Social Networking: Useful Tool or Time Sink?

Like a lot of things in life, it's what you make of it. On Facebook, you can spend your time taking quizzes such as "What color crayon would I be?", or you can reconnect with past classmates and colleagues. On LinkedIn, you can create a profile and then let it gather dust, or you can join groups and expand your professional network. Twitter can be like an RSS reader with all the latest and greatest updates - or it can be a huge time sink. Again, it's what you make of it.

So how valuable are social networking sites as business tools? Why not decide for yourself? Come join CR4 on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.

CR4 on Facebook

CR4 on LinkedIn

CR4 on Twitter

As far as business is concerned, well I am of the opinion that there still is no substitute for personal contact.

Even today, while you may meet people on line, serious business requires actually speaking with people on the telephone, as if it is the new, "in person".

Reconnecting with old friends, well, sometimes I wonder about the point of that, since half the time there was a reason we lost touch in the first place.

Like in my experience some girlfriends of my past show up on Facebook.

Some of them want to see me again.

I'm married, their married, I'm just as problematic as I used to be, if not more.

For the kids, well, they are in a different world.

They use it to keep in touch whereas if you don't have my address, one way or another, over years, well, there is probably a good reason for that.

I joined Linked In and people who I know there from my past, well, some of that is the same.

In a couple of cases there, the people I know from there were failures in the past in relation to projects proposed and worked on hard, and there seems no reason to expect any improvement now.

I even get news from two I met here who here I have promised not to engage with in any way as a condition for my continued membership here.

-made a phone call.

Now there is Twitter. Okay, great, I aint got to spinning wheels there yet.

Sure I'll try it, give it a shot, but I'll not expect too much.

There are so many reports of nasty viruses, hackers, identity thieves, etc on facebook/my space/ etc that I do not visit them.

Be cautious of what you post because those posts are starting to appear in court in divorce cases for example. They have changed the outcomes of a lot of cases.

Privacy settings will not keep it out of court is one of the big lessons.

Great topic!

I use Linked-In to promote my CR4 blogs, to communicate with fellow volunteers of ASME-Hudson Mohawk, to stay connected with my GlobalSpec work colleagues, and to follow technical updates ("@ desk continuing ed.") for my mechanical engineering-related domains at GlobalSpec - Fasteners, Robotics, Flow Instruments, etc.

It's a time-saver for me and planet-friendly overall.

I don't need to subscribe to hardcopy trade magazines or newspapers anymore. I also follow local (Albany / Clifton Park, New York) - technical events via Linked-In. So I personally find Linked-In very useful.

Facebook I use both for fun (family stuff, picture sharing, etc.) and for business (to promote my blogs). I notice other 43-year old college-educated professionals like myself doing the same with their Facebook accounts, so I don't think I'm alone in how I use Facebook (or Linked-In).

This engineer's experience.

- Larry