photo by lollyknit

I had planned to write about the importance of putting your best social media foot forward by being what I think of as your “true best self” when using online social networks. But apparently you are who you are, according to researchers at the University of Texas.

In a recent study of Facebook users, they found that profiles accurately represented users’ real-life personalities. In the New York Times article I read about the study, here’s the key takeaway for me:

Dr. Gosling said the findings suggested that online social networks could provide users with an opportunity for genuine social interactions.

“Is Facebook an opportunity to promote ourselves, a P.R. exercise? Or is it just another medium of social communication, like the telephone?” Dr. Gosling said. “This research suggests the latter. Young adults are using it as a way to communicate and leaving lots of clues about what they’re really like.”

Rather than looking to social media for its advertising potential (which I find one of the least interesting things about it), maybe we should focus more on captilizing on its amazing utility for linking, communicating, sharing, collaborating, etc. As for the marketeers among us, those “lots of clues” are a rich vein for data mining.

Seems to me that turning social media into just another megaphone is a criminal waste when you consider its potential.