February 25, 2012

• OPINION: On Mass Messaging and New Updates

  Since having returned to Xanga some number of months ago under my new account (that would be this one; my former, still active account being NaitoOfNarnia), I’ve been trying to reach out to new people. To broaden the range of people I connect with, even in tiny ways. This does have a dual-purpose, as I am a Christian with a deep-rooted passion for the message and hope of the love God, so naturally I’m inclinded to want to share what I write with others. However, this seems to have had a small bit of backlash. It’s nothing serious, but it does get the tinsiest bit annoying.

  It seems a couple of people I am subscribed to/friends with rather regularly send mass messages about the latest updates they’ve posted. I’m not able to take the time to read everyone’s updates as my time is stretched thin throughout the week (that, and my attention span needs work). Thus, I don’t know if the people I’m referring to do this for every post they write. Still, it gets rather bothersome to see I have messages waiting for me only to find out – once again - that it’s nothing more than someone saying, “Hey, I wrote another blog post. Come check it out!” From the brief descriptions on what the new posts are about, I can’t say that such updates warrant anything vital or truly important.

  So I’m left wondering (without coming to any certain conclusion) about why it’s such a “need” to send out mass messages for every little new update. I could ponder many possibilities – from simply wanted to keep loyal readers informed lest they miss an update through the news feed, to perhaps a bad case of self-absorbtion. The motives really aren’t the problem I’m annoyed about, though (mind you, I’m not saying that I don’t care; I do). It’s simply that I signed onto Xanga today to find that four of the five messages waiting for me weren’t even really for me, personally. It was just several more of many other mass messages saying, “I wrote something new.” …and that was it.

  To me, this is about as bad as people who do little more than click LIKE on Facebook without actually offering any thoughts about why they like a particular post. Both Xanga and Facebook are online communities. There’s no real connection going on people people when all we do is mass message or LIKE a post. It’s not learning how to build relationships. I’ll be the first to tell you that I’m no supporter of online dating sites, but if a relationship does happen to begin online, there’s no way it can grow if the people involved don’t do more than than LIKE each other. Mass messaging, as I have described here, does nothing but to serve one’s own interests…at least, that’s the way it seems given the context of the mass messages I’ve received.

  I want to make it clear that I’m not here to judge the character of any such people who have sent me such mass messages or others who also do it. Sometimes a mass message can serve a good purpose and be effective in communicating all at once. I, myself, have mass messaged my contacts on my other account simply to let them know of my new account here. I do have (or…had, it would seem) many loyal readers. So I’m not against mass messaging entirely. Yet, if it’s only serving to inform others of their own updates which we can clearly see by way of our news feeds, I find it very unsavory as a blogger. Add that to the fact that of the several blog posts I’ve put up since starting this new account, only a tiny number of visitors actually comment (or rec) on my posts, it begins to feel more like a means seek attention rather than actually grow a meaningful friendship of some kind. (The only reason one of these mass messengers commented on my post was because I tagged them.)

  Thank you for listening.

  • 1:24 am
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