Social Networking Vs. Productivity

Social Networking, which consists of using websites such as Twitter, Facebook, Myspace, Digg, Reddit, Delicious, and so on, is very much a double edged sword when it comes to productivity, business, and personal matters. These websites provide a constant feed of updates of “tweets” and statuses as well as a variety of formats to communicate with people, share links or other material and the like. Social networking can, on the one hand, be a great way to meet new people, connect with possible business partners, network, keep up with friends and family, and keep an idea of what’s going on in the world and online but it can also be a huge distraction and a big time waster which in the world of productivity is not something you want.

So the question here is whether or not spending time on social networking sites is useful or productive and while many people cite business and financial reasons as the source of their presence on these types of sites it’s more of a matter of how much gain you’re getting out of the effort you put into social networking versus how much time it takes you to do all that. If you’re spending hours a day updating on facebook and twitter but it’s only earning you an extra twenty bucks a month to be doing that then it’s obviously not a good trade of your time. If however it’s a significant factor in determining your bottom line each month then by all means - invest whatever amount of time you see fit into it. They best way to go about determining this is to measure the gains against the losses in the field of social networking

First and foremost what kind of gains are you experiencing from your participation on social networking sites? Now some of these might not be monetary so take careful evaluation as you’re doing this. You may be seeing an increase in sales or revenue because of social networking sites but be sure to measure it against the amount of time that you’re putting into it - could the same increase in revenue be accomplished if you only spent a quarter of your time on these sites? Would you see a decrease in revenue if you stopped participating on them and focused your efforts elsewhere? What other kinds of gains come from these sites? Is there a gain of new contacts or possible business partners that could provide lucrative new deals or opportunities for your business? Or does it help you keep an eye on emerging trends in the market or possible  competitors?

If your social networking is more personal based then take a note of what you’re getting out of it versus other activities you could be be focusing on. Does it help you keep track of friends or family? Does it allow you keep an eye on your children and their behavior? Does it help you keep in touch with distant friends or relatives you might not be able to talk to otherwise? Do you take advantage of the information these sites can provide? Do you use them to improve your daily life perhaps by finding new products, methods of doing things, tips for improvement and so forth that can improve your quality of life?

The contrast is being aware what these kinds of sites detract from your life. How much time are social networking sites taking away from your daily productivity? How much valuable work time are you spending playing around on them in the name of “social media”? And is there any real benefit to the time that you’re spending on there? Does the image you portray of yourself on social networking sites suit you? Are you giving yourself a positive or a negative reputation through what you post on these sites? Are these sites interfering with you having personal connections offline or perhaps limiting your social life off the computer? Does spending time on these sites prevent you from accomplishing things in other areas of your life? Are you neglecting friends, family, chores, responsibilities or things of an important nature in favor of spending time on these sites?

The trade off is how much you’re giving and receiving from these sites. If you’re devoting hours a day to these sites and all you have to show for it is that the dishes aren’t done and you can’t remember the last time you left the house then it’s obviously time to rethink your use of time on them. If however there is a definite increase in your business relationships or your general knowledge of your field then perhaps it is a worthwhile use of your energy - so long as it doesn’t end up taking over your entire life.

It can be extremely easy to get sucked in to the social networking frenzy and lose sight of what you’re original goals were when joining the site so even if you do find that social media has a relevant and useful place in your life it’s still wise to limit your exposure and participation in it. You’re business contacts don’t need to know every detail of all the work your doing throughout the day - two or three tweets a day is plenty. Your family doesn’t need a play by play of how long it took you to clean your apartment - one status update is enough. Keep things in perspective when you participate on these sites. You can probably accomplish what you need to in just ten or fifteen minutes a day total if spread out that time throughout the day evenly. It only takes a few seconds to type up a new update and publish it or to share a link or a photo. Use those few seconds and then be done with it. You don’t need to go back and look to see if anyone else has replied to you - the replies and comments will be there at the end of the day. You can look at them then.

What’s ironic about limiting your participation on social network sites is that the more you limit your time on there the more likely it is that you’ll have something interesting to say instead of just filling up your page with useless content like how long it took you to get your cat to come back inside after he chased the neighbors dog last night. If you separate yourself from social media a little more then when you do get on to update on these sites you’ll have interesting and worthwhile things to say which will make your presence on there more useful which in turn leads to more benefits for you from these sites. Less really is more when it comes to social networking.

It’s also important to be clear about what you’re goals and intentions are for social networking sites so that you can monitor the trade off of time/value received with them on a constant basis to make sure that the energy you’re putting into them is warranted. If you’re only goals are “to connect with more clients” then you’ll have no way of really tracking that or measuring it by any standards. But if instead your goal is “to find five new potential clients weekly” then it’s much easier to see if you’ve been able to accomplish that goal through the use of your social networking sites. If you have and it’s bringing you in more of whatever it is you need (money, clients, opportunities, etc) then continue on and fine tune it to make sure you’re getting the best return on your efforts. If it’s not working either find a better way of using the sites (such as for a personal use only with a limited amount of time daily) or dump them completely.

So make sure that whatever you’re contributing to social networks you’re receiving back in terms of value or profits and that the time you’re spending on these sites is appropriate for the goals that you have for them and the use that their intended for. Twitter is not ideal for hashing out work proposals and facebook is not a substitute for a contract signing - keep in mind what these sites are designed for and how they can benefit or hinder your progress in areas of your life. As useful as they can be these sites are not a substitute for developing a real relationship or connection with other people in your life and it’s important to keep in mind that you can read a great deal in to status updates and tweets that may not have been intended. Make sure not to jump to any conclusions based on the information you get off of these sites as they are completely personal and many social networking sites are referred to as the “bathroom wall” of the internet. Anything can be said or done on sites such as these so it’s important to maintain a big picture look in using them and not get caught up in any drama that might be surfacing.

Overall social networking can be a useful tool or a harmful one depending on your level of awareness and maturity when using them. Get clear about your intent with these websites and make sure that you’re only using them in a way that furthers your goals, provides value for you and others, and allows you to focus on what’s really important in your life.