Points of Contact

January 27, 2010 · Comments

Cell Phones 2 I’m seriously considering deleting my LinkedIn account, but not for anything LinkedIn did. The truth is, I feel bad that people are using the “request an introduction” feature, and that I don’t notice it for days and days and days. I’m just not active enough there, and so, I end up looking like a jerk. Besides, it’s not really working for me as a point of business, but again, not because of anything LinkedIn did. I’m just not putting effort into LinkedIn to find business, as I’m getting it from other places.

The idea for this post came from a conversation I had on Google Wave with some smart friends.

Seth Godin doesn’t use Twitter actively. He chooses not to open comments on his blog. However, he’s a really fast responder to email. He’s jumped on the phone with me the few times I’ve needed something from him without any fanfare. He just doesn’t need Twitter or blog comments as a point of contact.

My primary email inbox is stuffed full of people requesting stuff from me. My contact form, which is much easier for me to use, because my executive assistant, Diane, helps me with it, would be a much better place for me to spend my time.

I like Twitter, and it helps me build relationships. Thus, I spend a lot of time there. I kind of like Facebook (slow convert), but the 5000 person limit vexes me, plus I use it as a kind of personal place, where I talk a bit off the cuff.

When I look at it, I’ve got too many points of contact:

  • Google Voice / Phone
  • Email (primary)
  • Email (for New Marketing Labs )
  • Email (a private account)
  • Contact Form
  • Blog comments
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Google Wave
  • My Blog
  • Tons of other social networks
  • In person at events

Here’s the rough order of which ones are making my life better:

  • Twitter – serendipity, friendship, some business
  • Contact form – lots of business
  • Google Wave – where I’m planning my future
  • Blog comments – lots more interaction than email
  • Email – once I sort it, some business, and relationship-building
  • Facebook – a little bit. I like feeling personal there.

So what do I do? Connecting is part of my job. It’s how business happens. It’s how I stay connected and accessible. And yet, I think I’m too connected. That’s a lot of points of contact. Think about manning all those phones, so to speak. Think about managing all those interactions in all those various formats across all those various tools.

As a business, how do YOU do it?

What’s the value of being THAT connected?

And if I were to trim it all back into just a few spots, would it help, or would it bottleneck?

I’m not writing this for us to think about me. I’m writing this for us to think about us. I’m writing this for business people who are wondering where to put their time, who wonder why everyone’s spreading themselves all over these platforms, and who are wondering what comes next when we’re all this plugged in.

I thrive on contact. I’m drowning in it. It’s not my problem. It’s a modern world problem.

What’s your take?

If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment or subscribing to the feed to have future articles delivered to your feed reader.

Tagged as: ,

ChrisBrogan.com runs on the Thesis Theme for WordPress

Thesis WordPress theme

Thesis is the search engine optimized WordPress theme of choice for serious online publishers. If you’re a blogger who doesn’t understand a lot of PHP, Thesis will give a ton of functionality without having to alter any code. For the advanced, Thesis has incredible customization possibilities via Thesis hooks.

With so many design options, you can use the template over and over and never have it look like the same site. The theme is robust and flexible enough not only to accommodate a site like ChrisBrogan.com, but also to enable the site to run far more efficiently than it ever has before.

  • Hey Chris -

    I've been dealing with a very similar dilemma. I've decided to keep LinkedIn but not do much with it except let it stand as one more "outpost." It pulls my blog and showcases recommendations. If someone searches for me, its one more place to find me!

    With FB - the 5000 limit really hinders, but I am able to be more proactive.

    Great post!
  • Chris - I can understand the temptation here. Maybe instead of deleting the profile, I would recommend keeping the LI account active, but simply indicating somewhere in your profile that you may not get back to requests in a timely manner, along with a preferred alternative (your contact form, with a link). Just a simple management trick; a little judoesque redirection to your preferred route of contact, might allow you to continue leveraging a very widely used platform.

    Your presence on LI represents a bit of your intellectual effort and 'property', a digital billboard, and it also represents a lot of value to potential contacts you haven't met yet. For whatever reason, folks find us thru different channels and if LI has brought you even a single meaningful contact, then the chances are that it may happen again.

    Your case is special, of course, because of volume. Perhaps using these platforms as collecting buckets, and then pushing the contact forward to a better point, will help with your workflow efficiency. I guess you have to draw the line somewhere, but for now anyway, I think residing on a few popular platforms (LI, FB, Twitter) can efficiently provide access to thought leadership on a more or less equal basis.
  • Chris, this seems like a system dynamics problem. My wife would love to model this.

    If you cut back on the ways people can get hold of you - let's say you delete your LinkedIn and Facebook accounts - how much business would you lose? An important question. Probably not much. Both of these sites are like the Yellow Pages. If you are running a business, especially as an online marketing expert, you have to be there.

    How many friends would you lose? To me, this is a more important question. Relationships are everything. However, your friends will understand if you had to close these accounts. They know they can find you elsewhere and if you explain that not having those accounts helps you focus better, they would likely encourage it.

    How much time would you gain to spend on other avenues? I can't measure this for anyone else but myself, but if I didn't have those two sites to deal with, I could get a lot more done. That's for darned skippy.

    How many cool, new ideas would you miss out on? This here is the kicker. You seem to thrive on cool, new ideas and exchange of information. This has real value for lots of us, although we cannot define a specific monetary value for it.

