How Many Chores Does It All Add

milking cows In the morning, I open up Google Reader and start by checking out who’s talking about me, my company, PodCamp, and a few other choice terms. I read a few blogs (around 700). I check on some other searches for clients that I’ve loaded into my reader.

When I’m done, I check Facebook to see who’s looking for a friend request (because they have a limit on friends, I have to be picky). I see who’s sent me Facebook mail (normally junk inviting me to someone’s dumb marketing webinar). I try to remember to check the birthdays.

I check in on my blog’s comment stream, making sure to cull out spam, and then diving in to answer questions wherever I see them. I follow some of the comment links back to the authors’ sites so I can learn a bit more about who spends time with me.

I open up Tweetdeck (or once I get re-sizable columns, Seesmic Desktop), and see what’s gone on there since I last checked in. I answer some of my direct messages, and see where people have tried to direct my attention while I haven’t been around.

I write my blog, of course. (Hey, here I am writing my blog.) I find a picture for the post. I might upload or edit some of my other media. I might shoot a quick video for a post. Basically, I have media making chores, too.

Of course, I still have email to contend with. I get close to 500 a day right now (it’s actually gone down over the last several weeks).

Oh, and my job, which is all of those things above, but not just all willy nilly like that. My job, such as it is, is to help companies decide which of these tools to use in what mix and to what end. (That’s at least part of what I do.)

These tools are powerful, useful, wonderful, connective, and they add hours to one’s day. To simply use the tools is probably just as useful as going out and buying a complete set of oil paints, some clay, and a loom and calling yourself an artist. Learning how they apply to your needs might be a prudent step before committing to using up time managing everything.

For those of you worried that this “social media” stuff adds chores and time to your days, it does. It definitely does. And yet, we find new value in it every day. Why? Maybe you’ll share some thoughts on this?

Photo credit chrisada

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  • http://www.Cornerstone4sq.tv Kory Cochran

    Hi Chris,
    Well my thoughts are yes it does take a lot of time but I'm a youth pastor learning this on my own and most of the time I spend is reading and working with SNS, Websites and soon to be Blog; but most of that time is spent in the learning curve. I feel like once I know what I'm doing then it will take less time. Maybe that is the naivety of my inexperience talking?
    Anyway, I'm meeting and networking with folks I'd never have the time to build a relationship with because I work full time in the insurance industry in Texas and work the rest of the time on my new marriage and being a youth/outreach/involvedment/worship leader at our temporarily small church.

  • http://www.Cornerstone4sq.tv Kory Cochran

    Hi Chris,
    Well my thoughts are yes it does take a lot of time but I'm a youth pastor learning this on my own and most of the time I spend is reading and working with SNS, Websites and soon to be Blog; but most of that time is spent in the learning curve. I feel like once I know what I'm doing then it will take less time. Maybe that is the naivety of my inexperience talking?
    Anyway, I'm meeting and networking with folks I'd never have the time to build a relationship with because I work full time in the insurance industry in Texas and work the rest of the time on my new marriage and being a youth/outreach/involvedment/worship leader at our temporarily small church.

  • thelegacylady

    I stay away from most of the FB applications to save time. I find it interesting that most people who find my work around the web look for me first on FB. I have also found that by feeding my blog post titles into Twitter and then my FB status has brought me new members for my site – I would say close to 1/3 of my site members came through FB status updates.

    I also enjoy the “personal” connection with others on FB – it allows me to interact with my users in a way I couldn't on my site – i.e. commenting on what they are doing, latest photo, etc. I think because FB and Twitter are outside my site, it is a nice surprise for my readers when I interact with them.

  • http://artroxthinks.wordpress.com Nicky Tillyer (@artrox)

    It's all about chunking your time efficiently and finding and using the right tools to do it.

    There are times when you need to log off all external distractions and concentrate and others when the inspiration train from Twitter or blog feeds just comes rolling on through and you jump on for the ride.

    Find what works. I find first thing and last thing works for me on a 'work' day, but on a play day I can be flicking around between my readers all day because there is so much great content i don't want to miss.

    But the thing to remember is time management, don't become a slave to the content because not all of it is a must read, so if you miss a few great links…the world won't explode now will it…

  • http://www.twitter.com/craige craige

    I don't find it to be a chore at all. I enjoy it, although the number of people I follow is overwhelming and I skip a lot. The bloggers and twitterers I follow fall into two camps — personal ones that I follow for pure enjoyment and those who work in online marketing and/or social media. Although I follow the latter so that I can bring more knowledge to the table at work, I do really enjoy reading what they have to say. I guess that means I'm working in the right industry!

