Jul
16
When Does Social Networking Become “Busy Work?”
Posted by Tim Bourquin
One of our attendees sent me an email this past week about setting up a pre-networking group on LinkedIn.com. So we did! If you’re a member of LinkedIn.com, we’ve set up a group for New Media Expo attendees and anyone else interested in networking with fellow content creators.
But it brings up an interesting point. There are hundreds of sites and services where I can setup groups, micro-sites and social networking pages. I could literally spend my entire day signing up for new sites, entering my information, and then maintaining that information as we get closer to the Expo. When is enough, enough?
For a conference or business, the answer is probably - it’s never enough - sign up for as many as possible so that every person out there can find you somewhere. But the answer for an individual is probably different. You may sign up for a bunch of new services during their private beta and launch but only use a few on a regular basis.
I hear a lot about how social media overload is coming - folks for me I’m already there. As an individual I use a handful of services - it’s all I can do to keep up with those. As a business owner, I use as many as possible, which means I’m probably not using any of them as well as I should.
Ultimately, you need to decide if the services you are using are just creating “busy work” and those that are truly helping you enrich your experiences online - and off!
How do YOU decide what’s working for you and what’s just “busy work?”
NOTE: Badges for registered New Media Expo attendees will start mailing next week. Be on the lookout for yours!
July 17th, 2008 at 3:42 pm
Fair point, Tim. Personally, I’m active on Facebook and LinkedIn - but I receive messages daily from contacts, colleagues, etc., on Plaxo and a variety of other services. I can’t possibly keep up with all of them.
July 17th, 2008 at 9:48 pm
I’ve seen some good results for myself and my Infopreneur and Marketing coaching clients using Propeller, Blog Catalog, and select sites using Socialmarker. I’m also adding Linked In to my efforts. You absolutely need to evaluate which social media sites are doing you good based on your definition of success, and which seem to not make a difference.
In addition, each social media site has its own philosophy and rules as to whether your participation is welcome or not, and it can be frustrating to try to figure it all out. So you work with those that are easy to use and that welcome you, and avoid those that are too hard to deal with.
For me, success is testing to track site traffic and search engine rankings for items submitted using one source over the other. I’ve already dropped some that are just not a match for my style, my topics and/or do not show a difference that makes the effort worth it.
July 18th, 2008 at 8:33 am
Tim,
I have about 10 social media profiles online. I tend to use Twitter the most, but I do a lot of social bookmarking, messaging on Ning sites and so forth. It is a chore to keep up with the accounts, but I think we all have to accept the battle ground for what it is. Different people hang out on different corners and in order to network, you have to be willing use some time to get to those corners and find those people.
I can’t say any one method is better than another. I think you have to find a comfortable level of engagement with your networks and exploit them to your best ability. Hey, I’m no social media expert… but I did stay at a Holiday Inn last night.
See you in Vegas. I’m @sterlingdoak on Twitter. And there’s nothing better than talking social networking while hitting the black jack table!
July 27th, 2008 at 9:39 am
As a creator of yet-another-social-network (and one that I’m proud to see will be used at NME: http://pathable.com/events/nme08/), I must honestly say I agree that there is an issue. And it’s not just limited to the web-based social networks, there’s a flood of mobile networks, too: should I tell people where I am via Dodgeball, Loopt, Twitter, Swaggle?
I think the key is context: we have enough generic “everybody I’ve ever known” social networks. But when I’m going to a conference, I have a very real, specific goal: I need to find out who is going to be there so I can make sure I meet the right people and make good use of precious face-to-face time.
That’s why I think Pathable (www.pathable.com) is so valuable. It’s goal-oriented social networking, with a goal that’s so much more important than “how am I going to kill 10 minutes so I don’t have to get some real work done”. I’m taking time and money away from work to travel to be in the same physical space with thousands of people. Pathable helps me make new connections when I’m there, and that’s why I go.