Eureka! I now understand how to use the social networking tools!

I have not been much of a believer in social networking online. One of the main reasons for this has been the fact that I work in an online startup. Since I spend over 10hrs a day staring at a computer screen, I really dont feel like going home and doing another 2-3 hrs just to connect with people. Secondly, I was (and still am!) quite happy with my current social networking mechanism (namely the telephone and email). I do not feel the urge to communicate my every single thought, whim, photo, book and movie to my friends circle. I also focus a lot on what I do at work and find personal communication during the day a distraction.

But over a year now I have been slowly adopting selected aspects of the “social network” and have come to the realization that there is a lot of utility even for someone like me. So here is how I use the various tools:

• LinkedIn: I use linkedIn to maintain my professional network. Most of the people I work with are on this network and it helps me keep uptodate on career moves and changes. I also use to identify people within this network who could potentially help us fill positions that we have or give us some domain expertise. However, unlike most other folk, I am quite selective about who I add to the network.
• Facebook: I began using facebook at work in order to understand this community and dropped off once I moved to another project. Facebook has been incredibly useful in helping me connect with people whom I talk to perhaps once a year. I am now connected to a bunch of my italian friends and am able to keep up with them at a very low bandwith level. So I log on about once a month on average and catch up with whats been going on. Another purpose I use facebook for is to get reading recommendations. I find the iRead app one of the most useful on facebook.
• Twitter: This micro blogging tool has been a recent addition to my toolbox. This was the one I really couldnt understand how to use for my lifestyle. Finally, I figured it out: I use it for the same situations where I would send out an email to a bunch of people about an article I read or a joke I found funny or a movie that was great: a low importance personal spam. I also use it as a blog spam filter: most bloggers post their headlines on twitter and I can then decide whether to read the post or not. I also mostly consume twitter content via a desktop application rather than on their website… but no, I dont have an iphone on which I read and post constant twitter updates!
• Friendfeed: This tool is new to me and I am still trying to figure it out. It claims to aggregate most of your online presence (on all those other sites including those mentioned above) and provide a single place to learn whats going on as well as keep in touch.

The one thing I have NOT used the above tools for is meeting new people. Perhaps the reasons for that are I am not in sales (and hence dont need to keep actively seeking new business contacts), I am married (and hence not looking for a mate) and I have lived in the same area for 6 years (and hence have a moderately well established social circle).

Nevertheless, I am quite convinced now of the value of these tools for pretty much anyone be they complete extroverts and social butterflies to being a recluse. These tools allow me to tend to my social circle at my pace and on my time and definitely enriching my life!