    Here's my thinking. Keep those accounts and budget some time to deal with them. One hour per week for each, maybe. I bet you could figure out how to filter and act on tasks better if you gave yourself a short time in which to do it. Of course, I say this with a whole lot less in my inbox.

    And sometimes a bottleneck is a good thing. That's a whole different set of opportunities and challenges stopping up the work flow.

    Just one man's two cents.
  • Chris,

    I became aware of this post thanks to my friend John who did a video about it on www.johntmeyer.com. It caught my attention because almost a year ago I posted that people who use LinkedIn to create a massive list of people, rather than people they had a legitimate connection to were diminishing it's value to me (I did name you and President Obama in the post title - and thanks for responding).

    I still stand by my point, that simply connecting to everyone in the system makes it hard for those of us who use the platform to get tangible benefit (ie. the ability to connect to someone to secure a meeting, phone call, etc) and I think that if you use the platform as it was intended (or in your word at the time, had a "pure" network), you'd see more benefit in it as well.

    Here's the original post: http://bit.ly/bpMvHM
  • Hi Chris,

    I've been thinking on your words for a few days now and it makes sense that our networks (the networks we set up), will grow organically or not. For me, I've opened everything I could get my hands on. My Linkedin account is dormant, I've tried twitter and though it's easy to follow and be followed, it's WAY harder to connect.

    Facebook on the other hand is growing for me, personally and also 2 fan pages I run. I'm building a BAND/NICHE website (with a blog) and I'm too busy to try and make EVERYTHING work. So, go with the flow of your network and where it organically grows seems to really make sense now.

    I won't feel so bad about, deleting or neglecting networks that just don't work for ME.

    Cheers
  • marcgudema
    LinkedIn lends itself to discussions -- which take place within the groups. These are not just to promote your own business, but also take place between peers to exchange ideas. They last longer and tend to be more back and forth than blog posts and comments. The digests give you all the comments in a discussion which you don't get in RSS feeds.
  • THANK YOU for admitting that you may have too many points of contact! I've been admiring your work for awhile and yet often feel discouraged because I cannot imagine the strain of being as immersed in contacts as you seem to be. Your honesty and forthrightness in addressing this is enormously helpful in making me look honestly at my own connection points and priorities. I always told my daughter (now 31 and very successful) that a woman can do anything in this life that she wants to do...but not necessarily all at the same time. Now I just need to take my own advice.
  • I totally agree with you, Chris. LinkedIn does nothing for me. It's the rear-view mirror of social networking. It's all these people I once worked with that I don't have a thing in common with anymore.

    Like you, Twitter is where it's at for me. I make friends on Twitter, I hear interesting things. And from those friends, I get great leads on work and ideas.

    LinkedIn is a fiberglass buggy whip. It's the old school way of doing business with an Internet face on it. That way of doing business may not be history for everyone, but it is for me.

    I'll tell you what... if you want to join me in deleting our LinkedIn accounts together, let's do it when I'm in Boston next time and I'll make a video blog entry out of it. Then we'll drink beer. Deal??
  • Nice to see someone of your stature in social media consider the issue of having too many points of contact. I've always wondered how someone like yourself can interact with so many people on a number of mediums. I guess you're human too.

    Twitter is my favorite because I can quickly see what is going one with a number of people and as you mentioned, you easily meet people with similar interests who want to help one another.

    I find LinkedIn useful because there are a number of people I know who have similar business interests but have not jumped into Twitter and other social media outlets. LinkedIn appears to be a first step for many professionals who want to get their toes wet but not jump into the fray. Tweetdeck's integration of LinkedIn activity has made it much easier to follow my contacts who are on LinkedIn but not Twitter.

    So, I continue to see both as important.
  • lewishowes
    Chris,

    I have a lot of reasons why you should stay on LinkedIn (and actually start using it more). Instead of filling up your blog comments, I decided to do a video post where I give you 8 reasons to stay on LinkedIn. I hope you get a chance to review my thoughts:

    http://www.lewishowes.com/featured-articles/chr...
  • Prioritize. What more can we do?
  • I'm beginning to realize I could spend my entire day going through email and still not get much of anything done. I guess we're dealing with problems of scaling. You have your own attention economies of scale going on, and, to some degree, so do many of us. I don't have a solution; it's something I'm still working on.
  • I have not been able to figure it out yet either, Chris. I actually posted a similar point to your Open Forum article.

    To make matters worse, I maintain multiple personalities online (Personal, Health Care & Consulting).. and each of those profiles has it's own array of "touch points." Sure.. some are more appropriate than others.. after all, no one platform will have 100% penetration.

    LinkedIn has always been last on my list because of their restrictive nature. But, it's first on many folks' list. And, many of them are "decision makers" within their business.

    Can't walk away from THAT. (Dang it.)
  • Interesting take on this issue, Chris. When you actually list it out, it's amazing how many things we need to keep an eye on. And we only have two eyes!

    I find LinkedIn is useful for reaching out to companies and people that I don't know but have a networked connection with.
  • Thank you for discussing this topic. I am a small business owner who sees the value of using social media, but I am not sure how much time I can devote to that and conduct my business at the same time. Is an hour a day enough?

