Social Network Fatigue? Depends how you define your purpose with using it.

You may recall a post I did here a few weeks ago, that was a shoutout for your opinion on Facebook and other social networking sites: Learning Best Practices on the Internet. I had come to this reckoning:

I’m okay with changing my place on the bell-curve

Being an “early adopter” is getting less and less attractive to me; I am regressing back into my Safe Sally habits, making my reservations at restaurants with staff who have already gone through nearly every breaking-in scenario imaginable to find they (and the restaurant) are still in business.

Benjamin gave us this side of the coin: Facebook: Friend or Foe?

Facebook is a  powerful resource for me to share my message with more people, and the more people I share my message with, the more profit the marketplace rewards me with.

Just like a blog, facebook is a platform from which you can provide value.  If you've built a business model where you are rewarded for value (and you should, since profits are better than wages), this will result in increased revenue to your business.

Well, this didn't take too long... This is from Rojo:  

Facebook fatigue is setting in. Jason Calacanis declared social network exhaustion but summoned the energy to write a thousand words describing his feelings. Without a trace of irony, Om Malik provided tips on better Facebook use, while Scobleizer crowed about how Calacanis's retirement meant fewer competitors for him. Oh, the popular kids can't handle all the activity, blogs Web Worker Daily, while allfacebook is sure Calacanis cries himself to sleep from all the invite pressure. On the other hand, Rob Hyndman sympathizes with Calacanis as a doer, not a talker, while WinExtra flies above the fray, treating Facebook as a flavor of the month, just like Twitter and Pownce.

Even without Calacanis, Facebook still faces problems. Just as mainstream users are adopting Facebook, their employers are blocking the site, blogs Profy. Worse, the outages that Facebook initially called "upgrades" (via CNET) were actually security problems and outages, writes The Register. And then there's always Pownce peeking around the corner. ... (via Social Media).

[Yes, I stripped the link-fest it contained, for that isn't really my point, and you can find them all at the post itself on Rojo.]

Now please understand that I am NOT saying this is happening for Benjamin too, in fact, this gets me to admire how much smarter Benjamin is! Facebook - past the tipping point.

While Jason Calacanis and the others Rojo strategically gives their link love to may be are in a whole different universe than me, I couldn’t help but take some satisfaction in sticking with my not-for-me decision when I stumbled across the Rojo update.

I had mentioned my friend, new media guru and community builder Chris Brogan when I wrote Learning Best Practices on the Internet, and here is an update from Chris's site; I think he puts it all in perspective well in this opening paragraph:

Sometimes we forget that social networks are more than just software. We forget that beyond a bunch of friend-adding, and asking for links or votes, that there’s more to building online communities and keeping relationships. A strong social network requires some tending and care, just the way real live relationships need attention and deliberate effort.

Here are some ideas on how to tend your digital networks and reach the people on the other side of the screen. ... [Read the rest at Improve Your Social Network.]

Benjamin DID inspire me to think purpose versus playground, and I just chose a different kind of social media, seeking to improve and optimize what I already was using. My TypePad toolbox is keeping me as busy as ever these days, and if you have a moment, please visit my Talking Story reinvention I have called Managing with Aloha Coaching, newly published on August 1st. I would be very honored to have you click into the email-subscription box there, or pick up a feed!

There at MWAC and here at JJL, we’ll continue to navigate our way through the maze of what is offered online together. Mahalo. Thank you for coming along for the ride!
~ Rosa Say

Comments

[Benjamin Bach]

Rosa, you've built the coolest social network of all, JJLN !

[Rosa Say]

Thank you Benjamin, I really appreciate that nod, however it is the power of we and not me that has given JJL its *cool* voice, and we shall keep on singing!