Friday, April 1, 2011

Choice here choice there

"Social media rearranges the way we make choices." - Malcolm Gladwell at Ringling College

I would suspect that social media has a way of influencing our choices- it is a more instant, direct form of communication than perhaps what was present in previous days.

Like yesterday, I woke up and checked my email box- I had three companies who I had applied to the other day (teaching English overseas in Japan, to be specific), with my resume and the whole nine yards, had gotten back to me.

One wants me to come to an interview next weekend (9TH) in Los Angeles. (Although I don't know...NEXT EFFIN WEEKEND!? Thanks for the short notice....*facepalm*...either that or I wait until May when their next rounds of interviews are...)

Another wants a phone interview.

The third is screening my application and will get back to me in a few weeks (but this opportunity is in Portland in May or June, anyways).

This set of outcomes made me seriously happy. I posted up my status on my Facebook, and within, oh, 15 minutes, I had numerous "likes" and comments of encouragement.

This encourages me to go forward with my plans, no matter how bad or good it may be. If I had not gotten such immediate feedback, would I have changed my plans? Maybe. Maybe not. Then again, I am pretty firm in that I really want to go to Japan and teach English at least for a year or two (in particular, because I don't feel my portfolio is firm enough to get a job at an art company, but I don't want to work at Starbucks, either....)

Of course, in a way, it has changed alot of us in society in that we expect somewhat quicker results, somewhat more instantaneous feedback.....some people say people of my generation are impatient. Perhaps we are.

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