    I guess it all comes down to picking the social media sites that will be the most useful. Currently I am using Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. I just started a blog, so I am hoping to add comments to the mix.
  • clarabela
    I asked myself the same question. Every week there is a new social network or another hot site. I am already spending so much time on Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin and various forums that I hardly have time to write content for my blog.

    It is a delicate balance between doing what is most important (writing content) and connecting with others on all these different social media channels. I finally had to set some limits for myself on how much time I spend on social media.
  • dannyjacks
    It's been tough for me to find any real success communicating directly on Linkedin. I think it's a good place to find the contacts that you're looking for, but communicating directly through Linkedin is kind of spotty. My strategy with Linkedin has always been: Find the right contact and then figure out how to contact them through a different medium. I just don't think that Linkedin users are active enough.

    For me I guess I would break it down like this: Email, Twitter, Facebook, and then Linkedin.
  • christinakatz
    I'm with you on this one, Chris. Really wish LinkedIn was easier to use/navigate.
  • I just noticed today that Linkedin has stopped you from seeing other peoples connections. They make it very difficult to connect. I am also starting to agree with Chris, what is the point of this, they just keep putting up barriers. What is really needed is a business/professional version of Facebook. Make it easy and people will use it.
  • I think we take everything too seriously. I certainly feel like I'm losing ground if I'm not plugged in to many channels, but you know, in the pit of my stomach, I know that it's ok to not be everywhere.

    We need perspective as well. I have clients who I think would benefit from using a tool such as twitter, but their whole focus just isn't there and seeing it from their perspective helps with my own perspective.

    Most of the people reading this blog have already drunk the kool-aid (me included) and we need to let go a bit. The world won't fall apart if we only use something as antiquated as email. :-)
  • I'm with some of the others in wishing I had your problem. But at the same time, I do have a different take on the issue. I work in the service industry and in promotions. If I tried to connect with reporters in the manner that is easiest for me (e-mail), I might never get a story placed. As David Meerman Scott showed in his great book, a lot of them use their blogs to generate ideas, so that's where I have to go. Or if I tried to rout all customer connections through an online form, I highly doubt I'd hear half of what my customers have to say. Many don't like or trust online forms and want a phone call or an e-mail.

    I think the key is to use the media that the people you want to connect to use, even if its not your personal preference. Another example might be a musician who hates MySpace. He has to use it because that's where a lot of the music fans go. So yes, I do think that cutting back on your methods of contact is good, but I'd apply a different criteria than you seem to suggest.
  • I think you should keep those points of contacts and you should have a Facebook fan page, not just your personal account. Fan pages have no limits on the friends or fans you can have.
  • I think there's a big opportunity here for someone to make an application that aggregates these points of contact effectively. A similar revolution happened a decade or so ago with instant messaging when someone realized that supporting several different IM clients (AIM, Yahoo, MSN Messenger, etc) all in the same interface would save people the trouble of managing 3 stand-alone applications. If someone found a clean way to do this with things like Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and Google Reader/Wave/etc they could go a long way.
  • I agree with Juliet Chase that there's a "lot of social pressure out there to look connected when very little connection actually happens." Simple fact is, it's easier for us to speak (with one or even two voices) than listen to hundreds or thousands. What helps me manage it all is hubs, the more centralized the better. I direct a lot to email notifications (since I'm in email all day long) and love Social Oomph for centralized posting to FB and Twitter, blog and other stuff plus good monitoring.

    As hubs and centralization go, have you checked out NetVibes? I'm not using it yet, but plan to give it a whirl. Still at some point, you've got to narrow the spigot or have gatekeepers. There's no way one person can manage continually fragmenting points of contact and stay productive, let alone sane!
  • strugglinginvestor
    Chris,

    This post reminded me exactly of what Tim Ferris talks about in his 4 hour work week book. Tim describes how he used Perato's Principle to eliminate the unproductive. I bet 80 percent of your top relationship building comes from 20 percent of your "social connecting platforms." Get ride of all the rest. Is it worth wasting your time on all of those devices,sites, etc to pull in just a few more people? I say no!
  • agmahoney
    Such a thoughtful topic. For me it hit home because having so many ways of connecting is so refreshing and frustrating at the same time! I feel the impulse to respond to everyone immediately. But as the ways to connect & frequency increase, it's easy to freak out a little bit from overload. Plus - staying connected is time consuming! Definitely good business, and great for relationship building, but doggone tiring sometimes. Still trying to find the balance :)
  • Wow, I really appreciate this post, which I stumbled upon via Twellow! ( a twitter adjunct, I guess is what you'd call it.) As an independent writer & consultant, I'm always networking. Until recently, Email and my website/blog were my primary sources of online networking. Lately, twitter and LinkedIn are my choice modes of communication.
  • beley
    Why don't you trim your LinkedIn connections to true business colleagues you've worked with in the past (or would like to work with in the future). People you know well enough to actually make connections for.

    It would be much easier to manage 150 or 200 close contacts than it would 500 or 1000. You could also take steps to automate the process a little. You have an assistant, and LinkedIn can email you when people request an introduction. So she could filter those and respond to them for you if you're too busy to manage. At least then you wouldn't be an ass for just ignoring people for days (or weeks).

    That said, you bring up a very good point. People in our industry (online marketing, social media, tech whatever) have been using these tools so long we feel they're *necessary* but they're not. Lots of successful people (even in our field) get by without using them at all. And although I have seen a few cases of positive ROI, a lot of it is just noise.

