Busy yesterday with admin work and a little project in the morning that took no time to complete. After that, Anne and I worked out some of the technology kinks in our upcoming webinar. I was feeling good for the first time in weeks, but I didn’t push it. I gave myself plenty of breaks.
I was noticing how much activity is happening over on Google+. Unfortunately, it’s happening without me. While I was quick to sign on when it first launched, I never quite got into that form of social media.
It simply doesn’t appeal to me. I want it to, because I’m sure I’m missing something. Still, part of me thinks I have enough going on that I’m ignoring to be adding one more thing to ignore right now.
That’s okay, too. For me, I can get by with LinkedIn and Twitter. I’m getting by quite well, in fact. And I’m not sure exactly how it’s happening, but I’m getting lots of inquiries via my website email form. There comes a time when social media can overwhelm. I’m there if someone needs me (and I still get the notifications), but I can’t maintain yet another account, especially on a platform that’s, well, too cumbersome for me to want to use.
Here’s what I need from my social media:
Quick communication. That’s definitely Twitter. Not so much LinkedIn, but that has other virtues.
Easy searchability. Just try searching on Google+. Maybe there’s a way. I haven’t bothered to try. I’m still buried in 300+ follow requests. Sure, you can type hashtags and names into the search, but why not just use Twitter or LinkedIn?
Professionalism. Here’s where LinkedIn pulls way ahead of all social media forms I use. If I want to locate experts or clients, I head here. I’ve found clients and experts on Twitter, but not as frequently.
Personal communication. See, I’m not seeing that on Google+. Yes, there are a lot of people posting on my “wall”, but I’m seeing a lot of noise. In Twitter where there are size limits, I can ignore much of it. On Google+, I’m staring right now at three posts by three different people and none of them are relevant to me. Why am I following them again?
Ease of use. I want to jump on, update my status, and get back to work. I don’t want to wade through several posts to see if someone posted something similar or if anyone has responded to my past updates. I don’t want games, videos, or things not related to work (I’m a magpie and I’m easily tempted).
Connection to others in my specialty area. This is definitely present on LinkedIn and, since I’m selective in whom I follow, Twitter. I know I can filter Google+ results, but it seems a bit tedious, whereas doing so on TweetDeck is quick.
You may find Google+ to be the best thing since sliced bread. Or you may hate Twitter or LinkedIn. The idea is to use it wisely. Don’t overwhelm yourself with so many forms of social media that you can’t get to work. That’s kind of missing the point.
What do you use and how do you keep a handle on each one?
13 responses to “Not Always the Joiner”
I sooo know what you mean, Lori. I want to get more involved on Google+, but I just can't seem to get there. Add in forums and I really can't manage it.
There's some products I'm working on so I am going to try to create a Google+ page and add those there and to my LI page. Beyond that, I can't deal with it.
Like you, I am satisfied where I'm at so I'm not going to beat myself up over it.
I also never got the knack for using Google+. Every so often I consider that I should spend time on it, get used to using it, but then I get busy with work and decide to do that some other time.
I mostly use LinkedIn and Facebook. I do have a twitter account, but I don't tweet as much as I would like to. I've integrated Facebook and twitter into my blog; that helps with posting some of the stuff I want to communicate about. I do shy away from making sales pitches though. That ensures that my automated messages are not seen as spam.
It's a time issue for me. Between client projects, my personal projects and making time to interact on Twitter (2 accts), Facebook and LinkedIn (sometimes), I'm already spread really thin. I have people now encouraging me to get active on Google+, Pinterest and another site, but seriously I'd need to either clone myself or find a way to get 24 more hours added to my days.
So I'm not alone?
I joined Google+ a couple months ago. I liked the idea of the circles – so I don't annoy work people with non-work things, or bore friends with work stuff. But I don't quite get how to make it work in a way that I'd want to check it on a daily basis.
Since my computer upgrade, Twitter suddenly makes sense (I still need to figure out how and why to make lists). It's a great way to track breaking news in the industries I cover – rival editors try to Tweet breaking news first. It makes it easy to fact check the veracity of certain items. As for not annoying work folks with my non-work Tweets? Hey, if I can put up with their sports/music/foodie Tweets, they can put up with my dog/knitting/food Tweets.
I still like LinkedIn, for the same reasons you noted, Lori. I don't do Facebook, Tumblr or some others, but am semi-active on Ravelry (social networking site for us yarny types). I only glance at Pinterest when I'm there pinning something really cool for future reference, or if I have five minutes to kill before an interview.
I love Twitter. Google+ puzzles me, and I haven't had a chance to figure it out. LinkedIn doesn't work for me, unfortunately, because so many people swear by it. And I can't stand Facebook. Oh, well.
Okay, someone has to stand up for google+. I absolutely love google+. I tell people it is the business side of facebook. Facebook annoys me most of the time. Too many, "dude look at me" type posts. My google+ sends updates to my email on posts I'm following and if someone has added me to their circle. I use twitter a lot, but find the character limitation bothersome. I don't seem to develop many relationships on twitter. I like linkedin for the business aspects. Google+ has a good blend for me, there is enough interaction and social expression to develop relationships, without all the silliness of facebook.
Not a hater on it, Wade-just can't seem to find the time. I don't use FB much, except for family sharing of pics. I am not a fan at all of FB. I think I would love Google+ but again-so little time-so many choices. 🙂
Maybe Wade can give us all a crash course in Google+ and help us figure out what we are (or at least I am) to lazy/busy to learn on our own.
Sorry if I seemed fired up. I didn't mean it that way. I just enjoy it and would like see more of you there. I was hoping Lori would do a writer hangout. 🙂
I'm glad you're enjoying Google+, Wade, so I was serious about you sort of shepherding us through the learning curve.
Wade, maybe you need to teach the rest of us how to use Google+. Would you be willing to guest post here?
Okay, I don't consider myself an expert, but I would be willing to put something together. I'm slammed for the next two weeks, but will write something soon after. Thanks for the opportunity, Lori.
Sounds great, Wade! If anyone can convince us, you can. 🙂