seeking balance in the world of social media

Taking a Twitter/Facebook/social media “time out” between Christmas Eve and the New Year was the best thing I’ve done for myself in ages. I’m not one to wax poetic on sappy end-of-year round ups or make New Year’s resolutions, but stepping away from Tweetdeck helped put my cyber priorities into perspective.

There are so many things I love about social media – all of the new friends I’ve made – many of whom I’ve been fortunate enough to meet in real life (or “IRL” in Twitterspeak), being part of an interactive, international forum of writers, travelers, foodies and creative types (few things in my globetrotting world are as fun as Travelers’ Night In, a.k.a. #TNI), and the fact that I was able to use this tool to fund (and now share) The Global Citizen Project.

Twitter, Facebook, blogging and whatever other social media outlets you partake in are all about the give and take of ideas and information. I think people who post, but don’t participate are really missing out, and my brief hiatus made me think long and hard about how I can strike better balance in my personal life while still maintaining an active and fulfilling online presence.

Reality is I put far more value on real world interactions, and even my closest friends and loved  ones don’t know my every move in 140 characters or less like my followers on Twitter do. Sure, it’s been entirely my choice to put my personal life on cyber parade, but the past week has left me seriously rethinking what and how I’m going to use these tools to share in the future. 

Am I experiencing social media fatigue? Maybe. Or perhaps like anything in life, moderation is the key for successful living, especially now more than ever in our weird and wonderful, online world.

Here’s wishing you the best – and balance – in 2011!

Photo by Murray Barnes

photos: tegucigalpa, honduras | building a future

Hola from Tegucigalpa, Honduras. I'm about half-way through my first project and all is going well with Building a Future. It's been a very eye-opening and humbling experience to work with one month old babies through 20-year old girls who are the product of the streets, drugs, gangs or abandonment. I cannot thank the Mahomar family and every individual I've crossed paths with enough for the kind hospitality they've extended throughout my stay. Thank you.

Technology access has been non-existent until now, so I've held off on blogging about my experiences. Rest assured, I've been journaling daily -- there's no way I'd otherwise be able to keep track of all the stories and rich moments that fill my days. In the meantime, I'll share some of the photos I've taken here. (P.S. A Facebook account is required to log in.)  I had trouble uploading photos, so there are a few duplicates and images are not captioned (yet). After five tries, this is the best I can do at the moment. Enjoy!

media mention: blogging: explore the publishing frontier

Thank you to Writers.com intructor, Amanda Castleman, for mentioning The Global Citizen project in her post today on "Micropatronage and blog sponsorship." Blogging Frontier is a online course for blogging beginners that focuses on the art and craft of new media.

win it: grantourismo travel blogging competition

The fine globetrotting folks behind Grantourismo, Lara Dunston and Terence Carter just announced the first of a yearlong series of  travel competitions with monthly prizes. The travel writing twoesome is inviting you to create an inspiring blog post, consisting of a 500-word piece of evocative travel writing and one compelling photograph that motivates people to:

•explore more authentic and enriching ways to travel
•get beneath sthe skin of a place when they travel
•learn to live like locals
•travel more slowly and more sustainably, and/or
•give something back to the places they visit.

FIRST PRIZE is a stay at a HomeAway Holiday-Rentals property of your choice anywhere in the world valued at UK£500 (US$750) and a Viator tour voucher worth £100/US$150.

Visit Grantourism's website for all fine print, details and how to enter. Good luck!