    I've found that lately LinkedIn is filled with noise... especially in groups. I'm about to slash my group memberships because it seems like they're all just filled with spam. They're not providing me with any value.

    However, I just recently got a really big lead through a LinkedIn connection. I might have gotten the lead anyway, as it's someone I met while speaking at an organization last year, but they looked me up and contacted me through LinkedIn. I see some value in LinkedIn, and hope they really work to improve the platform over the next year to reduce spam and noise.
  • Oh boy can I relate to that! It is really hard to do it all and if you try, it's impossible to get any work done. I love Twitter and blogging but only have time to blog thoughtfully once every 1-2 weeks, while twitter is a great way to share links and quick thoughts with a tight group of followers. I'm still married to the conventions of checking email constantly as the most direct and 1-to-1 form of interaction. Almost never check LinkedIn except when I want to see the bio of someone I've just met. Facebook feels increasingly like a waste of time and just a jumble of people's idle thoughts.
  • kboon
    This is the challenge all of us have to day in the social space. Where do we go? I suppose it becomes a personal preference and what gives the most return for your time. Right now I use Linkedin and Twitter primarily. Facebook I keep more for friends.

    Haven't looked at Google Wave.
  • Being too connected, or having too many points of contact IS a common problem. Some of it can be attributed to forward-thinkers at incredible companies that are constantly creating new ways for the public to communicate via technology. The fear of missing an opportunity due to the fact you didn't take 2 minutes to sign up is, I think, what's motivating most individuals to spread themselves thin.

    It's a knee-jerk reaction, it's so easy to sign-up for anything. But, thinking through how much time you will and can devote to this new contact point may not be happening enough if at all.

    LinkedIn? I'm notified via email when someone would like to connect so I don't miss it. But, some of us(you Chris) probably receive so much email, the thought of adding another source of email isn't a smart option.
  • I read this and felt as though you were reading my mind. I agree with you on LinkedIn. It was one of the first networks I joined but I've never felt a need to go to the site regularly. In fact, it's probably been 6-weeks or more since I last checked in there. I use Twitter and Facebook pretty much equally but for different reasons similar to what you stated. Good stuff.
  • Would a bottleneck necessarily be a bad thing in your case or the case of businesses? You talk a lot about the importance of being able to say no, and you're very open about the fact that you try your best to respond to everyone, but just can't. Perhaps choosing these specific communities to focus on, while cutting the ones that you use less, will allow you to be more efficient. Someone can't get mad at you for not responding to them on a network where you don't exist. Your presence on other networks creates an expectation that you exist there and are capable of responding.

    David
    Community Manager, Scribnia.com
  • TaylorEllwood
    It sounds like the problem is that you haven't really defined how you will use some of these tools effectively. I'm fairly active on Linkedin and find it to be highly effective as a social media tool, but I also have a very specific strategy and process for using it that allows me to get a lot out of it, without spending more time than needed, and still being a valuable resource for my community. What's your process for using Linkedin? How does it fit into your strategy and who are you reaching by being on there? Who won't you reach if you aren't on there?
  • Until people get more savvy manipulating their use of the social resume, I expect LinkedIn will remain powerful for HR departments. You don't deal with those, so it's obviously of limited use in an outward-facing manner.

    There are lots of places better than LinkedIn to place as outward facing outposts, I do agree with you there. But the culture about LinkedIn can be useful, if you happen to play in that league. For people really into engaging their web presence, though, it can feel like training wheels having extra bases to run around in a routine.

    I just checked. I haven't logged into LinkedIn in long enough the cookie expired. That says something, doesn't it?
  • Clay Sharkey said it is not the information but the filtering of information that is important, if you have good filters, good means to discern it becomes easier. I am getting less value from Linked in, it seems overpriced for the functions of the platform.

    Facebook is a little too personal and not meant as criticism but I find it hokey (with all the fun wall requests and gifts) to use solely for marketing, Twitter is pure marketing and business gold, it is simple and viral.

    Email is abused as means when you can pick up the phone and communicate more quickly it is not a rapid form of conversation more like letters used to be. It is already considered passe by my generation, although used but should not be abused.
  • Chris, great post. For me, the takeaway from this was that we need to be constantly reassessing and analyzing our activities and channels vis-a-vis our business goals. If it isn't an efficient source of advancement towards those goals we need to either cut it lose or tweak it. Thanks for the insight.
  • I'm a little late jumping into the mix here, but here goes. Great comments from everybody...but in the end I think it really comes down to one word....Trust. Chris is right...if people are getting frustrated waiting for a response from him, even if they initiated the contact, it's a negative. Everything needs to be considered with the larger context in mind. Now....time to eat my own cooking and go see what I need to edit! (I loved the closet analogy by the way....perfect!). JoAnne Berg, www.ArtofSmallBusiness.org
  • I agree completely. We're almost *too* connected these days and it can get difficult to figure out which channels work best for your business relationships. When you get it figured out, let me know. :)
  • This is a really good challenge. Perhaps this is the year we all realize the ubiquity of social media and determine what's worth doing. Or course, "worth" is a relative term. Some of us find value in personal socializing, while others of us troll for business. The point, though, is the same - do what's worth doing.
  • I think we should all be more like Seth and limit our points of contact. Seth recently did a podcast with Merlin Mann of 43folders.com where he explains why he limits himself. Basically the reason why he does it is so that he can focus more on 'being remarkable'. Great idea, that's what I'm going to be doing in 2010 :)
  • Mary
    Chris,

    Your post here makes me think you didn't plan out your focus on using Social Media but just jumped on the bandwagon of everything out there to see what happened. You definitely need to pare down what works the best and use those areas strictly for business and then set aside something for personal use. Then, just get rid of the areas you're not focusing on.....that way someone isn't "hanging around" waiting for a response from you.