  • http://venmarkmedia.com claudioalegre

    Chris:

    Feels a lot like my mornings :) Thanks for sharing and giving an insight on how a pro does it…

    later

  • http://benwhitesell.com Ben Whitesell

    You now this conversation makes me wonder if we will see a greater integration of social media apps. With things like iphone apps, blackberry apps, and Adobe Air developing steam, I wonder if we will see programs designed to follow all of your social media outlets at one spot. Like an SM Personal Assistant, where you can go and update your twitter, facebook, linkedin, etc in one application.

    An app that could monitor everything would be a great time saver.

  • http://uptownuncorked.com geechee_girl

    For me, the people make it worth my time. I value the connections, the learning, the offline world that this online beast opens up for us, the ways it allows me to help clients that I didn't have in my arsenal before, the extra eyes and ears it gives me for things and people I care about – I could ramble for days on why every added minute is worth it. Having the right toolbox to manage this new frontier helps though (I talk about my online toolbox a lot. I've even posted about it on Uptown Uncorked last Fall. Essential.)

  • http://thelostjacket.com Stuartfoster

    Haha, I thought I had a big workload with 300… Eeks. Looks like I have to step up my game to be in competition with you Chris. Although to be fair, I am getting better at the whole never sleeping thing that you and Justin appear to practice. (Hoping to be fully versed in that art form soon)

  • Jim Genet

    Great info. Still overwhelmed, but can see light at the end of the tunnel if I can settle into a system for updating, contacting, following, deleting, posting, …. oh and still get my other 50 hours worth of work that has nothing to do with social media complete.

  • http://www.deirdrebreakenridge.com Deirdre

    Hi Chris…wow…700 hundred blogs to review each day. That is a quite a benchmark! It's really interesting to read through your day and what's on your social media “to do” list. How many hours a night do you sleep? 4 or 5? I'm around that myself but haven't quite reached your benchmark :) I think that the added hours are inevitable as we each build our social networks. But, I like to think of the daily activities as less of a chore and focus on the potential and benefits of the relationships in each community. I notice the more I give to any one community, the more I get out of it in terms of real friendships and connections that go from virtual to physical. It's amazing how we adapt and learn to manage our time no matter how much we cram into a day (working harder, but smarter). Really good post. Thanks!

  • http://www.5srw.com Lori Redding

    Great blog as usual Chris. I chalk it up to the cost of doing business…whether I am building our brand with a media campaign, direct mail campaign, ad campaign or now, social media, it's all time which is, of course, $$$. That said, I'm learning how to arrange my day to incorporate all the tools quickly and efficiently…like everyone else I'm sure!

  • dhutchis

    It's interesting to see what you are up to – but the choice of words “chore” of course has implications, doesn't it? I'm sure there is value in all that – connecting with people and information is what it's all about – but there is still the problem of diminishing returns and the fact that 80% of the value probable comes from 20% (or less) of the information and people. IS that what you find? If so you're pouring through 400 emails of little value, no?

    I would be interested to see a follow-up to this – the top 5 or 10 ways that you tame the beast of a routine you have. Obviously you don't read all 700 blogs…how do you filter? How do you look for what people are saying about you? How do you handle 500 emails – and how many of those are “XXX has added you as a friend…” notices? If you took one minute per email – that's a whole day gone – 15 sec per email is still a couple of hours!

    There must be some good tips in here.

  • http://www.misadventureswithandi.com Andi

    I am really glad you did this post, it is the one thing that I wonder most about you! I asked several other people at SOBCon trying to get an idea of a “typical” day. Would have asked you but I was too shy. I had resigned myself to the thought that those who don't take risks don't get rewarded, but…then again, with patience sometimes they do! This was very insightful, and I really enjoyed a “peek inside”. [P.S. I was that gal from SF with the Poken]. Thanks for being the quality person that you are, it comes in your writing and in person.

  • http://donotreadthisblogunless.blogspot.com Nicholas Chase

    Chris,

    I spend all day 14 hours or more, on Social Media authority building and being a helpful fellow.

    Since my PPC-CPA-CPM based Affiliate Marketing business has generated a whopping $28.00 in profit since it's launch in 2008, I am trying a different approach.

