Recently, several friends decided to hit the "reset" button on FB as of late. They've gone as far as deleting their profiles and disengaging with the throngs of friends & followers accumulated over the years. After a quick straw poll to understand why, most tell me the main reason is that social media is taking over their lives. A recent Nielsen study called the social media report, indicates that Americans spend a whopping 23% of their time on social media sites. This is a huge time killer.
Companies are taking notice too. My company's IT department reported that Youtube, Facebook, Pandora, and Netflix alone were taking up 50% of our company's bandwidth. Obviously, some folks are spending an inordinate amount of time here. The company is now cracking down on social media usage by blocking sites from our network.
Let's face it, social media can be a big waste of time. So, I can't blame others for hitting the "reset" button when it takes over. But, I personally have to believe there's a better way. I have 3 strategies that I think can make the social media much more meaningful and simpler. It does require some legwork, but you may be happy with the result:
- Find influential Friends - Do you find yourself scrolling through post headlines, which may have no meaning whatsoever, and you look at the clock and an hour has passed? If you don't like what your friends have to say, maybe you should think about getting closer to the friends outside your immediate circle. Interestingly enough, research indicates that your close friends are less influential in your life than you think. Sometimes the distant friends you keep tabs on (we know you do), are the ones you really want to get closer to, according to this article from the Telegraph.
- Prune your network: Remember, it's ok to de-friend people. Fast Company just wrote a nice article on how to leave FB without really leaving. Personally, I like what Social Media consultant, Joshua Newelt, say about categorizing your friends into two buckets: "linear vs. non-linear friends." So, that friend you met at the Halloween party last year, who you haven't spoken to since, is probably "non-linear"versus your best friend you've known for years who should be your "linear" friend. You can de-friend accordingly from there. However, if it's your best friend you want to de-friend, I suggest you take some tips from NY-Times writer Alex Williams.
- Curate the content you want to see "smartly" - Try using Pinterest, Twitter, Paper.li, or Tumblr. As TED speaker Jonathan Harris says, "curation is replacing creation." These content curation sites will enable you to filter out the noise and follow friends, people, news, bloggers, or influential people who truly matter to you. You'll be amazed at what kind of interesting things will flow to you when you follow the right people who share your interests. I personally love to follow people interested in leadership, design, social entrepreneurs, and storytellers.
Marvin Abrinica
