What "social networking" stuff do you do

[oreally]

Let's try this again.....

Curious. Personally I find the obsession w/this stuff bizarro if not pathetic.

[gotpasswords]

Only Facebook, and not willingly. It's become the default ways for the acting troupes at Faire to communicate, and it's not even very good for that.

[Baron Greenback]

Says someone asking for opinions on a social network. And not very competently either.

[GuanoLad]

It's far from pathetic. My only problem with them is their specifics, which can be interfering, lazy, dangerous, or just plain ugly. Their reason for existence is fine by me.

I use Twitter, but in the old days used to use ICQ, when it was way more social and dynamic, and of course messageboards and comment threads, like on IO9 or even YouTube sometimes. Not sure if that counts as social networking.

Oh yeah, I also recently signed up on Google+, but I keep forgetting. I don't think I'll stay.

[Der Trihs]

None; unless the SDMB and a few other message boards counts as "social networking". I especially avoid Twitter; both the style and the name annoy me.

[oreally]

Originally Posted by Baron Greenback

Says someone asking for opinions on a social network. And not very competently either.

Thx for the snotty reply. Classy, mature, AND intelligent. The hat trick! Dude you like all totally rock. PS thx for proving my point.

[voltaire]

Look, I'm not into social networking at all, but what did you expect when you started off the thread insulting a good percentage of the respondents?

BTW, how/why did you start this thread in Cafe Society? I'll report it for you.

[Sampiro]

I used MySpace years ago and never cancelled my account, so I suppose I still have one. I signed up for Twitter and Linkedin but have never done anything with either of them. Facebook I update about 84 times per day.

[Der Trihs]

Originally Posted by voltaire

BTW, how/why did you start this thread in Cafe Society? I'll report it for you.

It sure seems like a Cafe Society subject to me.

[Sudden Kestrel]

I have no social with which to network, so None.

[oreally]

Originally Posted by voltaire

Look, I'm not into social networking at all, but what did you expect when you started off the thread insulting a good percentage of the respondents?

BTW, how/why did you start this thread in Cafe Society? I'll report it for you.

How did I insult "a good percentage" of the respondents? First I have no idea who the "respondents" will be, second note I said "obsession with," not anyone whoever uses any of them.

I won't even start on the fallacy/idiocy of calling my OP "incompetent," which makes no sense whatsoever.

As for stating it in this forum, I'm fine with it being moved wherever - and clearly you're all fired up about reporting it, so knock yourself out.

[voltaire]

Originally Posted by oreally

How did I insult "a good percentage" of the respondents? First I have no idea who the "respondents" will be, second note I said "obsession with," not anyone whoever uses any of them.

So you think it unlikely that there will be avid users of social networking here, on an internet message board? Yeah, I doubt that. I'm beginning to see your angle - guess I fell for it.

I won't even start on the fallacy/idiocy of calling my OP "incompetent," which makes no sense whatsoever.

That's mighty kind of you, since I didn't say that.

As for stating it in this forum, I'm fine with it being moved wherever - and clearly you're all fired up about reporting it, so knock yourself out.

I'm clearly fired up? Or is that just what you were hoping to accomplish?

(Looks at join date) And I'm out.

[pancakes3]

specifically, you're expecting people who use social media to reply even if you do find the practice bizarre and pathetic.

what if i started a thread that said "what's not to get about social media? curious. i suspect those who don't 'get it' are friendless and probably smells of urine." ?

as for answering your question, i use facebook mainly for the pictures and partially to stay in touch with friends. i have a twitter and as with most people, i tried to use it to follow news/celebrities, not to generate my own tweets. however, like most people (i suspect), keeping up with twitter is exhausting and so it's fallen by the wayside. i use spotify to get music. it's convenient, legal, and free/cheap. recently i've been logging into google+ more and more because the "explore" link is like a reddit feed except with less hate and sarcasm.

[FairyChatMom]

I have a LiveJournal account where I post occasionally, so I voted Other. I tried and quit Facebook and Twitter. I'm on LinkedIn, but since I forget to go there, I don't think it counts. Mostly, I just can't get into an electronic social life. I've found the more connected I am, the more it annoys me.

[DrFidelius]

Wow. I forgot about my LiveJournal account. Let me blow the dust off it and see if it still works...

[Lsura]

My main one is FriendFeed - it was bought by Facebook a few years ago, mostly as a talent grab, I think, but it's been interesting to see some of the features brought over. There's a great core group there - but I don't know where we'll end up when/if FB takes it down eventually.