    Being helpful and commenting on FriendFeed, Twitter, Facebook, SocialSpark, Techcrunch, Mashable and a trillion other Social Media sites.

    I have built up my Twitter followers to 1800+ the old-fashioned way. By interacting with follower's profiles and then following those I find intriguing or appealing. I do not auto-follow, and use http://www.followunfollow.com periodically to unfollow those not following me.

    I had to re-follow you which is ok, I'm a small fish in a very large ocean, and my turn to be followed by the guru's will have to be patiently satisfied.

    I enjoy reading about the success of others, and once I determine my 'brand? I will make a bigger spalsh in thsi web-pond.

    For now I am seeking full-time employment to pay my bills, a challenging task during these non-capital expenditure olympics.

    Respectfully,

    Nicholas Chase

  • http://byronmiller.typepad.com Ron Miller

    Much like you, I build social media into my day. It's part of what I do, therefore I don't necessarily look at my social networking activities as extra work. In fact, I find over time that I often get article and blog ideas while working my social network sites. What's more I have formed business relationships through these tools. I promote my work and stay connected to folks I'm interested in and care about. These tools actually help me do my job better.

  • http://www.hfbadvertising.com Harris

    There is plenty of value. That is why our websitehttp://www.hfbadvertising.com is 500,000 Alexa rank and getting better. I tell my clients all the time but all they want is instant success. No success is instant. Want instant make rice.

  • http://www.joemanna.com Joseph Manna

    While I spend all day in social media, in a similar fashion as you do, I don't expect others to get as deep as I am. It's my passion, my love and I enjoy it everyday. This is the culling point — passion.

    Just as there are folks like us who love to connect and facilitate connections between people; there are others who are passionate about stocks, puppies or knitting. It's all about doing what you love to do, even if it's for just you.

    Connecting with your audience could mean at Starbucks, online chat rooms, message boards, Facebook or LInkedIn. It depends on where your audience is and where they are going.

    I love the transparency on your 'chores' in social media.

    ~Joseph

  • http://www.fwix.com Jamie Favreau

    I don't think it adds chores. I find it more interesting to connect through a social network then it is to connect through email. I need to write more in my blog but I am gaining content more everyday and I using my knowledge to help grow a growing community. I guess I find this fun instead of a chore. I am excited to be working for fwix.com and I hope to pass the word on to everyone. I am happy to being what I love and I might wind up in San Fransisco in the end.

  • http://www.convinceandconvert.com/convince-convert-digital-marketing-blog Jason Baer

    Sure, it's a lot of time. But the exchange is that you are spending no time and no dollars on marketing your business. Your social media efforts ARE your marketing. Plus, it's a lot of fun. That makes the value equation look a lot better, at least to me.

    I think characterizing it as a chore is misplaced (and probably purposely so, since you're the king of the challenging headline). As they say, if you love what you do, you'll never work another day in your life.

    There's no question that even with tools like Seesmic Desktop and more and more coming online all the time, drinking from the social media firehose isn't for everyone. I believe the data is skewed by non-browser usage, but I don't totally discount the recent study concluding that a lot of people bail on Tweeter after 30 days.

    Just like cross-country running, Thai food, and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, social media immersion is not universally attractive. It's a lot of time, sure. But I think the real challenge is the number of touch-points. As you reference in the OP, you check at least 7 distinct “inboxes” or streams every morning. That's intimidating.

    My fear is not that the labor is too much of a burden, but that it spreads people out to a degree where it's not fun any more. And when Facebook (and Twitter) stop being fun, people will stop hanging out there. And when that happens, the need for companies to reach people via those mechanisms will be diminished, and we'll be on to the next phase.

    That's why I'm such a supporter of your philosophy of picking your spots. Very few of us are Brogan-esque in our ability to juggle so many balls, and I'm not sure if this post encourages that behavior (setting up inevitable disappointment), or warns against it in a subtle way.

    As always, still mulling.

    Nice post. It's always the seemingly straightforward ones that get the ideas flowing. To me, that's your true genius.

    j

  • http://www.website-and-graphic-design.com/ Anne

    I had a client asking me about how effective social media would be for his business. I advised him that social media is a different beast for each individual (including companies).

    I think the key is to determine who the target market/audience is first, and then develop a social media strategy around the result of that analysis – whether the target audience is B2B, customers or both. For example, a B2B company could be wasting valuable time on MySpace when instead they should be focusing in on LinkedIn instead, etc.

