Help! I’m being social-networked to death

by Jim Ware

September 26, 2008 at 4:11 pm · Filed under Collaboration, Collective intelligence, Communities, Reviews, social networks, social tools

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a recluse, and not ready to become an “Island, entire unto myself” (to quote John Dunne).

But I’m getting more than a little overwhelmed by all these different social networking websites - LinkedIn, PlaxoPulse, Facebook, and there must be a couple of others that I’ve somehow been dragged into joining (though the fact that I can’t remember what they are says something about how (un)important they are to my life and work).

Seriously, though, I know many people find one or more of these networks meaningful and even helpful in their life and their work. And I’ve followed the recent research on “the tribalization of organizations” by Beeline Labs with genuine interest.

But for me right now these network sites seem more peripheral than central to my daily routine. I mean, it’s occasionally nice to find out something about one of my colleagues/associates/friends. But it really feels like most of my interaction with these networks is when someone reaches out and wants to become my “friend” or Linked to me - and about 90% of the time I literally don’t them from Adam. What I find really frustrating is that these folks who either don’t know me at all, or in many cases are a friend of a friend, send me the canned/impersonal Invitation Request - no effort to personalize it or tell me why they want to link up with m, or what’s in it for me.

Again, don’t get me wrong - I do see plenty of potential value in these networks for some people (though I get the sense that many of the folks who are actively using the networking sites are in the job market and are just blasting the linking invitation to everyone in their address book).

So what am I missing? Which of these networks is good for what? Help me - I’m really curious, and for a self-proclaimed futurist, more than a little embarrassed at what a neophyte I am about what is obviously one of the most important stories about collaborative technologies and their impact on both business and life in 2008.

Tags: LinkedIn PlaxoPulse FaceBook socialnetworking futureofwork

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Jim, I’ve watched fascinated since you posted here wondering why somebody else didn’t dive into respond as based on my experience your question about the value of consumer social networks is one a lot of people are asking. It was a similar question, although business value focused rather than personal, that drove the Facebook Groups in Business Investigation (FGIBI) colleagues and I convened last Fall. 3 of our participating Facebook Group owners shared their lessons learned in the “Should Your Business be Friends with Facebook” Webinar here at TheAppGap June 25:
http://www.theappgap.com/appgap-webinar-should-your-business-be-friends-with-facebook

Perhaps it would be simplest to explore our learning, as it relates specifically to your question, via a phone call. Meantime here is a link to a just published Inside Knowledge Magazine article that looks at the implications of our Facebook Groups Investigation for the adoption of social networking in enterprises. I hope the article is helpful and feel free to ask for clarification on any points. http://snurl.com/3zpge [c21org_typepad_com]

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