Social Networking Overwhelm
I have an invitation on my desktop to join something called WAYN (where are you now?) I’m on LinkedIn, I’m supposed to join FaceBook and MySpace. It was recommended I hook up to Twitter. I’m a moderator on three Yahoo e-groups and a member of 6 more. And somehow I’m supposed to get work done in the middle of this.
And, of course, according to “People who know these things” I am supposed to Blog daily. Oh, and I put out a newsletter for my clients once a month.
ARRRRRRRGHGHGHGHGGH!
What happened to running a simple business? I started Pacific Rim Seminars way back in 1989. I walked out of a perfectly good day job and decided it would be cool to be worried daily for the rest of my life about where my next speaking or consulting job would come from. I sat alone through marketing classes. I sat alone brainstorming ideas to find ways to get the word out that I’m here and available to say stuff to your people, in exchange for money, of course.
I would have given my eye teeth for ONE networking opportunity.
Now, with an embarrassment of riches in the social networking world, I don’t know how to choose. Does FaceBook make sense for me? Does it make sense to keep doing a newsletter? Is anyone even reading my blog? (Well, no one ever writes, so I have no clue other than the thousands of hits I see on the analytics…)
At least with the Yahoo egroups there is an exchange. That’s the definition of Communication: “An exchange of meaning or understanding.” Without exchange, I find it hard to be motivated to engage.
Then there are those warnings – too many kids are giving away family secrets on these sites. So much information floats around in cyberspace that the word ‘privacy’ means nothing anymore. and I’ve seen my spam numbers increase dramatically just since I started this blog.
So – where do you begin, dear readers? How do you decide which ones make sense? What is your time worth? What is the payoff? For Facebook? For Myspace? For a blog like this? Who has time to read all these things? I can see LinkedIn’s usefulness, finally. At first it seemed silly. But now that a lot of my colleagues are using it, it’s a handy online resume.
I would say you ask yourself these questions before joining a group:
- Does it connect me to the people who can help me or my business?
- Do I have something of value to offer to this group?
- Does it provide the level of privacy and security I need and want?
- Do I have time to utilize all the features that make it useful for me or my business?
- Are those features easy and intuitive? Can I learn them quickly?
- Is there a way to get off this group or out of this site with a minimum of effort?
- Do I care?
If you can answer ‘yes’ to most of these questions, then it may make sense to get involved with that group. If you answered ‘no’ to more than half, wait. You can always join later.
It’s really basic Critical Thinking: What do I expect to happen if I join this group? and “What are the expected and unexpected consequences?” Finally – “Is it worth it?”
Only you can decide.
Let me know what you think,
Beth
~~~
Beth Terry, CSP, is a Professional Speaker and Corporate Trainer with offices in Hawaii and Phoenix, AZ.
© 2008 Beth Terry Seminars, Inc. All US and International Rights Reserved.
and
Cactus Wrangler - WP.Com site 
Hi Gay – thanks for writing. I’ve been stuck in cyberhell for the past week. Couldn’t get online. Didn’t realize how important blogging had been to me until I couldn’t! I lost a couple of posts because I was mid-blog and lost the connection. I decided my readers would probably understand. But now I’ll put a few in the hopper for those bad-connection days!
Good luck with your blog. Send me the link, cowgirl! Would love to read it!
Beth
Interesting that your blog on blogging and how I got your blog in the first place. Not really sure, other than I am an Arizona Cowgirl, currently the President of the group. Maybe your handle clicked me in. Sorry to hear you have to look for another one. I went to a class this past week hosted by the AZ Blogging Network – this group is in its infancy and growing rapidly. The featured 5 or 6 different classes all focusing on Blogging and all the different platforms and help with getting started and some advanced options too. The instructors were all volunteer and experienced Bloggers. It has left me with the same question you ask in your Blog – when is enough enough???? This whole social networking – blogging!!! It does has a life of its own and exists in a world all its own. I am giving is a go, but I am not interested in littering the internet with anything that is not important. But just as one of your readers mentioned, he did not always agree with you (I do pretty much) – my opinion does count and this gives it a platform. Thanks for your blog – it is on my reader.
Garry – Thanks. Good to know someone’s out there! And yes, cutting back, knowing what you want out of each site, and not feeling obligated to do more than you humanly can… That’s how we stay sane.
I’ve been working in Hawaii for the past week. So I just couldn’t get online to do a decent job on the blog. Today’s the first day back to sanity. And so it goes. I notice the world didn’t end when I wasn’t blogging.
Cheers!
Beth
HI Beth, well if it makes you feel any better, I am reading your blog. And by the way, it’s right on the money. Yes, I too have been inundated with invitations to join these sites. What makes it worse are the multiple emails to check, more passwords to memorize, and at this point more spam flying my way than ever before…but no extra business per se. The bottom line? I started cutting back and enjoy a simpler managerial lifestyle…you might say more Life-work balance…
Here’s to doing less and accomplishing more!
Garry 🙂
Tia – Thanks for your insights. You’re definitely the one to query, since you have your finger on the pulse of all this. OK, I’ll forget about Facebook and Myspace and focus on Twitter and blogging. I’m pretty active in Linked In and that has been working well. It’s slowly developing into a good medium for networking across borders.
Thanks!
Beth
Ron – glad you’re reading the blog. Thanks for the feedback. I doubt that any of us could read more than a small percentage of what’s out there in cyberspace and keep up with a paying job!
Take care and thanks for keeping the world in corn!
Beth
I’m test driving a bunch of this stuff right now. I’d happily be one to turn down the “noise” of internet clutter personally, but it’s making sense from a business stand point to be familiar with what is out there in the new social media. My verdicts so far? Facebook: fun but time consuming with almost no ROI. Twitter: fun, doesn’t take a lot of time, and the current hot-buzz…may make a difference to get into this one while it’s new. MySpace: on it’s way out, base never quite matured, not private or professional enough. LinkedIn: very useful once established and especially easier for boomers to become comfortable with and see the usefulness of. Blogging: (oh I’m so biased on this one!) great addition to total marketing package but blogging daily leads to burnout and will never match the ROI. Loved your check list for decision making…makes so much more sense than just joining everything in sight!
I keep up with your blog and newsletter with the purpose of keeping in touch. Even if it is a distance of many miles it is as close as I can get without using up your time calling, writing, etc. I read your comments as a learning experience. Most of the time, the comments are interesting and give insight. Sometimes, as can be expected, I may not fully agree or even understand but that is ok, because there is no way agreement and viewpoint are always the same. As far as expertise on networking, I’m not the one to hand out even a morsel of good advice. Personally for my own time and work schedule, I wouldn’t anywhere near have the time to read 1% of what is all on cyberspace! Take care.