The Fine Art of Chaos
July 29, 2008 by Colleen Coplick
Filed under Social Media
Definition of Chaos: “a state of extreme confusion and disorder” [source]
Definition of social media: “an umbrella term that defines the various activities that integrate technology, social interaction, and the construction of words, pictures, videos and audio. This interaction, and the manner in which information is presented, depends on the varied perspectives and "building" of shared meaning among communities, as people share their stories, and understandings.” [wikipedia]
Hrm. In my world at least, it’s almost as though those two definitions could be completely interchangeable.
I tried to take a look at my media consumption habits to draw connects to them all – you know, like a social map of sorts…who knows who, and who knows what about whom, that kind of thing – and instead I ended up with an almost Hugh McLeod worthy cartoon dust ball, tumbleweed or just random lines going all over the damn place.
Words aside, that looks like social media to me. Chaos is social media to me. There’s all these ….things…zapping around the interwebs. There’s just so much information and, well, chaos zipping around social media scene from facebook, twitter, friendfeed, alltop, blogs, youtube, plurk, flickr, podcasts, video etc etc etc.
Maybe it’s just the noise factor I’m trying to figure out. Maybe I’m not actually saying anything here at all and instead am simply making more noise, adding to the chaos.
When it comes right down to it, I’m not even sure what I’m trying to say here, which I suppose, in some way, is both chaos and social media personified.
















I understand completely. As an online community manager and journalist charged with integrating user-content, it is imperative that I understand the landscape and try all the tools. That said, I do not try to become active in every single venue. Not regularly. One will simply go insane, as your cartoon indicates quite well. You have to pick and choose. Sure, test them all…but if it doesn’t fit your needs or work for your life, move on. I call it: “Controlled Chaos.”