    There is no “one-size-fits-all” solution as far as social media networking for business goes, in my own opinion of course.

  • http://www.areyousociallyacceptable.com Amanda Blum

    We adapted to cell phones, we adapted to email, we adapted to text messaging, all after the same complaints. Resistance to social media is borne of resistance to the 24 hour workday. This is a global economy and on some level, you must be “on” all the time. Social Media is a not a “hour a day” commitment, as I get asked, but of course a round the clock baby needing nursing, just like cell phones and email and text messaging.

    If you're not seeing value in it, you're not doing it right, in my opinion. I can't think of many businesses that couldn't get value from social media, and I usually say, “Social Media is the ONE marketing effort where the ROI is directly proportional to the investment you make. Invest more=get more.”

    Unfortunately, like all marketing efforts, it requires a creative mind to figure out HOW to leverage the platforms effectively. Many people stab ahead into social media without a plan. Value may happen organically, but you'll do better with a plan.

  • http://www.stacybrice.com Stacy Brice

    Why? A great example is you, for me.

    SM, and all the tools I use/ things I read/see, allows me to have a real, live, *genuine* sense of who a person is–in work, in play, in life in general. And so all that I've seen of you gave me a sense of who you are, and HOW you are in the world that I never could have gotten simply from a web 1.0 site that told me about you.

    Having access to reading your posts, your tweets–all the ways you show up in the SM landscape for me–gave me an idea of who I was going to meet this past weekend at SOBCon. And you were exactly who I thought you'd be.

    And THAT's why I keep reading and writing. That's why this SM “stuff” is worth doing for me. It's like having access to the ultimate backstory–which is where I usually find the magic is, anyway.

  • http://www.thecoachacademy.com Deborah Bifulco

    My mornings look a lot like yours – with the addition that I always make time to read your blog because you always have interesting things to say.

    Like today, for example…yes, I agree that social media takes an investment of time. And, on some days, I mutter under my breath about how much time it takes. But, every day, I make new connections and learn new things. Every day I see a tweet or an update that tests my theories or stretches my thinking in some way. And, that's pretty darned valuable!
    Debbi

  • http://blog.vongraf.com Fred von Graf

    Social media in general is just a framework that allows us to better communicate. How we use these tools, how efficient we are, how we measure benefit are all the same things we should already do, now we're just using this new framework. This enhanced 2 way communications framework.

    I see the value of the truly good Social Media consultants when they can help integrate the new framework in to the old. Sure they have to justify their existence through data (usually sales), however once the benefits are realized beyond the hype it's clearly worth it. The good consultants make the integration of this framework realistic and less painful, because it will be painful to some degree, as all change is…

    The customers are finally getting their voice and hopefully the companies are listening. Resulting in passionate followers and superior products / services!

  • dhutson

    Thanks for sharing this, Chris. I've only been blogging for about three months and tweeting even less, so it's enlightening to get a sense of your routine. My “day job” is not in social media, it's more traditional communications and PR, so it's a bit more difficult to justify the time and integrate stuff like what I'm doing right now into my work day. But I firmly believe that, even though my organization isn't quite ready for social media, I've got to be if I'm going to help it make that transition.

    So here's my unsolicited request: I'd love to hear (or get referrals to) more case studies involving organizations making the transition from social media-stupid to social media-savvy. It's incredibly helpful to watch over someone's shoulder as they successfully deal with the issues that we're all dealing with (or will deal with soon).

  • http://togetherweflourish.com/ Susan/Togetherwf

    Yes, it takes time each day to use these tools, and even more time to try and learn the new ones that a popping up all the time, but If you do not make some time to learn them, you cannot know if they will benefit you or not. Can you imagine trying to run a business today without a computer? What would have happened if you would have made the decision not to learn about and incorporate computers into your business?

  • http://BernardMolek.com Bernard Molek

    While new to social media (receiving/learning end for now) I would say thta the time spent is nothing less than anything else worthwile. I meet some very interesting people, some not so interesting but then there is the knowledge factor.

    Beyond my wildest expectations. Unlike meeting people in person (which is still good) while traveling, shopping, working or whatever, SM has a built in invitation to stay connected.

    Just need to balance the books a little and start spending a little more time on the giving end of the ledger.

    But, now, there is even help here for that too.

    Peace.

  • michelep

    I agree social media adds chores, consumes time. If we successfully learn to apply those tools to our advantage to create a web presence that delivers value to our community, then our commitment and dedication become rewarding.

