Social networks suck!

Well, social networks suck! Period! Whether you're on Facebook or Google+ or Twitter or any damn "social network", it doesn't matter, it sucks if you don't know how to "use" it!

I was in an interesting conversation with a couple of friends of mine, and the conversation got more interesting as the drinks started to flow. There was a lot of talk about how Facebook sucks, how Google+ just couldn't cut it, and on why someone's not on Twitter. As for me, I'm on all of them...and I use all of them in different ways. The bottom line .. You have to KNOW WHY you want to be on a social networking site, KNOW WHAT the social networking site does, and KNOW HOW to use the damn thing!

I use Facebook BECAUSE all my "friends" are on it. I like to share with them about what's going on in my little world, which they were once a part of. I don't add people to my "Facebook world" unless I know them well enough that I would want them to know about me.

I use Google+ because a lot of people who I find "interesting" use it to get share stuff that they find interesting. They "hangout", they "plus" their world to my Google searches and I am finding stuff that I think is more relevant than ever before. Yes I would buy that widget that someone I KNOW bought and found to be a good widget, why the eff not?

Social networking is all about "engaging" with people that you know, people you have heard about, people you want to hear about, and people you want to talk about, it's about PEOPLE! Doesn't matter if it's a website or a real world network named after an animal you've never seen (e.g. Elks), social networking feeds the basic human need to be "connected"!

How you want to "connect" depends on you. Facebook, Google+, Twitter, or whatchamacallit cannot tell you HOW and WHY to do it. That's why they SUCK!

They are just MEDIUMS. You and the world around you ARE the NETWORK. How SOCIAL you are and your network is depends on...take a wild guess...you and your network. The medium doesn't matter and shouldn't matter. It does what it's supposed to do...it SUCKS!

Mid-Week Madness: 28 September 2011

Wednesdays are always a mixed-bag. Its always confusing whether to be happy that half the week is over or to sulk in the fact that the weekend is still far away. However, its always a good day to recap on the interesting stuff so far this week so as to know what to expect the rest of the week.

Here are some bits that I enjoyed reading so far. Hope you find them as enlightening, funny, educational, …yada yada yada….as I did!

An “Apple” a day, keeps the rumors, well…the rumors will never stop!

What better way to get through the week than read about new rumors about the upcoming, iPhone event on October 4th. If all the speculation and anticipation about an iPhone 5 wasn’t enough, we are also now excited about “what else” to expect. If there’s one thing that Apple has done right in the last few years, it is hiring the right marketing guys.

Facebook charging users? Hogwash!

The number of posts claiming that Facebook will start charging users for the new profiles reached staggering levels throughout the week. Not just on FB, these posts started making the rounds on Google+ as well! My only reply to one such post from a friend…GROW UP SON!

Google+ hits the 50 million user mark!

Quite a landmark for Google that also celebrated its 13th birthday! Google+ became the fastest social network to reach 50 million users. Hmm…now only if I can get my friends to join my circle…till then I will have to settle for posts from the likes of Chris Brogan and Guy Kawasaki. Not a bad deal really!

Why would I want to SHARE my circles?

In yet another update to Google+, users can now share their circles with their…umm…circles! Apparently, I want to let my friend know that I have put him in a circle called “Extreme Caution: Nincompoops!” !!!!

MIdweek Productivity: Yet another checklist

Well…lets face it, you are probably neck deep in work by Wednesday. You know you should have completed the work last week…but you find yourself staring at it this Wednesday. Yes, you deserve the “Employee of the Month” award anyhow. But, here’s another checklist to help you stay on top of tasks. Just go ahead and add it to your reading list for this week…right after Moby Dick!

Have a good rest of the week, and as usual, feel free to drop me a line on Google+ or on my Facebook page.

Random stuff on a Sunday night!

This is just a collection of some interesting stuff I found while randomly browsing through my Google Reader feed.

1. Could not wait to activate the Timeline for the FB profile. Am loving it!

2. What better to do on a Sunday evening, than play some offbeat iphone games! Procrastination is definitely my favorite sin!

3. Excellent checklist, if you have a blog that aims to make money. Me, I just blog for the hell of it!

4. Some food for thought if you consider yourself to be an entrepreneur. Do you challenge yourself?

5. And finally, cannot end the week without some Facebook love. Here’s some more info on what to do with the new FB changes.

Feel free to give me a shout out on my Google+ profile or find me on my Facebook page. Be cool!