    This is the biggest mistake people make when they get into social networking...they don't understand how everything works but they think they need to be involved in everything. The main thing to remember with this area is it's social...it has to be up-to-date and you, or someone, has to take the time to do something with it every day.

    Just my two cents worth...:-)

    Mary
  • It's interesting to me which forms of communication you've labeled as your most valuable: the most interactive and the most structured.

    In other words:
    * when communication is directly to you, you'd prefer it on your terms--and your contact form does exactly that.
    * when communication is offered in on the public web, you want it in places where others can partake--more people will benefit from your responses and more people can respond to others needs if you don't reply directly. Twitter is great for that, and it also happens to be rigidly structured--that 140 character limit makes it much easier to correspond in volume.

    The methods of communication you find less useful are direct, have really difficult structure, and perhaps even the highest barrier to access--LinkedIn. I could go through each of your communication methods talking about how structured they are, the involvement of public interaction, and the barriers...and I trust it'd match your order of preference.

    You have these preferences for a reason--when you deal in the volume you do, you need that structure and/or public value. And also, when you recognize these metrics it becomes easier to choose which existing communication methods to focus on and how to choose new ones.

    Unfortunately the answer for you is to encourage structured communication as much as possible for direct communication--much like you or (most notably for being strict about it) Merlin Mann have with contact forms. And when it comes to social networks where you're being contacted directly, you might consider directing them to your preferred method of contact instead.

    When it comes to social networks and indirect communication, you ought to look toward ways to redirect that communication to somewhere else that it's more discoverable. You can set up notifications with various applications, there are aggregators, there are pipes, there are summarizing tools, etc.

    No, this is far from a silver bullet of a solution. Ultimately the volume needs to decline (either the sites or the people) or the curation (by you, by tools, or by assistants) increase. But in the mean time, getting these contact methods (particularly the direct ones) into as few places and as structured ones as possible will be your best approach. Seth Godin has done a good job by pushing toward email, which is still an "organizable" method, but you can do that or go one further with your contact form.

    To be comfortable it's okay to ask people to go through a hoop or two. And I think recognizing your terms is the first step toward navigating those terms and suggesting them to others.
  • Rob
    Chris - You are a prominent member of the social media world and I don't even know how it would be that LinkedIn would be that much of a benefit for you. LinkedIn is good if you're trying to build connections with others who also use it, but I would imagine that anyone who would look for you there would already be well-informed on who you are and what you do. I think it's a great place for people that aren't renown as you are. That being said, I understand that the tools have to be useful and generate a return on time invested. For you, you have many other outlets that are providing a substantial return - who could blame you for focusing on those?
  • Hi Chris-
    As you mentioned, you make your living by connecting, and you obviously do a tremendous job. With this post, you've done what a lot of people struggle with: you've determined which mediums deliver the most value to you. You also recognize that you're getting overloaded and eliminating a few points of contact will actually make you more effective. I definitely subscribe to your logic.
    A lot of my clients are 'solopreneurs' with internet businesses and have 'shiny object syndrome.' They can't resist subscribing to every new social media outlet that comes along. They don't have someone dedicated to social marketing- they're it. For many, it's a serious time dump. When they whittle down their points of connection, they ultimately increase the effectiveness of their marketing campaign, and pay more attention to operating their business.
  • I don't mean to be making matters worse, BUT this problem is exacerbated by the variety of ways, e.g. devices, some of us have to access the diversity of services. Although specific services and circumstances, e.g. location, dictate my choices, I have the following "pecking order" for my devices:
    - iPod touch (I can't afford iPhone service :-)
    - netbook
    - Tablet PC
    - Windows Mobile phone (unless it's a voice call which would make this no. 1)
    - desktop computer in my office at school

    When I'm out, I always have my phone (and usually my iPod touch) and I've been taking the netbook with me more and more. On top of carrying multiple devices, there is the additional burden of "caring and feeding" all of these devices (I haven't mentioned the other 2 laptops in the family! :-)

    It doesn't get any better, does it?
  • What I "hear" you saying is, "Work the social media avenues that do what you need." And for that I say, "Thank you!" I feel the pressure to sign on and keep up with everything, but some of those platforms are more work than benefit for me. If I try to keep up with all of them, I won't get anything else accomplished. I think it is better to pour my time into avenues that work and let the others go for now until they become something I truly need.
  • kruresearch
    Chris, great post on the rapidly growing contact points. Tim Ferris had a recent post about declaring Facebook bankruptcy, where he finally just deleted everything to start over so he could get current again.

    Re: LinkedIn...don't delete! I find it's a great current address book. People change email addresses all the time and might not notify you, but they update their LinkedIn. Also, it's a great recruiting tool. Next time you need a hard to find person, let your recruiter/admin do some searching in LinkedIn and odds are a guy like you will already be connected to them and can ping them a msg about the opportunity.