  • http://calummaclean.wordpress.com/ Calum

    It adds a lot of time to my day but I don't regret a minute of it. I get to learn something new every day. I get to meet people I never would have before and everyone adds something of value.
    I found out I like Blogging. I am terrible at it but I like it.

    Hope the Summit was good for SOBCon09. I work there and I heard you killed it on your session.

    You were the one person I really wanted to meet and of course not only did I not get to meet you but I cut you off on the elevator coming into the building.

    I know, I suck. I got a call on my phone telling me to get upstairs as fast as I could. I saw you talking to someone in the lobby and I blew right past you thinking there will be plenty of time later.

    I got to the elevator and hit the door close button only to see you come just into view…… It was a tough start to the day.
    Then of course there was no time later and I was the guy that was so rude he could not wait 3 seconds to hold the frikkin elevator door.

    Sigh. Next time you are in Chicago let me know. I am buying your pick. I will get Liz to come too I owe her a couple as well.

    Gd night.

  • http://www.modestmeanings.com Ainav

    As I am a non-profit blogger (did i just invent a new term?) the value for me is not in terms of the improvement of SEO stats or reaching out to my client base. For me it's about establishing meaningful relationships within the online community that give me so much in return for my effort that it no longer seems like a chore, but rather a positive habit :)

  • http://www.simonstapleton.com Simon Stapleton

    It's a massive burden, ain't it? Well it would be if you don't get the right filters on your feed readers and get into a procedure that means you don't have to sift through loads of crap. This takes time to put into place, and I find it is particular to our idiosyncrasies – the way we like to personally work. I am not sure there is a one-size-fits-all approach, but it sounds like you've hit on a pattern that is optimized for your style.
    Thanks for the inspiration Chris!

  • http://www.twitter.com/MarkoMinka Marko Minka

    Great post! (I think everybody is just about to find the answers precisely to these questions.. ;)

    Yep, it sucks. There's lots of hype about social media, and it's impossible clearly to figured out the step-by-step implications. Taking into account the recent nature of fragmented, decentralized world, one thing is sure: You can't ignore it – you have to participate, otherwise will find yourself miles behind.

    The real art is to aggregate, analyze and divide. To identify a value among the noise. Implement effective strategies, thus fish where the fish are. Find the niche where is the community you want to reach. Ignore the rest. Because, it sucks. Or – it might..

  • http://www.twitter.com/chloe254 Chloe

    The main challenge is to get organized: social media interaction is so instant and everywhere that I tend to suddenly drop everything to react to a comment, a post, a tweet, and so on.

    You need to react quickly to remain relevant but at the same time cannot let it take over your entire day… slowly, slowly, I am perfecting the art and will get there soon ;)

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  • http://thedailyblonde.com The Daily Blonde

    I just had this conversation the other day. I have this little task list that follows the morning routine with my children. Some days I think “Is this social media stuff turning into a chore”…then I realize that it's the connections I make that inspire me every day.

    Emails are my least favorite (but I would rather read them than check voice mail). I have, however, pared it down to email, Twitter and FB. I cut out just about every social site that I rarely have time to go to because they are just too time consuming. I do spend time reading blogs and try to find a new one several times a week. I need to get better at Stumbling, Digging, etc but I do like to RT on Twitter….seems to spread the word about other people's hard work quickly.

    I'm just the “little guy” (or girl?) but I do value my social media connections, so the tasks aren't so much of a chore…it's just part of my day.

  • http://andinarvaez.wordpress.com Andi Narvaez

    This was great to read Chris.

    The time investment required for social media is something that not very many people consider worthy because oftentimes they can't see any tangible results (think newspaper ink when it comes to PR) and don't understand the power of something that is viral / airborne (think swine flu? Hah.)

    I like to think that I get a little better at doing these chores everyday – at first it was a matter of taking things in, then it was about eavesdropping on conversations, then about identifying opportunities, then about coming up with ideas, then about engaging in conversation and then about putting my two cents in.

    Come to think about it, these all happens simultaneously. But the chores are definitely the only way to keep up and get to play.

  • http://www.MarketingProfessor.com Travis Campbell

    Indeed it adds chores, and value…if doing the right chores. Example: today I noticed something changed on one of my LinikedIn connections, I reached out and ended up having an hour conversation which led to a discussion about joint venturing together. What started as a “what's new” discussion turned into a possible “win-win” for both.

