Is there any value to the workout status update? Facebook and Twitter are both chock full of posts logging workouts and it’s one of the more ridiculed fixtures of social media. That ridicule assumes posts of this nature are bragging, but it’s possible that athletic statuses serve a higher purpose.
As Seth Godin recently posted, working out in isolated events doesn’t do nearly as much good as making exercise a habit. Much like Alcoholics Anonymous provides a group of peers to which each other remains accountable, online communities like Facebook, Twitter, and even Tumblr can have their own magical accountability effect. If you have committed either outwardly or only inwardly to going to the gym 4 days a week, it’s likely that others are aware of that or may pick up on that and are watching for your consistency. The invisible circle of friends or peers that social networks build around us means that, while every post will not be seen, each post could be found. That might be just enough motivation to push someone to do something they otherwise wouldn’t.
Different personalities respond differently, but this is a nice free benefit of life in the cloud if you have the discipline to let it drive you. I’m driven to post 3 blogs a week here, regardless of whether you care to read them all. The fact that someone could go back and check my weeks and find the gaps is enough.
So, instead of viewing every status as an affront to you, think about what that brings the other person… and then click the Hide button in the drop-down to never see it again.
