I don’t know about you, but the saying that “every social media is like the next” is not true for me. They may have similar functions, but the audience as much as the form of the network has influenced how I use it.
Here is how I have compartmentalized my own social media use and I’d love to see how yours compares:
- Facebook – Personal use only. I only connect with IRL people. I only passively use it.
- Google+ – Professional and personal use. I connect mainly connect with digital friends, not with IRL people. This includes blog articles and ebooks I have written, but also photos of my life and family as well as unique long form content. I am actively using this platform.
- Twitter – Professional and personal. I connect primarily with digital friends, but I’m building up with IRL friends too. Up until last month, my main approach was for marketing and bring unique content. I am actively using this platform.
- YouTube – Professional use publicly and personally with unlisted videos. This is exclusively used for vlog posts and Hangouts for Seventy8 Productions. I am fairly passive with the network.
- Pinterest – Professional use exclusively. We post blog articles and find inspiration from others. I am only passive on this social medium.
- LinkedIn – Personal and Professional use. Unfortunately engagement is low but I try to recommend and endorse my digital and IRL friends as well as posting many of my online publications.
This is my life, but I also recognize that I am as much of an introvert online as I am offline and so what I see as shallow conversations, others find inviting and engaging. Thus, I am making more of an effort to not only post my deep thoughts, but simply everyday fun as well.
I’d love to hear how you use each of the social media platforms and how you break them up into professional or personal usage.
[Ice cube LEGO guy image via greenplasticamy via Compfight cc]
Eric Dye says
As I look at all these platforms, I can’t help but feel many of us will eventually reach a level of social media fatigue; and/or small niche networks will begin to materialize.
Since my personal social media accounts are just that—personal—I find it fairly easy to keep everything separated, except when my personal interests heavily overlap ChurchMag. When that happens, I either choose one account or the other, or share one account with the other.
Jeremy Smith says
Agreed. And I wonder for those that are only on Facebook or two social networks, will they face this fatigue as well or do we simply choose to drop most except for those at the top of our priority?
Eric Dye says
The answer depends on if you are a curator or consumer.