Social Networking

I am a member of several social networking sites, six to be exact if I include Food Buzz. I have declined several invitations from sites which are not that popular, at least not in Asia. How do I manage six sites apart from my blogging?

Each site serve its purpose for me. A few minutes every night of checking at least two of them do not hurt my schedule if I may say that. In fact they recharge me. Like reading or watching television or having a cup of coffee with friends, I see it as a form of relaxation also after a day's work and after I have settled everything in the house.

Friendster is the very first social networking site I joined. My cousins and most of my friends, old and new, have an account. It used to be my venue to exchange pictures with my family living in another country. I can lock my profile as well as make pictures private. I check it now maybe once every two weeks.

And then came Flickr but I used it mostly for the pictures I post in my blog. Multiply is more beneficial for me and my family. We readily see each others' latest pictures and videos using our accounts. I check this when I see an advise in my email of a recently uploaded set of pictures or videos.

I opened a Plurk account middle of last year and for a few months I was into it updating with my blog friends. But the novelty wore off. I only go to Plurk when I see a private plurk on my email, basically for getting in touch with my mommy friends. I go there just to peek but it's not exciting for me anymore. It's like there is too much noise around.

What Simon Cowell has to say about Twitter is exactly the way I feel about Plurk.

Do you Twitter?
I only found out about Twitter a few weeks ago. And of course the person who’s always on it is Ryan. Twitter is made for Ryan, where he can talk like a 15 year old. He knows the language, all the horrible abbreviations. And also have the ego to assume people are interested in what you’ve got to say. It is as strange to me as picking up the phone now and dialing a number randomly and saying, “Hi, what are you doing for dinner tonight? Because I’m having a cup of tea, are you interested?” It’s just too odd.

I became a member of Facebook early last year if I remember it right but it was only this year when I became an active user. I use Facebook mainly for the thousands of applications they offer. I like the updates from CNN, The Onion, Ellen, etcetera. I love Pet Society and now Restaurant City. They are fun games! No pressure. Just have fun decorating your house and your restaurant. It's therapeutic at least for me.

I became a member of Twitter since 2007 I think. It took a sideline when Plurk got my attention. But now I am back in Twitter and will stay in Twitter. I love it because it allows me to do real microblogging. I love the peace and quiet it offers plus I get to read Ashton Kutcher's tweets. Just kidding. :D

Find what suits your personality. Once you know what works best for you, it will be a win-win situation. You and your social networking site will give each other a good deal.