato is not a sentient being with personal identity issues but allow me to fill in for that role.
Let’s consider, who we are on our networks. How we see ourselves and what role we’re in, be it professional or social (private/personal). I admit that for quite some time, I enjoyed the strategic barrier to avoid a context collapse. There was no chance that I would let my professional and social networks intersect. This is possibly why I never revisited my LinkedIn account, when I opened it years ago. I was under the impression that I would have to operate under a fractured persona.
I have started to believe that it is OK to let these networked worlds converge. Since, I work in technology and web development, I have colleagues that are friends and friends that are colleagues, if that makes any sense. For me, there is some overlap between networks. So, why not, right? I’d like to think that I could navigate these two worlds in the same shoes, so to speak. It’s a matter of how I manage them. For instance, all of my social media accounts are under my real name (not a nom de plume) and show my real likeness. I believe this makes me more approachable. An interesting note, the closer the contact in my network, the less complicated the platform. My closest contacts (in either network) use SMS or call me up directly to keep in touch.
Same feeling man! I have way too many friends on both sides and just realized I needed to be comfortable with myself and use common sense when interacting with specific people. All I do when it comes to web stuff is realize that others who may know me differently may get disturbed by some things if they are too personal, so I keep my comments online on big connection services as vanilla as possible as long as I am not shrouded in anonymity
ReplyDeleteThanks! I think you hit it with "use common sense when interacting with specific people". We should try to follow how we operate with others in real world scenarios. That layer of insulation and option to be anonymous provided by the Internet may open the door for us to behave a little different. Having my face and name out there puts a check on me and regulates how I communicate.
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