[AHunter3]

Define "do". I have a LinkedIn account and a Facebook account. I log into LinkedIn maybe 4 times a year and find it 99.99% useless. I log into Facebook maybe once every other week, usually promted by some person posting a message which then sends me an email telling me that someone left me a message on Facebook. (Therefore slower and clumsier than just sending me an email). I don't get Facebook, it's motif (big freaking unabridged gloppy page of everycomment by everybody) just doesn't work for me.

[Anaamika]

Here
LJ
Google plus (yes, I do use it, and yes, there is life)

I tried and quite FB. Never tried Twitter. Keep thinking I should make a Linked In account - maybe after I start school.


That's it.

[Jack Batty]

SDMB is my major social networking thingie ... though not so much now that I live in the middle of practically nowhere (ME) instead of smack dab in the middle of everything (SF).

I post to Facebook about once a month, whenever I remember I have a Facebook page. My last post was an hilarious comparison of the US Olympic Basketball team to the Harlem Globetrotters: "Who's giving odds on the Washington Generals?" yuk yuk

I used to love LiveJournal: a thinking man's Facebook. But that community seems to be deader than disco.

And just this week I've decided to create a Linked-In page in preparation for looking for a new job, or possibly career (I haven't lost my old one, but I need a change).

[Chefguy]

I have a FB account so I can sort of keep track of grown kids' activities. Two of them never post there anymore, so it's kind of a bust at this point. I really hate that this has taken the place of actual conversation.

[Inner Stickler]

Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ mostly. I have a Diaspora account but I think I've logged in to that like twice.

[Loach]

Why would I lower myself to the level of the masses by using Facebook.

[Hello Again]

LinkedIn I use as a self-updating rolodex. I find it handy to know when former colleagues, college pals, etc., change jobs and what they're doing. If I think "didn't so-and-so" work for the state department?" I just just look and see instead of tracking them down, bothering them, and waiting for an answer. I don't use the "social networking" features except to send an occasional message.

Facebook is just for keeping track of friends, staying updated on what their babies are currently doing, pictures of their cats/dogs/recently published novel, and whatever they're cooking for dinner. I don't use it for any employment related purpose, and I don't facebook with family, ever.

There's a lot of social networking options I don't use, but twitter is the only one that makes me feel old and confused (and I'm under 40). Every time I try to wrap my brain around it, my brain resists strenuously.

[Silver Tyger]

I use Facebook, Livejournal, and Dreamwidth. I have a LinkedIn account that I don't look at.

I'm not social. I don't go to bars and stuff. A lot of my friends live hours away. So Facebook is an easy way to see what they're doing (once I blocked all the game updates).

[kushiel]

I use Facebook a lot - I'm at the age where all my friends are starting to settle down with careers and we're scattered over different cities, so it's a good way to communicate as a group. Plus they're cheapasses who only have cell phones but no long distance plans. Long distance plans are becoming obsolete with a lot of younger people.

I also voted LinkedIn, but I only use it because my coworkers try to add me.

[Švejk]

As someone who lives an ocean away from the majority of his family and friends, I absolutely love facebook, and I struggle to understand why this would seem bizarre to anyone, let alone pathetic. It's a low-cost, low-threshold way to keep in touch and in some cases reconnect with friends. Trans-atlantic phonecalls are expensive, skype and email only solve that to a limited degree, and besides calling or emailing people can take more energy than I'm willing or able to commit. In addition, it works reasonably well for planning events and getting friends together, which is a function I find useful. FB has not replaced any conversations in my life, but rather has contributed to the extent that I'm in touch with both close friends and family, as well as more casual acquaintances.

[kushiel]

Originally Posted by Švejk

As someone who lives an ocean away from the majority of his family and friends, I absolutely love facebook, and I struggle to understand why this would seem bizarre to anyone, let alone pathetic. It's a low-cost, low-threshold way to keep in touch and in some cases reconnect with friends. Trans-atlantic phonecalls are expensive, skype and email only solve that to a limited degree, and besides calling or emailing people can take more energy than I'm willing or able to commit. In addition, it works reasonably well for planning events and getting friends together, which is a function I find useful. FB has not replaced any conversations in my life, but rather has contributed to the extent that I'm in touch with both close friends and family, as well as more casual acquaintances.

I think a lot of people who don't understand Facebook have most of their friends in the same city, probably see them once a week for beer and wings night and keep up with family by calling once a month. The beauty of Facebook, for me, is for the people you don't see every week.

