This post is my own personal experience over the last several months of sorting through the maze and trying to figure out what it’s all about.

MySpace: Never interested me, I never set up a page, can’t comment.

Twitter: I couldn’t understand Twitter at first. Why would anyone care about what I had for breakfast? Who cares when “Jane” took the dog out for a walk? KWIM? (LOL)

Then, I set up a Twitter account and after a few months, it’s alright. I’ve made some great connections and re-established some old friendships that lost touch over the years.

While there is a lot of debate about this, I do not believe that just because someone follows you, that you should feel obligated to follow them. Twitter is not about building the biggest list, it’s about quality relationships. Again, just my opinion.

There are people that I’ve unfollowed. For example, if I try to engage with someone in conversation and they continue to ignore me, I’ll unfollow. Think about it for a minute. If you were at a party, and you walked up to someone and tried to start a conversation, if they continued to ignore you, would you stand there and talk to yourself? I would hope not.

Then, there are the types that do nothing but the “hey there”, “how are ya?” “how’s it going?” “what’s up?” “where ya been?” all day, trying to get anybody’s attention. They never really engage in any meaningful conversation with anybody.

Picture Rodney Dangerfield in the center of a room at a party. I wouldn’t follow him on Twitter, either.

Facebook: I’m still figuring out Facebook, but getting better. I find all the apps confusing. My big dislike about Facebook is that I can’t see someone’s profile first before adding them to my friends list.

Facebook to me is like “business casual.” You can talk about business in a casual way if people engage in asking what you do, or post what you are doing in your business, but don’t blatantly promote your business.

LinkedIn: Repeat after me. LinkedIn is not social media. LinkedIn is not social media.

LinkedIn is business networking. Imagine your local business networking group in your community. That’s what LinkedIn is like, except it’s online.

LinkedIn is not for social, “What did your cat eat for breakfast”, conversation.

The key to successful networking on LinkedIn is by joining groups, starting and participating in real business discussions. Do not go to LinkedIn, join a group and start posting nothing but ads or what you ate for dinner last night.

Business networking is about building relationships over time, not blasting ads or expecting sales as soon as you post your profile.

Then, are all the .ning networks. I am a member of TwitterMoms. It’s the only “moms” group I participate in of this type because it’s fun and there’s a nice mix of moms. There must be hundreds on .ning networks for social and business, and honestly? I don’t have the time to scope them out.

So, where does that leave me as to how I’m using these? I’m engaging in them like this. Would I attend the same party or networking event every single day if it were in an offline arena? No, and it should be no different online, either.

It’s so easy to get sucked into the “black hole vortex” of all these different areas. I know for some, it’s purely social and that’s great….for them.

However, for me, I think it’s important to participate for my business branding and transparency, although I think it’s more important to use my time with these wisely.

My goal is less time in front of the computer, not more. I thoroughly enjoy the time that I do spend online, however, having more time to do the fun stuff outside with family and friends is more important to me.

If you’d like to connect on Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn, all 3 of my links are in the sidebar to the right under “Let’s Connect.”

How about you? What have your personal experiences been with these?

Related Posts You Might Like:

1. A Whirlwind 24 Hours
2. Plane’s Don’t Fly Themselves
3. Who Should I Follow?
4. The Women of Network Marketing