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I too am feeling a bit overwhelmed and I'm only just started getting into the social networking scene. Between Twitter, JoePopular, Digg and now Gooruze, I've not got a lot of "work" done in the last couple of days. lol

I guess as with all things, the key is moderation, but then that goes against the advice of the "gurus" who say you have to be constant if you hope to market your business through social networks.

[iamsbm]

I agree with Lisa about the need to "try them all." I use LinkedIn very effectively and it's brought me recognition and business, but it took a lot of time before that happened - and  a ton of effort on my part. I answer and ask questions and spend my Saturday mornings networking there. I joined Facebook because someone I knew started a business group there, and then left it alone after some woman I never met started sending me gifts and "hugs." But I guess since I keep getting notices of friends I really want to "befriend" that  I better go back in and pay some attention to it. Someone else pointed out on a panel at OMMA Hollywood - great conference, by the way - that MySpace could be very useful in terms of getting the "regulars" there - the ones with a following - to believe in your product or service and promote it there.

I've been in the newspaper arena for more than two decades now and have spent the last five years learning about the Web and the multimedia aspects of the newspaper evolution, but I still have a lot to learn. One thing I do know, because I hear it over an over again from those who've made money with social networking, is that it takes a lot of patience. You have to take the time to build your traffic before trying to monetize. If you don't give it at least a couple of years, you've quit on your site too soon.

 

Social networking will be at its best when it's tied to face-to-face networking. That's why our area (Raleigh, NC) is seeing more LinkedIn Live, TweetUps, etc. However, there's more to Social Media than just networking. There's listening to what is being said about your brand, message, or industry. There's engaging in the conversation. There's managing your online reputation. And so on.

I think the dust will settle, and several sites, devices, and applications will come to the forefront just like always. The reason I typically "try 'em all" is so that I can compare and contrast, see what might or might not work for business, and later I'll ditch the crummy ones and expand the good stuff.

Hi Kathryn,

yes a timely post. I've seen similar questions posed on many other sites recently, so you're right you're not alone.The fact that such a conversation is growing around the web probably means there will be some sort of shake-out sooner rather than later.

And further rationalisation is inevitable.

As you say many people are spreading themselves too thin. The copy and pasting of the same info has ramifications particularly if your're trying to get search engine traffic to your own site. As we know, search engines don't like duplicate content and will only reward the site that has the highest credibility and ranking.

Now, for example, if you're a small consultancy or business and you've got your copy/articles on some major community sites, then the big site will get the reward for that, and you won't. So in this regard it's counter productive. You want to keep your unique content on your own site.

Also, there's obviously an element of vanity in blogging and social media. We all want to look good, to be seen at the top of our game, up with the latest thing, show off, or just generally shoot our mouths off and give our opinions on anything. Social media is perfect for this, but that also means there's a large element of  the "fad" about blogs and social media, and fads, as we know, eventually die out.

With 100s of millions of blogs it's simply not possible to be on top of them all.

As you point out, it eventually becomes overwhelming. And human beings, at their core, are efficiency machines. We will soon decide which ones are worth belonging too and add value to our lives.

When we do we will start to look for quality and real value rather quantity.

Good Morning,

I agree with you.  Many of the social bloggers have joined so many of these particular sites that there is no way they can keep up with all of them.  They use a simple C&P and post the same information on different social networking sites.  Also, I find that in some of these sites there is no communication except to post a graphic comment which does no  one any good as far as promoting.  I belong to a few because I enjoy the site and the people that participate.  However, I must say that I think in the long run it is going to just turn out to be another promotional gimmick that will fall to the wayside.  There are going to be a lot of people disappointed.   Unless the site serve a specific purpose link Community Marketing University ( CMU7  www.cmu7.com/su/03f) they are going to fall to the wayside.
 Internet marketing is a tough nut to crack and I don't think social networking is going to turn out the be the "great answer in the sky".  Just my personal observation but I stand by it.  Thanks for the nudge on social networking.

I've been battling with the same problem lately. I think it all depends on what you want to achieve from social media.

Personally I don't have much hope for social media sites as a long term business networking tool. A personal introduction to a contact still counts as a far more credible way to network than simply trying to attract the masses online.

Eventually you'll probably see a web 2.0 elite consisting mostly of people in tech industries. Everyone else with traditional businesses will either give up or forget they ever had a Facebook profile.

Alternatively I could be horribly wrong and social media will really revolutionize the way people do business. Email became the new standard a few years after many CEO's didn't see the point, so you never know.

At some point you need to draw a line in the sand and say to yourself where you will focus your time and efforts. Social Media is a mixed bag and like a pancake has two sides. I see it changing the way people communicate and work in both the mid and long term. With over 350 so called Social Networks (not including the thousands on sites like Ning.com or KickApps.com) its a very confusing and fragmented marketplace. The business networks, like LinkedIn, show more promise of sustainability while the platforms like Facebook also look like long term players.

I hope somebody comes up with a way or tool to simplify all of this so I can get on with real work and not network work.

A. Love the pancake analogy, LOL.
B. You can't spell "networking" without "working," right??