A Day in the Life

A Day in the Life of Using Digital Media

Digital social media is a way of life. I check Instagram before breakfast is made. I love the visual images, but I also love reading the content that follows. Instagram is comparable to a visual blog but with a variety of ideas including fashion, décor, inspirations, and farming; it’s a great way to promote my homestead business. Pinterest is my other go-to digital social media app. Looking for an outfit or a recipe? Done. Home Décor or new Bible study? Done. Need a treat for your horse or a chicken coop idea? Done. I stay away from Facebook, too much drama, unless I want to see family or close friends’ updates. I rarely use Twitter, although I do get daily updates to the most pertinent news. Snapchat is a great way to stay in contact with my best friend who lives a few states away; we share our life in pics throughout the day.

Facebook and Twitter are the most negative forms of digital media especially during an election year. There is just too much drama and I shy away from drama or hate-spewing posts. Instagram is inspiring, but maybe it’s all the baby animals and inspirational messages that I follow. Pinterest always generates a positive reaction – western fashion, lodge living, faith-based quotes and other messages, and of course, the recipes.

I don’t have a lot of time to surf social media sites, so I choose carefully. Instagram is easy to get lost in, so I limit my time – surfing and checking periodically throughout my day. Pinterest would be the one digital media site that is the most satisfying. It’s easy to find what was saved and images can be downloaded to a physical device – iPhone, iPad, or computer.

I use email in my construction business and my homestead business. I have three separate email accounts – construction, homesteading and a personal account. The personal account is used to receive emails from a variety of companies including clothing, home décor sites, bath and body, etc. I may subscribe to a company, find it’s mostly advertising that doesn’t apply to me, and then unsubscribe. The emails that catch my attention are not necessarily ones that offer coupons or discounts, those are usually skimmed and deleted. The emails I read have to do with business – ways to improve, an encouraging one, or even a new way of growing seeds or raising animals. I like emails with substance or the ones that say, “I have money, or a waiver is needed to exchange for a check.” 😊 I also get a variety of emails from companies that want me to collaborate with them, and so far, I have said no. I haven’t found the company that has the same principles or products that I want to promote.

As a former blogger, yes, this isn’t my first rodeo, I have watched digital media evolve. Pinterest went public last year; inspiring me to invest in them. Instagram and Facebook offer stories similar to Snapchat. Visual blogging, in the form of fashion and home décor, have shown up in Instagram as opposed to just using a blog platform. Social media has become the new norm, and more and more people have forgotten how to talk or even spell. Digital media is a great alternative to marketing, reaching more people in a short amount of time. Instead of meeting for coffee, there’s instant messaging. I have seen people sit across from each other in a restaurant, never having a conversation, but scrolling through their social media accounts. And worse, people think they can send any kind of picture they want to; even the ones that we do not want to see.