For a while now my synapses have been clearly overwhelmed by the multiple fire hose flow of information they are subjected to on a daily basis, and not only are they not crackling, they are drowning. I’m Facebook fazed, Linkedin out, Twittered in and Google+ nonplussed (not to mention Stumbledupon, Quora querried out... you get the picture).
I have always been a news junkie, and my contributions at work frequently revolve around tracking industry issues, trying to identify trends and sharing knowledge, so digital and social media have provided welcome and addictive information fixes.
But following different interests means multiplying the SM relationships and inputs of information, so now I have 10 FB lists, 11 Google+ circles, 10 Twitter lists and 17 Linked groups! Blogs? My Google Reader lists 14 or 15. And then come the newletters, and alerts, who knows how many! So much to read, so many contacts to follow, what am I missing if I disconnect?
And since we are also talking about building relationships this also means adding value to the networks I have joined: retweet, comment, reply, link, post....
And I do have to pay attention to my day job once in a while.
So every so often all this makes me feel like my brain is cramping up trying to connect the dots and make sense of everything. You know how there are situations when time seems to slow down because your brain is reacting very fast (at least in the movies...)? Well, I sometimes find that time slows down, well, because my brain slows down. So frustrating! I contribute therefore I am, so if I don’t contribute what am I?
So once again I will review my list of blogs and prune it, look at my Linkedin groups and trim them, peer at the list of people and organizations I follow and reconsider the relationships. However this is always a difficult process because of the feeling that the next posting from one of the contacts I cut could be brilliant. But the bottom line is that I miss more by having brain cramps, so there is no option but to cut and shake my synapses back into action. Hope it works again this time.
I have always been a news junkie, and my contributions at work frequently revolve around tracking industry issues, trying to identify trends and sharing knowledge, so digital and social media have provided welcome and addictive information fixes.
But following different interests means multiplying the SM relationships and inputs of information, so now I have 10 FB lists, 11 Google+ circles, 10 Twitter lists and 17 Linked groups! Blogs? My Google Reader lists 14 or 15. And then come the newletters, and alerts, who knows how many! So much to read, so many contacts to follow, what am I missing if I disconnect?
And since we are also talking about building relationships this also means adding value to the networks I have joined: retweet, comment, reply, link, post....
And I do have to pay attention to my day job once in a while.
So every so often all this makes me feel like my brain is cramping up trying to connect the dots and make sense of everything. You know how there are situations when time seems to slow down because your brain is reacting very fast (at least in the movies...)? Well, I sometimes find that time slows down, well, because my brain slows down. So frustrating! I contribute therefore I am, so if I don’t contribute what am I?
So once again I will review my list of blogs and prune it, look at my Linkedin groups and trim them, peer at the list of people and organizations I follow and reconsider the relationships. However this is always a difficult process because of the feeling that the next posting from one of the contacts I cut could be brilliant. But the bottom line is that I miss more by having brain cramps, so there is no option but to cut and shake my synapses back into action. Hope it works again this time.
Peter, I cannot believe you posted this just now. About 4 hours ago I was thinking the very same thing. The worst part is that you absolutely HAVE to sign up for all the newest and greatest if you want to continue your presence, and remain relevant. Ignoring Google+ could be social media suicide. What if? What if? I am desperately trying to navigate G+ and failing miserably. I keep telling myself that this is a good thing, to learn more daily. When does it stop is the real question? Please tell me something will drop out soon...but it will be replaced won't it?
ReplyDeleteThanks for a timely post. Not sure that theres an answer. Enjoy.
Sarah