    Cheers, Kevin
  • Chris, this is a thoughtful analysis and in reading through some of the comments below I wanted to point out that this is not about choosing which social media outlet is better than others. It's about taking a step back and analyzing what is working for you and shifting focus to where the hot-spots are. Each one of us has our own style - Linkedin may work well as a connecting point for some, Twitter for others. The important lesson here is instead of running yourself ragged, analyze, use what works, and trim the fat.
  • Chris - I think you're on to something here.

    I am not on LinkedIn. Never have been. Many people are surprised by that. Just Google this phrase to find out my thinking - "why I am not on linkedin"

    There's so many points of contact that work so well. Why maintain one that isn't valuable?
  • Nancy Quinn
    Chris -

    So great to meet you yesterday in MKE (and funny that you posted this just as I asked you to connect via LinkedIn - no need to accept!)

    Your post is reassuring. I am a little overwhelmed by all of the tools and the feeling that you need to be a part of all of them. What you talk about in Trust Agents - and here - is reassuring: it is not the tool you use but how you use it. That ultimately it is about being connected.

    LinkedIn is a great connection tool for me. It was the first social media tool I signed up for - then Facebook, then Twitter.

    For me, it is a professional online rolodex. I can honestly say that it played a prominent roll in my finding a new job after the bookshops closed.

    Bottom line - figure out what tools work to for you to stay connected and use them.

    BTW - love the @ajbombers video too!
  • Excellent points, Chris. A lot of people miss each other because we're paying attention to different points of contact.

    I don't use the phone at all, because I need to concentrate and be immersed in what I do to be effective. I can't be bothered with phones ringing and checking who it is and whether I have anything to say to them.

    Meanwhile. Everything I have is connected through my eMail. I check that when I feel like it and when I do, I'm focused on it. Lots of people don't use eMail, but you can reach them by texting them. More people aren't available by text, but you can DM them on twitter...

    There are lots of ways that we can communicate with each other at this point and it's up to the person who really needs the contact to fit themselves into the mode that the person they're trying to contact uses.
  • Linda
    Thanks for the timely post! I'm on both Twitter and Linked in, and neither are doing much for me. Mike Hyatt (CEO of Thomas Nelson) said that it only took 30 minutes a day and that was easy to post toTwitter. The problem is that it isn't easy to post because Twitter isn't interesting for me. I have to remind myself to open it up and post, so I end up not having many posts. It was fun at first, probably because it was new, but it rapidly became too routine (the kiss of death for me).

    Linked in a different situation. I'm a writer--though unpublished in novel territory--and I've found that many of the writing related places on Linked In end up invariably veering away from publishing professionally and discussing self-publishing. I'm not going to self-publish, so these discussion are very unhelpful, I end up staying away and visiting periodically, but it isn't just worth my time.

    So I've been thinking at least about cancelling my Twitter account. Or focusing more on my blog, which does post to Twitter. But even that's gotten a bit routine for me, so I'm having to think about how to change it up so I'm not bored with it.
  • I don't have a LinkedIn account and this post confirms my suspicion that i don't need one, so thanks for that! I like the immediacy of Twitter - 140 characters is just the right length for a message that gets straight to the point. I have a contact form on my website, so when those messages reach my inbox i know they are from there. Daily email i try to stay on top of (and fail miserably most of the time). Facebook is great for informal chats with readers; blog comments give my readers a forum to contribute to, which i love. I rarely use the phone - only for family & friends.

    For me the most stress comes from my inbox - i like to reply personally to every message - every person who reaches out is wanting to connect with me and not an assistant, so i do my best to be there for them. In a year's time that may not be possible. My business blurs the line between professional and personal, and i am always trying to find ways to be available without feeling like an automaton plugged into the machine. It's an interesting dance.

    Great post, Chris. and a timely one, too.
  • This is really interesting. I'm a slow convert to Facebook but find it really useful. Twitter I'm yet to get, I can see how useful it is but I just can't feel comfortable with it myself as yet. My blog is very important (not the one I'm commenting from which is a new work related one, but my personal one). The value of each form of social networking is very different personal vs business. But yes sometimes I also feel overconnected...
  • I thought you were planning your future using Wave, not Voice. If that's not a misprint, I'd love to fear how you're using Voice. You're stories of using Wave have helped me generate more usefulness out of the tool.

    LinkedIn is not useful for me, either. It's not a bad thing, it's just redundant. I have an account for the same reason I have a MySpace account: I haven't bothered to delete it.

    Reducing digital points of contact for me is more about reducing redundancy. I don't need several networks with the same people in them. I'd rather develop one or two really strong networks than try to find time for a handful of them.
  • Totally a misprint. Thank you for pointing it out. : )
  • And then there was my mistyping of fear for hear. Paging Dr. Freud!
  • I am always irritated by blogs that do not provide an option for comments. To me one of the big draws of blogging is the interaction. If you cannot comment than that kills one of the primary functions.

    You are absolutely correct about trying to manage points of contact. I have 9 active email addresses that are all for business. It sometimes makes me crazy to have so many but it provides the easiest and most effective way to filter things.

    The rule I use for points of contact is a simple question of can I demonstrate present value. What I mean by that is can I easily see how it leads to something that adds value business/personal.

