YASNS = Yet Another Social Networking Site Just this week, I received invitations to join two social (business) networking sites that I have never heard of. The individuals who invited me are terrific people, people whom I admire for their business skills. I am beginning to wonder, however, do these people ever have time to actually transact any business? Do the math: let's say you spend an hour or two each day on a couple of networks like LinkedIn, Ecademy, Orkut, Friendster, Ryze, SoFlow, Hi5 (warning), Facebook, (and there are at least 50 others listed on Wikipedia among YASN's). Add to that an hour or two to respond to email, make a few phone calls, sort through each day's snail mail, and perhaps post a story or comment on a blog... I could see a whole day blown away without much productivity to show for it!
The good networkers that I talk to get really defensive when I ask about productivity...most claim that it is a matter of prioritization, working efficiently, and making the best of the connections they make online.
That is well and good for a person with self-discipline, but I suspect that far too many people place their emphasis on the social aspects of networking and less time on the actual business networking aspects. The addictive quality of online networks can feed the social junkie and the business junkie alike and perhaps that is the reason for the proliferation of these sites. Which leads to my burning question of the day...just how many people have (or feel that they must have) internet access in their bathrooms?? (Better yet, how many would admit to it??) Hey, that could be a new category in the have-and-have-not's world of the Digital Divide *grin* - and with great restraint, I'll not explore the potty humor in my cynical question.