Too Many Social Networks…I’m all a Twitter

Over a year ago, I went to a presentation at a conference where the speaker was talking about how he had created a "map" of the multiple social networks that he used. I thought…"where does this guy find the time?" Now, we think nothing of using LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and others to enhance cybersocialization. Recent editions of both Time and Business Week focused on Twitter. Facebook, of course, has been written about to death.

Now comes the big question: What really is useful for my needs? In preparation for the GITA conference and user conferences for Intergraph, Pitney Bowes Business Insight and Korem, which I have attended recently, not to mention the upcoming ESRI UC, each event was or is touting multiple social networks to use during the event. This is in addition to yet new platforms, like Zerista, used by GITA, and Chance2Meet that are specifically for pre-conference networking so you can arrange meetings, etc.

Folks, I don’t know about you but eventually all of this is going to shake out if for no other reason than market dynamics will blow one or more of these off the planet. Now, I like social nets as much as any Twitizen but you can see where your average "Joe" is confused by all the hype and bluster. When faced with the challenge of using your Facebook account to "friend" the Intergraph User’s Conference, I might think twice.

I used Zerista extensively to set up meetings at GITA. It worked well, until I got to the event and then it was not particularly helpful since I was blogging and tweeting my news reports. I just didn’t have time to use the Zerista interface thereafter. Plus, email is still the preferred social networking solution, right? Just send someone an email to set up an appointment.

So, all of this comes down to the fact that we just don’t need to have an account with every social net that comes down the cyberpike. The problem is, everyone else thinks that if you don’t support one social net over the other, someone will be left out or feel slighted…or worse, feel like they are not adequately networked for the Twiterati.