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 From the News Desk...Tweets speak louder than wordsby John ReitmanA recent television commercial for a wireless cellular provider pokes fun at a made-for-TV family in which mom and dad revel in newfound technology they can utilize through their phones, such as social networking sites. While mom and dad post and Tweet, their teenage children are mortified at their parents' efforts to be hip, which includes the father updating followers to his Twitter site that "I am sitting on the patio." While the commercial is indeed humorous, the underlying current reflects what many users of social networking sites already believe - "enough already with the mindless, useless information." Many of these social networking sites are carving a niche in the golf industry. Many superintendents are utilizing sites such as Facebook , Twitter and LinkedIn for professional networking opportunities, as well as staying abreast of the latest in turf management information. “The turf industry changes rapidly. The social networking sites help me to keep up to date with events and changes in the industry,” said Lane Tredway, Ph.D., turfgrass pathologist and extension specialist at North Carolina State University. “Static Web sites are too difficult to change and update. Social networking sites make it much easier to provide up-to-date information.” Tredway maintains multiple social networking sites for personal and professional purposes. He also is involved with a multi-platform initiative through which he and other university researchers provide Twitter feeds – known as Tweets – updating followers about stories posted to a blog that is focused on turfgrass issues nationwide. The Turf Diseases Twitter page of which Tredway takes part has built a modest list of nearly 70 followers. That pales in comparison to the number of followers some Twitter users have established – Ashton Kutcher, Ellen DeGeneres, Britney Spears and CNN each reportedly have more than 2 million followers – it is an example of how a social networking site can be used for professional purposes. Still, you might want to think before making that next Facebook or Twitter post, because what you type might say a lot about you. At least that is what some university researchers are saying. “Sometimes you find out some people you know are kind of freaky or just plain annoying. ‘Dude, that’s the 87th picture of you on the beach in a Speedo you’ve posted today.' A classic is having someone from high school or college you haven’t seen for 20 years reach out to you and then after reconnecting you remember why you haven’t bothered to talk to them for 20 years.”As social networking sites become increasingly popular, there is a clear distinction between providing useful, funny or otherwise entertaining information, and posting for self-gratuitous purposes, said one psychology researcher. W. Keith Campbell, Ph.D., associate professor and head of the psychology department at the University of Georgia, has conducted some of the only recognized scientific research on the subject. His research indicates that a high percentage of college-aged students use one or more of the social networking sites, making “ownership” of social networking pages normal behavior for that age group. In fact, communicating via sites such as Facebook and Twitter has nearly usurped face-to-face communications for many users in their teens and 20s, Campbell said. But it’s not whether you use Facebook that can be so telling. Rather, it’s the information on one’s page that can be so revealing, he said. “They have a lot of uses. One of them is narcissism,” Campbell said of social networking sites. “Just because someone uses it doesn’t mean anything. To me, the question is how are you using it.” His work, entitled “Narcissism and Social Networking Web sites” was published last year in the "Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin." Posting news feeds and updates, professional networking opportunities and maintaining personal relationships are among the most typical uses of social networking sites. But posting that you are “going out to dinner” or “just landed at the airport” can be interpreted as narcissistic behavior. Likewise, anyone who maintains a social networking site no doubt has a contact or follower who bombards others with useless, self-promoting information. Such posts likely are designed to boost one’s own image – to themselves and others, but often has negative consequences, Campbell said. “That might make people feel good, or they do it for self-enhancement thinking it makes people look up to them,” Campbell said. “But what happens is their ego gets in the way and people shut them off.” A survey of several TurfNet members, including superintendents, university researchers and vendor representatives, appears to support Campbell’s findings. Most of those surveyed indicated that they used Twitter and/or LinkedIn for professional networking and information-sharing, while using Facebook to maintain personal relationships. Frank Wong, Ph.D., plant pathologist at the University of California, Riverside maintains a Facebook page and, along with Tredway, John Kaminski, Ph.D., of Penn State and Megan Kennelly, Ph.D., of Kansas State, are involved in the Turf Diseases Twitter/blog project. Wong also has a Facebook page that for the most part, is limited to personal relationships, rather than turf-related content. “It’s a great way to share information with friends, such as ‘I just ran my first marathon,’ in status updates – sharing photos, videos, music and other links. Wishing people happy birthday is a biggie,” Wong said. Many survey respondents said they don’t like it when contacts share too much information about themselves or post excessive amounts of information that some called “mindless” or “self-promoting.” Facebook users can become fans of a multitude of people, places and things, including celebrities, athletes, social causes, politicians and favorite foods. It also offers trivia quizzes and games. Each time a user takes part in one of these types of events, or becomes a “fan” of something or someone, their followers are notified – many begrudgingly. “Too much sharing of info or trivial information, but that’s