    If it is not obvious to me than it is relegated to the time suck pile.
  • To a degree we need to meet people where they are. However, by communicating the best way to contact and connect with you is a way to transition folks from one means to another. Set the right expectations and people respond to them. Seth Godin has done that by removing the comments section and filtering communication through email.

    I am not sure if there is an aggregation tool that brings all correspondences to one place. It would be cool too if you could respond in like kind (twitter, linkedin, facebook, etc) to how it is received. I like how gmail lets me bring in all of my emails and then I can respond from the same channel I received it.
  • Chris

    LinkedIn is a bit more demanding of time than other sites. People want to connect and do want more of an immediate response. LinkedIn has made some great strides to encourage interactions especially with the the new changing coming with the tagging of connections and mini-profiles. It is interesting where we all find what works best for us. OpenForum and LinkedIn are for me very good places to be as both have had referrals where my contact page is not always the place that people reach out.

    I think that as we decide what profiles will have the most activity from us the decision is really about the ones where the people we want to connect with most active. Trimming back many times is not something we plan on, it many times happens as we get busier. Ah geez, one less connection on LI, what is a girl to do?
  • I revamped my LinkedIn account because of you. Although, I actually agree with this post and your reasoning. Even though I revamped my account, its still not place I'm active enough in and I see it more for 'employers/employees' and considering I'm an investor with no interest of ever working for anyone it's not a benefit for me in that aspect.

    I'm not in the employer mode either, I could use it to find outsourcing prospects to handle things I need done but I have plenty of relationships already that it makes it easier for me to get it done.

    For someone using it for what I believe it's primary platform use of 'networking' of cubicle farmers I see it having value. For someone like me who would go postal if I ever had to sit in a cubicle next to the stapler guy from 'Office Space' I don't really see the value even though you temporarily convinced me of it in your book (which I love by the way)

    Kill it! focus on the few that work the best for you and I bet you'll see an increase of productivity and client base.
  • Guest
    Yes, but it is essentially the same as a Facebook friend request; easily accepted and doesn't require the involvement of a third person to "introduce" you. This was one of the main things Chris mentioned in his post for being a reason he was considering deleting his LinkedIn account.

    I personally think people are far more accepting of it taking a few days for a connection request than they may be for an "introduction." The introduction feature was created so that you can try and connect to people that you don't have their email address. This, of course, is a great feature for those that do not want to connect with people they have not met in person. For those of us that are comfortable with meeting virtually first, then in person later, the feature feels like an annoyance.
  • Hi Chris,
    I agree we're all dealing with this, which is why I believe there's a big future in curating of information, and writers who can really cut through the noise with relevant information for readers.

    At its core, I think you simply have to admit that too many people are reaching out to you. Therefore you need to hire more assistants, or trim your contact points, or simply build a hierarchy of who gets your attention. Time is always the constant, so it's only logical to scrap what works the least for you. For me, Facebook is for friends or people I know personally. LinkedIn works great for targeted contacts of potential clients, and building a brand, and Twitter works in pretty much the same way you mentioned. And that's all I have time for.

    It's no different online than in real life. When too many people have access, something inevitably has to give. It's just a matter of if you choose what you eliminate, or if it defaults to whatever isn't high on your priority list.
  • sarahsoczka
    This is something I've started to think about as I open more social media accounts.

    On one hand I feel the need to be everywhere because everyone likes to be contacted differently. Every journalist, co-worker and friend has their communication preference. If I delete one social network will I miss out on talking to some people entirely? On the other hand, a person can only keep up with so many inboxes.

    I'm not sure what the solution is yet. I prefer e-mail and texting, so I have lots of social networks set to ping my e-mail inbox when I receive a personal message.

    At the end of the day the people who really want to contact you will take the time to learn your preferred method of communication, and the others? Well, they might have to wait a little longer.
  • I've had to drop several social networks simply for the fact that I just didn't have the time to be useful on them. I had set up automatic updates and would use Ping.fm to send out interesting posts to share, but I wasn't spending the time on the other profiles to communicate and engage...more like a broadcaster than a communicator or friend..and that's the last thing I want to be.

    My main point of interest is in my own blog community and the interaction there, but I find that more people are tweeting a comment rather than leaving it on my blog. Twitter brings me traffic, I have a nice group of friends there, and I like the fast pace so it's a keeper.

    For me, Facebook is where I touch bases with my family & friends, play around a little and, like you...cut loose in my comments. I just despise the constant spam, group invites, wall emblems, etc etc etc. But I use Networked Blogs and a few daily updates to stay engaged. (One confession that I do have -- I can become totally engrossed and deadly competitive when challenged in Bejeweled...so beware.)

    LinkedIn takes a bit more work, but I'm really starting to enjoy using the different tools and apps they offer without all the spam and MLM junk I get on Facebook. I really like LinkedIn Events app and see a great potential there to build & engage with a community built around an event. I use the automatic notification for discussions I follow so I can respond quickly.

    Seems to be working ok so far, but then I'm not Chris Brogan. :)
  • thomsinger
    If LinkedIn was a public company I would short the stock tomorrow based on the fact that Chris Brogan stated he does not use it and might cancel his account (like when Brocoli sales dropped when George Bush 41 said the veggie was not to ever be served at the White House). :)
  • Each person's experience is personal, and each person needs to decide on his/her preferred method of contact - noting that one's preferred method of contact may change over time. (Before August 2009, FriendFeed would be an ideal way to contact Robert Scoble. Not any more.)

