Social networking for all the wrong reasons Mar10 '08

Eric Benderoff is feeling overwhelmed by social networks.

I have social media fatigue.

I once enjoyed peering through my friends' friends to find interesting people to become my friends. Now that's tedious.

Apparently he's joined too many social networks and now has since forgotten passwords, and questions his reasons for joining in the first place.

I did join for work reasons -- I'm a tech reporter, I need to know these things ...

It sounds like he's joining social networks for all the wrong reasons.

I've mentioned that in any social network, features trump community, so if you're joining social networks solely because you're friends are on there, you'll eventually find the service useless.

Rather, join a social network because it offers you new ways to explore what you do best. If that means meeting others in your field, challenging your publishing abilities, or simply making your life easier - do it for you, not because it's the latest trend, or because your buddies are on there.

Or... in Eric's case, because he feels he has to, by being a tech reporter. If it's a matter of joining the network, and using it for a while, to assimilate an opinion worthy of a tech article, do so and move on. No one is forcing you to remain in the social network.

It's not how many social networks you're a part of - it's what you take away from each and every one. Is it making you better? Is it enhancing your persona and rate of meeting new contacts? If not, leave it.

If it only serves to regurgitate your content in multiple places, it's probably not worth your time.

And if it's a matter of forgetting passwords, please come up with a better password remembrance system.

Categories: Networking , Socnet

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matthom is published and produced by Matt Thommes - an independent publishing enthusiast, mobile blogger, content creator, informative writer, web developer from Chicago. Never one to conform, Matt intends to promote the effect the web has on our lives, in an effort to intensify, instruct, and clarify all that is happening around us.

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