relative sometimes,” Wong said when asked what bothered him most about social networking. “For example, I’m ambivalent that my cousin ranked in the top 10 percent of ‘How Much Kung Fu Do You Know’ quiz, but was appreciative to know that today is National Fried Chicken Day.” “Twitter is a new endeavor, we will see. I think it could work really well if everyone – including me – took it seriously,”Social networking sites can say a lot about a person you know only on a casual level, or those with whom you have fallen out of contact. “Sometimes you find out some people you know are kind of freaky or just plain annoying. ‘Dude, that’s the 87th picture of you on the beach in a Speedo you’ve posted today,’ ” Wong said. “A classic is having someone from high school or college you haven’t seen for 20 years reach out to you and then after reconnecting you remember why you haven’t bothered to talk to them for 20 years.” In the University of Georgia research, raters evaluated information from 129 Facebook pages for narcissistic content. They rated such information as “about me” content, personal photographs, favorite quotations and judged on the following characteristics: self –absorbed, self-conscious, self-important and self-promoting. The research also figured in the number of posts and friends from each Facebook profile. The research showed a positive relationship between narcissism and self-promoting “about me” information. There also was a correlation between the rater’s prediction of narcissism and photographs that were judged to be “self-promoting or sexy.” Raters also found a positive relationship between narcissism and the amount of information designed to communicate such traits as one’s intelligence, power, uniqueness or physical attractiveness compared with the amount of interpersonal communications. The latter trait, a disproportionate amount of self-promoting information compared with a lack of meaningful interpersonal communication, is a classic trait among narcissists everywhere, not just on Facebook, Campbell said. Characterized by a need for admiration from others, narcissists “look for any opportunity to gain notoriety,” Campbell said. While self-confidence is a trait among narcissists as well as those with a strong ego, there are stark differences between the two personality traits, Campbell said. Those with a strong ego, he said, typically also maintain strong interpersonal relationships, are empathetic toward others and are resilient in failure. Narcissists, on the other hand, often are characterized by numerous and shallow relationships, lack of empathy for others and transference of blame for their own failures, he said. “They don’t care about being more caring or kind,” Campbell said. “Those with an ego are more balanced, they’re kind and they care about others.” “The turf industry changes rapidly. The social networking sites help me to keep up to date with events and changes in the industry.”Little research has been conducted on how people use Twitter. Although one of the few – if not only – pieces of research on Twitter usage was conducted at Harvard University, it did not explore narcissistic attributes of users. However, tracking narcissistic behavior on Twitter might be easier than on Facebook, Campbell said. “Twitter can be used for a lot of things, but it mostly is used for self-promotion,” he said. “It’s not reciprocal. There aren’t even shallow relationships; they’re one-way relationships. It’s communicating, it’s broadcasting. It’s one-sided.” In fact, many businesses and media outlets, TurfNet included, utilize Twitter to post news feeds and links for followers, as well as to follow updates posted by others. For example, golfers at Dedham (Mass.) Country and Polo Club are just a mouse click away from the latest on conditions at the Boston-area golf course. The convenience comes courtesy of updates posted to the Twitter page of course superintendent Michael Stachowicz . Currently, only a handful of golfers at Dedham follow Stachowicz on Twitter, but those who do can learn about such things as golf car policy after rain events and the latest on scheduled maintenance procedures. “Twitter is a new endeavor, we will see. I think it could work really well if everyone – including me – took it seriously,” Stachowicz said. “Members wouldn’t have to call in for cart status. They would hopefully know that through a tweet earlier in the morning. The same with the other departments, they could learn what they need to know from me to operate better during the day.” Stachowicz tries to limit Tweets to one per day so as not to inundate followers with too much information. While he uses Twitter for professional means, Stachowicz also maintains a Facebook page through which he communicates with friends and family members on a more personal level. Even then, he admits there are some who overdo it, noting he has “unfriended” others (blocked them from following him) “because they were constantly putting out drivel on their news feed,” he said. So before you close your Facebook or Twitter account, remember that it is what you say, not simply participating in online communications that can be so telling. “The Internet is not a narcissistic tool,” Campbell said. “But it has become a pathway for narcissism.” |
In other news... Study examines spring pre-stress fertility programs Research finds no correlation between biostimulant applications before spring core cultivation and recovery. Posted: 09/02/2010 Read more » Aquatrols, TurfNet present Water Week The series of five Webinars is aimed at helping superintendents manage water and soils more efficiently. Posted: 09/01/2010 Read more » News and people briefs Registration opens soon for Irrigation Show, Briggs & Stratton elects new chairman, FMC taps new director for professional solutions division Posted: 09/01/2010 Read more » GCSAA selects firm in search for new CEO Kansas City-based company will open search process for Mark Woodward's successor in October. Posted: 08/31/2010 Read more » Water foul! Research shows that droppings from non-migratory geese on turf can result in nitrogen runoff into adjacent bodies of water. Posted: 08/26/2010 Read more » Complete news index » |
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