The Social Tsunami

I have Diggtwitoratiface. Huh? What's this? It's my definition for being completely overwhelmed by all of the social networking/media sites out there.

I was thinking about this last night about after the introduction of Sphinn, which I'm really kind of pumped about. I mean, shit, every time I join one community it seems like 5 more pop-up that everyone is talking about. And I don't think I can ever "catch up" and manage to learn, network, and be effective on any of them...much less all of them. It gives me tired-head just thinking about it. So many sites...so little time.

Digg, Twitter, Technorati, del.icio.us, Reddit, MySpace, Facebook, Technorati, Sphinn, StumbleUpon, Fark, Furl, Spurl, Slashdot, MyBlogLog, YouTube, Squidoo and the list goes on and on. Are you kidding me? How the hell am I supposed to keep up? I know they all have their place and they serve different purposes, but DAMN!

Does anyone else feel this way? It's a full-time job just trying to stay current. And here's a newsflash; I already have a full-time job! A really busy one! Then throw in a wife, a couple kids, and a bunch of friends that I hardly ever see and I constantly feel like I just got quadruple-sat with big parties, the computers are down, and we've 86'd half the menu. (Pardon the restaurant speak, but some of you may actually get that!)

But wait a second. Take a deep breath. Chill. Do I really need to be plugged in at all of these joints?

No, I don't. For some reason I feel like I have to be because of what I do for a living but you know what? I just have to choose. Carefully.

I just think to myself, "Self, what am I looking to get out of this site? How can it help me?" And when I put it into perspective like that, it's easy to figure out. I'm far from a social media guru. I'm more like a social media newbie.

For me, the conundrum relates to my professional life. There are things that have to be done that require efficient use of this social media space. I have to produce for my clients. I have to be on top of industry happenings. I have to educate them. I need to network and build relationships. I need to grow our company. So for me, at least, I'm focused on the sites that I can benefit the most from in a selfish way.

If it's just for fun, I don't feel sorry for you and you're on your own. Go throw up a MySpace page and get out of my facebook...