Comments on: Are We Too Social For Our Own Good

By: Social Bookmarks

Social Bookmarks — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 22:10:09 +0000

I love your thoughts! I normally don\’t even bother to leave comments, but I wanted to let you know that you hit the nail on the head!

By: Andy MacDonald

Andy MacDonald — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 04:02:14 +0000

I have to say, that we are very similar indeed when it comes to what we have done, tried, and experienced. For example, i have received the exact same results as you when it comes to the amount of trouble social networking is, and whether the juice is worth the squeeze, as you put it. The only consistent source of social media traffic for me has been StumbleUpon. I therefore decided that i would become more of a user with stumbleupon and build myself a network there, whilst spending a little less time on other networking sites. I'm not sure what the results will be, but just recently i signed up for a MyBlogLog & BlogCatalog account, and have started building networks there. Only time will tell whether the time will be well spent, but in blogging, i think you have to give everything a try once. Excellent post, Ive stumbled and dugg it. Andy MacDonald's last blog post..Where’s Your Blog’s Unique Voice?

By: Erica DeWolf

Erica DeWolf — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 06:05:16 +0000

Great post. There are sooo many social networks and social media sites out there, I will go so far as to say that it is impossible to be an active participant in every one. Hell, it's impossible to be an avid social media user on half of the social media site available. Personally, I use Digg, stumbleupon, and delicious extensively, and try to use Sphinn as much as possible. Those four networks are more than enough for me. In order to spend enough time in each of those networks in order to draw some real traffic and be a valuable member providing valued content to users, I wouldn't be able to take on any more. Erica DeWolf's last blog post..CSS Garden: Inspiration Breeds Creativity

By: Bill

Bill — Sat, 08 Mar 2008 01:47:54 +0000

Tamera…Amen. It can be productive or it can be a giant time sucker. Depends on how you utilize your time.

By: Tamera

Tamera — Sat, 08 Mar 2008 01:27:33 +0000

As a complete newbie, some of the social sites helped me to get a feel of what this blogging world was. In addition, I picked up small technical tips from others regarding trouble-shooting. However, the past two weeks I also had to sit down, and take a look at my effectiveness. I am taking my Masters degree, so I decided I needed to focus more on writing, and studies. I did that this entire week, and I was impressed with my own productivity. I was obviously using too much time answering in forums, and it had no effect at all on my blog. The same personalities hang out there, and if they haven't yet visited my blog (even though I may visit theirs), they probably won't. I decided to stop being so active there. I feel that it was a smart thing to do. I have been stumbled, but I cannot say that I see a couple thousand visitors coming in from a couple of stumbles. I hear people talk about it, but I have not experienced it from a stumble. That may mean that I have to learn more about it, however, I do stumble other people quite a bit. So, I am an active user. Tamera's last blog post..Six Hours Past Thursday- Jack Payne review

By: Bill

Bill — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 04:24:58 +0000

@Tom – Yeah I concur….it’s the penalty a lot of new bloggers are paying for starting to blog on the back end of the curve. I think blogging has a lot of growth ahead of it but certain niches are already pretty thoroughly saturated.

@Kyle – I agree. I know I could master Sphinn or Delicious or what not but what would it be worth? I have yet to see anyone bragging about sphinn sending them 2k visitors in a day. You could argue it provides more targeted traffic maybe but at what cost in time, effort and energy? For me it isn’t worth it right now.

@ John – I DEFINITELY agree that Social Media is the latest fad. I don’t think it will die off but rather the strong will get stronger and the weak will wither up and die. That’s why I am going to focus my effort on Digg, Stumble and maybe one other site. I have yet to decide…Digg and Stumble for sure….they are the top 2 dogs.

By: Life Sprocket

Life Sprocket — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 04:16:51 +0000

I think the whole social thing is a fad. Looking at the trends over time, you can see that the most of the popular sites are popular through default. They were around when social bookmarking was a twinkle in some developers eye. And as a result, by default, they are the money making gurus. Why? They almost lucked into it.

In fact, I find that those power users actually offer less useful info than blogs just like this one. I know that the ONLY reason I visit John Chow’s site these days is for entertainment purposes. It’s kinda fun to see what stupid amount of money you have to pay to have your blog written about? Doesn’t the very concept of paid postings ruin what Web 2.0 is all about? Seriously, when have the big dogs actually put out great content really worth being viral?

Okay so where am I going with this? That’s a good question. Nowhere… except that I think that social bookmarking will steadily become less influential because of the power players lack of creating useful content. But before it fades all together, it will become as automatic as pinging… its the life cycle of every social fad… bell bottoms, afros, butt cuts, wedge hair styles and the famous lines in the eyebrows. Going, Going… Gone!

-John

By: Kyle James

Kyle James — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 03:27:40 +0000

Bill I think many people have come to the same conclusion. Stumble definitely has the biggest hope. It also is the only one that will provide truly targeted visitors. Digg is fun and I find some of the best internet marketing articles on Sphinn, but I've NEVER gotten anything that made it to the front page. You just have to be a power user and I just don't have the time for that... who does? Kyle James's last blog post..Quick Update - New Resources Section

By: Tom Beaton

Tom Beaton — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 01:51:02 +0000

Hey Bill, I think lots of us are in the same boat here. Starting the race from the back is not ideal, there seem to be no end of hoops to jump through. Persistence is the key, along with developing those relationships which help us along the way. Tom Beaton's last blog post..Introduction to social networking