It seems quite commonplace for people to assess the value of their social networks on an individual level. They’ll go through their contacts and if people aren’t proving valuable, or more likely are annoying them in some way, they’ll be culled from their contact list.
Whilst that seems quite common, culling the actual networks we use seems much less common. When it comes to deciding which networks we use, it so often seems that fashion plays a major part. We feel we can’t not be on particularly trendy networks. When Pinterest was the hot topic for instance, many no doubt flocked to it expecting it to do wonders for them. The same happened when Google launched communities on Google+.
That’s nice and all, but it assumes that both you have unlimited time, and that each new network delivers equal returns on the investment you make in them. Neither is true. Your time is valuable, so lets make sure you make the most of it.
Instead of joining every network going, focus on the ones that are most suitable for your needs and that deliver the best returns. Don’t know which ones they are? Then don’t join any until you can figure out how you can measure the success of what you’re doing.
Once you have that clear method of measuring success you’ll be able to decide for yourself which networks are best and you’ll be able to decide for yourself which ones are working and which aren’t. You’ll be free from following the latest trends or doing what gurus demand you must.
Enjoy this sense of liberation and look forward to a more productive life.
Most of that pressure if you will often comes from social media 'experts' who must feel like they have to justify their existence of something. Very refreshing to hear someone say you don't need to be on every network going.
Some good advice. There are lots of networks I'm not on, because frankly I just can't see the point of places like Pinterest or Foursquare. My time is precious, so I don't want to waste it in places that don't deliver returns.
Hey Adi, interesting entry. Although I am not much social now a days but last year, I blocked one of my friends on Facebook 🙂 The reasons was, he didn't respond me once when I was facing some problem in doing my university assignment. It is common that people either blog or remove friends on social networks.
Thanks for the comment. I'm suggesting we go a bit further though and rather than just remove individuals, to actually stop using certain networks if they're not proving useful. We shouldn't be beholden to fashion.
I agree Adi, I have wasted far to much time creating, monitoring and maintaining SM profiles/accounts for zero tangible benefits. The big ones (Facebook and Twitter for me) nee my friends thinning out and some of the less useful ones (for my and my businesses) Pintrest, G+, need to be eliminated from my workload…Oh and if I want to be genuinely social, sod it I'm just going to the pub for a pint lol!
Amen to socialising in the real world 🙂
"Amen"…Not church though lol 😉
Haha, indeed 🙂
Like you say, it just depends on which one is the best fit at any time. I think the best idea is to maybe put ALL of them down. We as a society are running out of time due to “social” networks!
Pinterest is a waste of time for me, however my wife does a lot of socializing about knitting on there. The only place I see a good return for time invested is the top of the search engines. Oh yeah…Tim around here church is the very best place to get business 😉
thanks, Some good advice. There are lots of networks I'm not on, because frankly I just can't see the point of places like Pinterest or Foursquare. My time is precious, so I don't want to waste it in places that don't deliver returns. http://techleaks.us/