Social network priorities Sep26 '08

What will you replace in your life for the next web service?

A recent New York Times piece talks about the overabundance of social networks, and how many people have reached their "capacity point," where it's no longer feasible to join new social networks, unless they replace something else in their lives.

This is absolutely accurate.

I, for one, have reached an exhaustion point with social networks. I can only commit to so many on a daily or weekly basis. With each new social network introduced, I find myself having to steal time away from (or completely replace!) other social networks that I normally contribute to.

This causes a disconnection for the networks in which I'm stealing time from. I become less "in tune" to what's going on, because new networks demand my attention or involvement.

I've had to decide which networks are a priority to me, and really focus in on those.

It's not enough to be involved partially in a lot of networks. You're better off being involved fully in a manageable amount of networks.

Odd man out

Unfortunately, that means a lot of cool web services have to take a back seat.

For example, I've had to tone down my Brightkite usage because I simply couldn't find a way to fit it into my daily social network habits. It was working for me for a while, then I just started feeling exhausted having to constantly force myself to use it. That was the sign that it's time to consider letting it go.

My top networks - those that I consider a priority to remain involved with, are as follows (not necessarily in this order):

  1. Blogging
  2. Twitter
  3. Flickr
  4. Facebook

These are the areas (as of right now) I find the most pleasurable and self-fulfilling on a daily basis. Therefore, I devote the majority of my time to them. Granted, this could change tomorrow, but the point is you should only have a small number of networks that you push all of your energy towards.

I can handle these four. Any new service would have to replace something from this list in order for me to use it fully.

Everything outside this list just becomes background noise, and exactly how apps like Facebook's "Blog It" come about - because people can't keep up with all the networks they're involved in. They've simply over-extended themselves.

You don't need to be in every network on the face of the Earth.

Decide what your priorities are, and stick to 'em.

Categories: Social Networks

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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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