Work Habits: Do We Need to Cut Back on Socializing?
Gregory Han, Unplggd’s editor, weighs in on the overwhelming amount of social media available to us. I’m just like Gregory in my social media habits – in fact looking at that list the only thing I’m not involved in is foursquare! Joining Google+ was the tipping point for me. I am now in the throws of trying to figure out how to cut back. And it looks like Gregory is going through exactly the same thing. (Note: This is obviously a hot topic. Check out this piece I came across on Boing Boing…distraction can be seen as the flip-side of concentration – and meditating is the key to treading a line between the two.)
Gregory Han: “I’m currently taking inventory of all the log-in passwords and accounts in my password management application (LastPass changed my life), and it really hit home after scrolling through the seemingly endless list of services how many darn online social-style sites and apps I’m signed up to use. Facebook, Twitter, Twitpic, Spotify, LinkedIn, Last.FM, Music Beta by Google, WordPress, Flickr, foursquare, Pinterest, Tumblr, DailyMile, I Heart It, NeighborGoods, and most recently, Google+. And these are just the ones I still frequent/use, with a few like StumbleUpon, Nike+, and Polyvore fading out into the distance where Friendster and my old LiveJournal account have gone to pasture…
It all started off so fun, but somewhere down the line, maintaining a steady stream of content and sharing across all these sites can end up feeling like a job in itself. Am I neglecting my still infantile, pink-toed Google+ stream? Did I get to responding to all of the various Twitter DMs received, shout outs from friends and readers? It’s been awhile since I added photos to my Flickr feed. Hey, here’s a handful of Pinterest RePins! And I just remembered all of the membership sales sites I subscribe to…
Not this situation is anyone’s fault but my very own, as I’m admittedly what writer Robert Anton Wilson once labeled as a “Neophiliac” (is there a cream for this type of itch?) when it comes to new services promising an Aladdin-ish, whole new world. I could make the argument it’s all related to both my personal and professional life, but in the end, all these online social services create as much work as my paying job already presents. Masochism is inviting more email notifications willingly into your inbox.
So this weekend, I’m going on the online equivalent of one of those sketchy “cleanse diets”, but in this case I’m aiming to shed some online bulk and close up a few accounts.