    Discipline is key, when you got that cornered Chris, please DM me :-)

  • http://oldmedianewtricks.com dan360man

    Man, I found this discussion to be more entertaining than the actual blog post! (No offense, Chris.)

    Creating a footprint on the social Web takes time and effort. But it's a long-term investment. The more legwork you put in early, the greater the dividends. I find lots of value in my network, but I put a ton of work into it.

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  • http://www.livewithoutwork.com Paul Dickinson

    These kind of things do take up a lot of my time, but I always find it's good to get the important stuff done before any of this. I normally leave it until I've got everything else out of the way!

  • Carla Marie Ciampa

    Hey Chris! I couldn't agree with this blog MORE! The internet was supposed to facilitate everything, but now it seems like we've added layers and layers to muck up it's simplicity.

    It becomes a job just keeping yourself on peoples minds; never mind the task of inventing and reinventing yourself for different platforms and methods of connecting. Or how about the hours required to stay on top of the constantly developing technology?

    I've always considered myself fairly smart but I have to admit even with your GREAT advice and guidance I'm STILL feeling lost.

  • http://www.ireflectm.com CarlosHernandez

    Life is full of chores and there are some chores better than others.

    I like the set of chores, although smaller in scale for me than for you, that the social media space is offering me!

    Like I told @ev, Evan Williams, Twitter CEO at a tweetup several weeks ago…”Thanks for re-making this old guy! It is fun helping, selling and marketing via Twitter!”

  • http://www.techshots.net Jaremy

    Adding social media “chores” has allowed me to connect with a great number of people that I had either a) lost touch with; or b) never would have found. It's absolutely extra work to make time for my blog and Twitter, but the resources and the rewards are impressive. My job doesn't require use of social media tools, but it's helped me in numerous ways to keep in touch and connected with people in my industry as well.

    I also wanted to mention that your blog (along with others) are what inspired me to create my own blog and to connect to Twitter (@jaremy). The chores that you do each and every day truly help to inspire others and create change, and for that we should all be grateful :-). Thanks for all that you do, Chris.

  • http://www.christinakatz.com The Writer Mama

    Well, for me it's about making connections. I don't find that I can recall someone I've met on Twitter if that's the only place I've met them. But for example, someone I met through Twitter came to one of my presentations in Seattle (shout out to Maya!) and now that we've made a face-to-face connection I will remember her, what she does and our conversations on Twitter will be more meaningful.

    I was just catching up on the 1000+ posts in my Google Reader and I realized that someone else I'd met on Twitter had blogged about my book in two of his blogs. (I almost missed noticing these b/c I was traveling and I'm a mom and I came home to total chaos…you get the picture). So, for me, the fifteen to twenty minutes I spend on Twitter a day can turn into meaningful connections. I will remember these folks now because we expanded beyond Twitter, where for me things are usually happening so fast, I can't remember what's what and who's who.

    As for Facebook, I catch a lot of news about fellow writers there that I might otherwise miss. A lot of them are not on Twitter and I love having our own little online club on Facebook. I have connected with old college and high school friends but mostly I use Facebook for writing-related stuff and I have made great connections that way.

    In fact, it was via Facebook that I connected with Joe Wikert and then wound up at O'Reilly Tools of Change Conference and got to hear and meet you. See what I mean? These social networking tools are amazing.

    Now. Have people been shockingly rude to me on Twitter? Have they passively aggressively taken down an Amazon review of my book when I didn't respond in a timely, warm and fuzzy manner? Yup. It happens. But for goodness sakes, I'm a human and a mom, and my day job sometimes involves very consuming deadlines, so I do the best I can and try not to take it personally when someone is hostile towards me.

    So, needless to say, it ain't perfect. I'm not even doing a half-way decent job juggling it all. But when a connection happens, and everything works out, it's like poetry. And that, is why I'll likely keep coming back. Even as unanswered messages sit in my inbox.

  • http://www.make-cash-on-the-net.com Peter Carter

    It does seem a lot of work but it still beats being a desk monkey for someone else. 700 blogs is a lot though – how much of those blogs do you actually absorb? I subscribe to less than 20 and even then I still delete more than I read.

  • http://MatthewHuggins.com Matthew Huggins

    I think the value is in affirmation and attention. We thrive on people talking about us, agreeing with us, questioning us, interacting with us.

    Attention fuels our need to put out the next post or status update hoping someone will comment on it, RT it, or DIGG it.

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