Researching this article has been a challenge to my ability to focus on anything for long periods of time. I am the kind of person that will find a useless item out of place in my office while looking for my car keys and after a fit of obsessive compulsive tinkering still have not found my keys. Freud would probably diagnose this as anal retentive behavior, so I am glad that others have challenged his belief that this kind of behavior is related to toilet training. Most of my psychological issues stem from being scared by a tricycle at age three. Spoiler alert: This analysis will end with the notion that social media usage must be diversified to be effective. Nobody is an expert and probably never will be, so the people who profess to hold the secrets to success really are clueless for the most part. A word of caution: It really DOES require a disciplined approach. Have a reason to be there and go there for that reason.
My recommended top ten list for a diversified portfolio of social media presence. Budget time for each one and then call on your personal favorites to do your bidding. I have my favorites, but have listed these alphabetically rather than by popularity or personal preference.
- Delicious – This is one of the premier social bookmarking services and may be used individually or as a team to record favorites on a topic. It has recently undergone a facelift and relaunched, so if you haven’t seen it in a while try it out.
- Digg – This was one of the original social news websites inviting users to vote up or down on web content. This format has been cloned by other services, but serves to highlight what is hot on the web as determined by Digg users.
- Facebook – Primarily a social networking service that probably needs no introduction to most people. Learning how to use this network to search for information on users and businesses is making it more popular than before.
- Google+ – Google Plus, a self-described social networking and identity service, is one of the essentials, but has not enjoyed the popularity of some of the other major players. With the power of Google behind it there are tools unique to this service that cannot be found elsewhere.
- LinkedIn – This site is primarily used for professional networking, but company information and job posting makes it an excellent source of business information as well. The power of this a networking tool is only limited by the innovative use by each user.
- Pinterest – This is primarily a pictorial site in which photos and other images are posted in a pinboard format. Its power comes from pins linked to a web URL that is a website, blog post or other detailed information. It is not just for hobbyists or swapping recipes anymore.
- Reddit – An early copycat of the Digg social news format, it has leapfrogged past the competition and is one of the major players. This is probably more valuable if used regularly. They have redefined spam to include self promotion which truly democratized the site.
- StumbleUpon – Another specialized site calling itself a discovery engine. It recommends websites to users and is based on peer sourcing of content. Team collaboration on adding content and is use for research depends on how often it is used.
- Tumblr – This is a microblogging and social networking website. Users may post blogs or other multimedia content making it public or for private use. There is a unique dashboard interface for posting and follow others’ content.
- Twitter – One of the most popular of the social networking sites with a microblogging format that restricts “tweets†to 140 characters or less. The use of hashtags (#) to aggregate content into popular subjects also allows real-time chatting on a topic among users.
While I recommend and personally use all of these, there is one caution flag to consider before jumping in with content: watch what other people do first. Check the guidelines and do not violate the rules or you may find yourself being banned for simply not knowing the law. The one cardinal rule of using any of these social media sites is to remember to “keep it social†and engage with other users. There is another format that can be useful for the anti-social… it usually begins with the phrase, “Dear Diary†and this one can be kept under your pillow.
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