    I like the way that Michael Hanscom handles the situation. He has a presence on MySpace, but solely uses it to specify the best ways to contact him (MySpace not being among them).

    If I may veer into the personal, I would understand completely if you were to choose to delete your LinkedIn presence. You and I are connected via LinkedIn, and that potentially helps me to connect to various social media people, and it potentially helps you to connect to various biometrics people, but that's about it in terms of benefits to the two of us. I would never dream of asking you for a recommendation, because you do not know me well enough to do so. And I don't see a situation in which you would necessarily ask me for a recommendation. So does a LinkedIn presence truly benefit you?

    There are a number of things that are important. There are fewer things that are very important. There are only a few things that are extremely important. We all need to ditch the important stuff so that we can concentrate on the extremely important stuff.
  • I think you're right on here, Chris. There are a gazillion social networks, and I think some people feel like they need to be on all of them. But you're right, if being on too many networks means you're neglecting folks (as in your LinkedIn case), then it's time to cut back. I do think LinkedIn has some nice features but seriously, we all know who you are and we're obviously going to know how to connect with you if we need to. :)

    Honestly, I'd rather be super effective and engaging on one social network than spread out and sort of effective on 20 of them.
  • There are definitely many points of contact that we can have, and it's easy to become overwhelmed. We need to pick and choose our battles based on the value that we can give/receive to the network.

    For me it's mainly my blog(s), Twitter, and contact forms on my site. I do very little via email or phone. For those very close contacts and customers, I have them on IM.

    I too haven't gotten too into Facebook or LinkedIn, though I am looking more at LinkedIn and think I have it a bit figured out. Time will tell.
  • I happen to like Linked In but it is a point of contact that works for me. I've limited mine to my web contact form, blog, twitter, Linked In, email (business & personal) & phone. I really can't handle any more than that. I think you need to set your limits and do what works for you in the time you have available. I don't have a staff - so I have to work with what I've got - and it's me.
  • First off I kinda wish I had your problems:-) But more seriously I think there's a lot of social pressure out there to look connected when very little connection actually happens. I used to work for a large (now defunct) bank where social status was expressed by who had their blackberry out in the elevator, not only did those 'important' people miss connecting with the live people six inches away but I question the quality of the communication they were sending. If asked I'm sure they would have sworn it was absolutely critical to their business.

    Just like my closet, I get rid of the profiles and technology I don't use or don't feel good about using but that's going to be a different list for everyone.
  • If your contact form truly accelerates meaningful follow-up, you might do well by wrapping the form inside an AwayFind.com facility whereby the form DMs you. I've set up mine that way and it improves my communications flow while reducing places I have to look.
  • I've tried to limit my exposure to items that can come to me on my Blackberry (soon to be I phone). If someone connects on Linkedin, Facebook or Twitter, or leaves a post on my blog or tries to contact me the old fashion way (cell phone), I always have the contact information or last communication at my fingertip-literally. Linkedin helps me see who is connected in a business sense (for the most part), as opposed to Facebook or Twitter where it seems that a lot of the connections are more vague.

    Even so, I agree with Paul M. I'd like to step off of the bus every now and then and enjoy.
  • Hi Chris,
    For me and our business (a small non profit arts org) each of the contact points has special value, and is differentiated. I don't think people expect conversation on LinkedIn, but I think it has a place in the mix.
    For us e-mail is primary, facebook is secondary, and we post via twitter to FB.
    The MOST important points of contact, and those which we put the most energy into are face to face in our building, and voice via phone - particularly when phone is incoming.
    Good luck with it,
    Best,
    Steve
  • You've hit on a key point here, Chris. There is too much of too many things in our modern world. We are forced to choose - and often many things (and people) get lost in those choices.

    "Stop the world, I want to get off." (That's a bit simplistic, but sometimes it would be nice if we could slow processes down without things getting lost in the mix.)
  • I think LinkedIn still has a good place in the social media realm. I have adopted a technique I've noticed several others doing: I put my email address (a special one - linkedin@michaelcarwile.com) directly in my summary and have invited people to use that to add me to their network.

    It gets around LinkedIn's "protections" and allows people to connect even before they have met in person (or have happened to get the other person's business card).

    I have been able to connect with several people through this, both outbound invites and inbound. Maybe if you did the same, you wouldn't feel as bad about making people wait? I really think dropping LinkedIn - at this point - is still not a good idea, but that's me.
  • Good point, Michael. I just read that on one of Dan Schawbel's posts and added an email address to the bottom of my summary, too. But, even if they have your email I was under the impression that it just allowed someone you'd never met to send you an invite as a friend...I thought it still sent an invitation to be approved. No?
  • Yes, but it is essentially the same as a Facebook friend request; easily accepted and doesn't require the involvement of a third person to "introduce" you. This was one of the main things Chris mentioned in his post for being a reason he was considering deleting his LinkedIn account.

    I personally think people are far more accepting of it taking a few days for a connection request than they may be for an "introduction." The introduction feature was created so that you can try and connect to people that you don't have their email address. This, of course, is a great feature for those that do not want to connect with people they have not met in person. For those of us that are comfortable with meeting virtually first, then in person later, the feature feels like an annoyance.
blog comments powered by Disqus

Previous post:

Next post: