Lately, I’m finding it especially difficult to keep up with all of the different social networks and applications that are available on the Internet. Having so many options available is both exciting and overwhelming. If you are new to social networking, I can understand how this may deter you from participating in a forum or from using an application, if you think it’s too confusing or just doesn’t appear to be easy. For instance, on many occasions, I’ve heard people say that they’ve tried Twitter, but they just don’t get it or they don’t give the community enough time to feel involved enough to want to continue with their participation.
With all of the social networking we do, jumping from community to community, socializing with different sets of “friends” we spread ourselves very thin. Remember it’s always quality rather than quantity. That goes for everything in life and it’s one of our most important lessons to learn, even in the social networking world.
I guess I try to keep the quality over quantity by staying focused on the networks that provide me with the most satisfaction, interaction and information. For me, it’s no secret that Twitter is my #1 favorite place to be. Then I would say that Facebook is a close second. Then, there are also those networks that I go back to and check on regular basis but I’m not participating daily. These include MyRagan.com, MyManagersNetwork.com and LinkedIn. I also have my favorite blogs which are PR 2.0 (www.briansolis.com), Communications Overtones (http://overtonecomm.blogspot.com) and Web-Stategist.com (http://www.web-strategist.com/blog).
So here’s a list of interesting forums that provide value. Check out when you have some time:
Pitch engine sounds great going to check that out for sure. I agree even for the most connected people it can be overwhelming. I just try my best to connect the dots as closely as possible between networks, feeding one into the other and vice versa without creating too much noise.Trying to get rid of that ’swiss cheese’ factor.
In this order:
Twitter
Friendfeed
Facebook
Stumbleupon (great for bookmarking, tagging and sharing)
Last.fm
Artistdata.com (for me when I was listing tour dates, it crossposts to over 10 sites and submits to local press event listings which often generated features from the editorial teams)
Digsby (connects Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, Chat, and email accounts)
Hi Adam,
Thanks for commenting on my blog post. I think you’ll like pitch engine. I think I will check out Digsby. You’re list is awesome and I admire your dedication to these forums! I see Twitter is at the top of your list
Great post and I’m glad I’m not the only who feels overwhelmed at times by all the options. I like the communities and tools you’ve mentioned, and also find PRopenMic to be another good one (I like the interaction with PR students and faculty). Most of all, I really enjoy bouncing from blog to blog, reading and commenting and checking out blogrolls to see who I should be reading more of. That’s how I found my way to you.
Hi Lara, thanks for commenting. You are definitely not alone. I just feel there’s never enough time in a day to visit, read, listen and blog as much as I’d like to. PRopenMic sounds very interesting and I’m going to check it out. I’m happy that you found my blog