I spent quite a bit of today going through some of my social networks, mainly Facebook to be honest and seriously thought about who I am connected to. I’ve made a recent decision to separate out my social networks and to make them work for me in different ways and in some way the way I think they ought to be used.
I recently created a twitter policy which has helped me decide who to follow on twitter. As I state in my twitter policy – what I am actually saying when I follow someone is “you say interesting things and I want to keep listening – I hope you don’t mind”.
I want to use twitter as a way to connect to people whilst also accessing insights from people and relevant news and events etc. I am a regular user of twitter via the web and on my iPhone, so actually enjoy the variety and of personal stories, professional insights and general banter between people.
I have taken a decision to use Facebook for people who I actually consider to be a friend – not always close friends but people who I have enjoyed spending time with (past and present) and people I respect. I also had to ask myself whether or not I was happy sharing aspects of my personal life and photos of my wife and kids with these people.
I have gone through my friends list and have been ruthless and culled a large number of people. It did feel quite nasty doing it but I’m hoping that I am able to connect with those people in other networks.
An obvious choice, but LinkedIn is the network I am using to connect with work colleagues and professional contacts. I don’t have to have met you to connect on LinkedIn but as long as there is a reasonable reason why then I am happy to connect.
The other networks I am part of are generally topic or subject specific so have not taken any action on these networks.
I look forward to connecting with you in one of the above networks.
A journey through life - Carl's Notepad 