[Michael63129]

I voted other, since while I have a Facebook page, I only put it up so I'd have something "out there"; it only has some personal details and not much else. I also have accounts on various sites, some which might be considered social networks, but mainly just so I can post a comment if I want to (although I only bother to sign up if it is something I regularly read).

[Anaamika]

Originally Posted by Švejk

As someone who lives an ocean away from the majority of his family and friends, I absolutely love facebook, and I struggle to understand why this would seem bizarre to anyone, let alone pathetic. It's a low-cost, low-threshold way to keep in touch and in some cases reconnect with friends. Trans-atlantic phonecalls are expensive, skype and email only solve that to a limited degree, and besides calling or emailing people can take more energy than I'm willing or able to commit. In addition, it works reasonably well for planning events and getting friends together, which is a function I find useful. FB has not replaced any conversations in my life, but rather has contributed to the extent that I'm in touch with both close friends and family, as well as more casual acquaintances.

Who cares if people think it's bizarre or pathetic? It works for you. I'm really glad it does - no sarcasm. people just like to judge, that's their job. Enjoy it - while I was on it, I used it for the same thing, to talk to people in India.

[Procrustus]

Of the items listed, I have only a LinkedIn account. Not sure what to do with it, but I am linked to a hundred or so other "professionals."

[Caffeine.addict]

Facebook is perfect for keeping up with people whom you like enough to want to know how they are doing, but not enough to actually want to interact with them.

I use Twitter primarily as a feed to follow local news. It lets me keep up with whats going on and I can find interesting articles without having to hunt for them.

[neuroman]

LinkedIn only, but I've had accounts on Facebook and Myspace in the past. I don't really consider LinkedIn to be a social networking site though--its function for me is to see who has changed jobs and stuff like that. There is really nothing "social" about it.

[Kaio]

Internet fora are social media, so literally everyone here on the SDMB is on social media.

That said, I manage my theatre company's marketing, which is primarily social media. So we have

• a blog
• a Facebook fan page
• Twitter
• a Google+ page
• a YouTube account
• and currently, (shameless plug) an indiegogo campaign

We also do outreach on The Steampunk Empire, though the other company members are largely responsible for that. And we incorporate QR codes in our print materials to bridge the gap between offline and online.

I do less personal networking on social media, but I keep it up for professional networking purposes. Most of the Chicago performing arts community are on Facebook. I have LinkedIn for marketing/day job jobhunting/networking, which is better than nothing (I've gotten some leads, but nothing that's panned out) but not as effective as it pretends to be. Twitter is where all the social media marketing folks are, same with G+. Flikr is where the photographers are and also serves as a portfolio. About the only thing I do that's almost strictly for entertainment value is the Dope.

I may get involved in Pinterest if they ever make their intellectual property policies play nice.

[charmstr]

I'm actually signed up on Google+, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. Oh, and some music/online radio site too. I check Facebook about once a week but really only post there when I've been drinking (which these days is once or twice a year). I haven't looked at Twitter in over a year, I can't even remember the name of the music site, and while I did sign up for Google+ and LinkedIn, I've never been back since then. So I picked "other."

On the other hand, I spend a lot of time on here and on Goodreads.

[Eliahna]

I'm on Facebook and Google +. If all my friends would move to the latter, I'd drop the former. I have a Twitter account but it's largely dormant now (2006/2007 were my big Twitter years). I also have Instagram now but for me it's a camera app that just happens to have a social network attached, not a social network that lets you take photos.

Last night I chatted on Facebook for a couple of hours to a guy in the US who is a very, very distant cousin and we discovered that his job has had him in contact with my old workplace, we got a lead on tracking down his old schoolfriend who moved to Australia in the 60s and we shared Google Maps data to show off our neighbourhoods to each other. That was really, really cool. Thanks, social networking!

[Smapti]

I don't have a Facebook and I refuse to ever create one because I don't like the company's business practices, its leadership, or its information-gathering.

I have a Twitter that I post to very rarely when I have some random thought I feel like sharing with nobody in particular ("nobody in particular" being a good description of my 17 followers.)

[Rachellelogram]

How dare people interact with others in a text-based format that allows them to type out messages at their leisure, in between reading the messages of others!? This is an outraeg!

[MsWhatsit]

I do assloads of social networking, on Facebook, G+, and Twitter. It amuses me to do so.

