Tweets, Pokes and Connections? Do you conform?

Posted by System | Friday, April 03, 2009

For those of you who thought that I was holding back my first post of the month so that it wasn't mistaken for an elaborate April fool - I am sorry to disappoint, its just that by the time that I had finished building connections, tweeting and poking my friends, it suddenly dawned on me that I didn't in fact have any time left in my daily schedule.

Social networking without doubt seems to be taking over the internet, so it will be no surprise that just like most other SME's, I have been making Illusion Media's presence known across the web. This did however get me thinking, just where do you draw the line?

Its very rare nowadays, that I login to my email account - and I haven't been poked, prodded, tweeted or simply requested to join one network or another, and quite frankly I would maybe feel a little left out if this was to suddenly stop; the problem for me is that it doesn't end there.... With almost permanent progression in mobile technology, and ever expanding WiFi coverage, I find myself not being able to grab a coffee, or pop to the shops for milk without my phone alerting me that "Jeff is off to the dentist", or "Lucy has thrown a sheep at me" (any resemblance to real life characters is purely coincidental).

Now I've always had myself down as rather a non-conformist, but the harsh reality is - you just have to! With the country reportedly in economic meltdown, your business has to be noticed; and whilst I would much prefer our work standard or skill-set do our talking, if your business isn't recognised online, then the chances are your a missing your largest audience.

I'm sure some of you may be somewhat puzzled by my references in this post, so here's a quick run down of the internets current major players...

Facebook

Takes very little introduction really, accordingly to the latest stats, has over 175 million active users, and reports over 3 billion minutes of use worldwide everyday. Whilst almost every man and his dog seems to have a profile, my personal opinion is that FB should be left for the more social/personal aspects of life - opposed to mainstream networking. Lets be fair, how many clients are you likely to attract by "blowing raspberries" and sending "smiley faces".

Twitter

Twitter is perfect for providing your followers with a quick "update" on what you are doing at any given time. If the people behind the world of tweets can take control of the so called SPAM tweets (they seem to be doing a pretty good job so far), then its certainly one to watch - and could well be hot on the heels of FB in no time at all. Before I get carried away with the compliments, I cannot resist but to point out, that twitters homepage clearly states that its service is perfect if you are "running late for a meeting" (I rest my case, but if you have time to post a tweet.....).

Linked-In

Certainly my preferred choice for business networking. LI seem to have found a good balance between the core terms "social" and "networking". The entire concept seems to have a certain aura of professionalism surrounding it, and there are some great opportunities to be found. My tip, take some time wording your profile correctly and be sure to cover all of your key terms, its a competitive market - so you need to stand out from the crowd.

So, that concludes my brief outline of Social Networking for this month, by all means don't be deterred by my references to the amount of time that can be consumed by exploring these avenues. My advice is to choose your channel carefully, and stick by your choice - If you get the mix right, the rewards can be surprising.