Social Media – meh…

After paddling more than a week ago, I was saying good bye to a few close friends and one said something that I thought about for the whole drive home. She said:

even if I don’t see you before next season, I’ll know what your up to just from Facebook.

I will admit that I have been an early adopter of social media. I have had this blog (and it’s many iterations) for a number of years , I have used Twitter for a couple of years as well as the aforementioned Facebook page to put up things I found interesting as well as catch up with some folks that I haven’t seen in a long while.

But two things have changed:

1. I am trying to simplify things so I have enough time to get what I need to accomplished plus have some semblance of a life
2. Marketers have determined that these sites have the opportunity to generate revenue and site traffic

When my friend said she could keep up with me via Facebook and not have to see me till next season, I thought, damn I do spend a lot of time posting things to that site. But at what expense? Twitter same thing, I kept TweetDeck open on my machine from start of business to close of business. I felt like I had my finger on the pulse of what was going on in my little world as well as contributing to it. Again, at what expense?

So I ran a test, I have not used either for over a week now and I honestly have not missed either. I am now more focused at work so I pay attention to the task at hand and not what everyone else is saying. Facebook same thing, didn’t look at it and haven’t missed a single thing.
But to circle back to the marketing that is going on. No longer do I feel like I am sharing with folks, I see more requests for help in knocking someone off in Mafia Wars than I do meaningful posts from friends.

Long story short, I think I will drop them as a means of communication and use the time for something more meaningful.

Side Note – I did tweet something the other day…at our marketing director’s request