[jabiru]

Originally Posted by oreally

Personally I find the obsession w/this stuff bizarro if not pathetic.

Good for you.

[jtur88]

I have a facebook account with absolutely no information about me, for two reasons:

1. It enables me to search for people if I want to (and I occasionally do)

2. My sister can post her family photos on it, without emailing me files of them, and I can ignore them without being chided for never replying to the posts.

[blondebear]

I mostly hang out here and at another forum. I've had a blog for years but 99.9% of my friends and relatives are much too busy on FB to view or comment on it. Fine with me.

[Trinopus]

Originally Posted by AHunter3

Define "do". I have a LinkedIn account and a Facebook account. I log into LinkedIn maybe 4 times a year and find it 99.99% useless. . . .

LinkedIn is a little bit fun...but not much...and a little bit useful...but not much. It helped me find someone I needed to talk to, so that was nice.

I don't chat or jaw or twit; the Straight Dope is my only concession to online conversation. (I've gotten a lot of REALLY good answers here!)

[CanvasShoes]

Only facebook and only to keep up with my real life friends and family who live in other states.

[Onomatopoeia]

For me, it's pretty much the SDMB.

I have a LInkedIn account that I haven't been back to since I set it up; I couldn't care less about the employment status of people I used to work with.

I haven't used FaceBook in years. I don't get it, and don't feel I'm missing anything by not getting it.

Twitter seems more inane than FaceBook to me, if that's even possible.

I have a Google+ account that I keep telling myself I'll tinker around with at some point. Yeah, okay.

I have a couple of YouTube accounts that have been sitting unused for a few of years. I read they've changed how user channels function a couple of times, but I don't care enough to log in and check it out for myself.

[jackdavinci]

I'm technically on MySpace but stopped bothering with it once Facebook let non students in. I use Twitter and Google+ almost as much.

Livejournal has kind of been replaced by Tumblr, though I'm thinking of transitioning to my own WordPress.

I like the atmosphere on Tribes.net and some of the features, but use it more to interact with strangers than people I really know.

Diaspora seemed like a good idea but has been slowly limping along.

Not sure why people can't simply enjoy different things, or find them to be useful tools, without one of the parties having to be pathetic.

[DrumBum]

I became a passive user of LinkedIn when colleagues started sending me requests. I didn't want to be rude and ignore them so I started accepting them but I have done nothing to populate my own profile. I don't use any of the other social networking applications.

[olivesmarch4th]

Originally Posted by Švejk

As someone who lives an ocean away from the majority of his family and friends, I absolutely love facebook, and I struggle to understand why this would seem bizarre to anyone, let alone pathetic. It's a low-cost, low-threshold way to keep in touch and in some cases reconnect with friends. Trans-atlantic phonecalls are expensive, skype and email only solve that to a limited degree, and besides calling or emailing people can take more energy than I'm willing or able to commit. In addition, it works reasonably well for planning events and getting friends together, which is a function I find useful. FB has not replaced any conversations in my life, but rather has contributed to the extent that I'm in touch with both close friends and family, as well as more casual acquaintances.

This pretty much nails it for me. I live 14 hours from home. I have a friend living in Taiwan and another in Japan. My grandmother likes to know what I'm up to. If it weren't for Facebook, I wouldn't know my Great Uncle was such an awesome person, or be able to bond with kids I knew in high school. Not to mention if your friends aren't brain dead, there are a lot of interesting conversations on Facebook, and typically much more civil than the rest of the internet.

I do use LinkedIn because as a recent graduate it was like Finding a Job 101. I just try to keep it current and stay in touch with my colleagues because I'm sure someday I'll need to call in a favor or vice-versa. LinkedIn is kind of the ultimate expression of It's All Who You Know. And it gives prospective employers (or even partner organizations) something professional-looking to google. If I'm going to approach someone I don't know about some important element of business, I want to know as much as possible about what they do. In my field (social work) social networking is critical.

[AHunter3]

Originally Posted by Trinopus

LinkedIn is a little bit fun...but not much...and a little bit useful...but not much. It helped me find someone I needed to talk to, so that was nice.

I don't chat or jaw or twit; the Straight Dope is my only concession to online conversation. (I've gotten a lot of REALLY good answers here!)

I would find it more useful except that my profession is UNusual, insofar as no two positions have been in the same industry and experience doing work in a given industry has very little bearing on how qualified you are to work in that same industry. (I develop databases). So former coworkers have seldom been useful for getting new employment.