There are so many social networking sites available online and sometimes you have the same friends on Facebook, Twitter and Myspace.
Is it really necessary to register on all or most of these sites? Have you heard of anybody who is not signed up to any of these networking sites? I have encountered a skeptic few who claimed that they simply did not have time and were too busy with their non-virtual lives to jump on the wagon of the social media phenomenon.
One example was my husband.
He disregarded the idea of creating his own profile but would always check my Facebook status.
He travels a lot and is too busy for online networking.
One day, I informed him that I created a profile for him on Facebook.
I thought he would be upset but I was stunned that he was pleased at how fast his fraternity brothers found him and wanted to reconnect with him.
Soon, he started playing Farmville and other games that I did not even have time to check out.
I have multiple accounts on different social networking sites.
I have created fan pages for a couple of companies and blogs not only about my random thoughts but services being offered by people that I have worked with.
It is part of what I do as a marketing professional.
I have not met a marketing person who is not on any social networking site.
If there is a marketing professional who does not own a social networking account, I would say that he or she is not aware of current marketing and social trends.
It is important for me to capture all my market especially if I am promoting a product or event.
Is it difficult to manage multiple accounts? It is time consuming but there are platforms that have been designed to simplify the lives of people who need to be on multiple accounts.
There are applications available which allow you to update all accounts without leaving the current page that you are on.
TweetDeck is one example.
It allows you to connect with all your contacts across Twitter, Facebook and Myspace.
Windows Live Writer is one of the tools I use for blogging.
It also allows me to view all my web activities on a single page.
Most blog sites have options to let you tweet or post your blogs to your other accounts on a click of a button.
You do not really need more than one account if you are an individual who just wanted to keep in touch with your kindergarten classmates.
You can also customize the privacy settings of your account if you do not want the rest of the world to view your photos.
I consider my Facebook account as a personal one.
In fact, I made myself unsearchable.
If I am not on your friends list, you will never find me.
I have family photos on the account and I prefer to share them with people that I have actually met.
I suggest not registering to a social networking site which does not give you control of your privacy settings.
My account on LinkedIn is public.
It is my rolodex of professional relationships.
I send the link to my LinkedIn profile along with my resume when applying for jobs.
I believe it gives a hiring manager a better impression of me when he sees not only my credentials but also recommendations from people that I have worked with.
It is better to be on at least one social networking site.
A former classmate or a long lost relative could be looking for you but be careful of what you post.
As what Jake Fields, President of Treeline Interactive and my Interactive Marketing class instructor at San Diego State University says, "...
you do not know who is Googling you.
" It could be a potential employer or an ex-boyfriend.