Just recently I felt the urge to update all my social networks and to do some housekeeping on all my e mail-accounts inside and outside the social networks. Saying this you can already see that I’m not the kind of person being always present in the digital world, although I’m heavily using text-messages, skype and arguably e mails and if you would take away my blackberry I might need a while - if not a longer while - to adopt to the fact not having information on my finger tips, when I decide to have them.
But I also like to decide when I would like to get in contact with the crowds and folks on the social networks; hence I do not have all short cuts on my blackberry but go online in the evening at home using my beloved Mac book. And now we are getting to the point, doing this it is so easy to forget time and space and surf from one link to another, following tags on the latest tweets, answering friends, updating profiles, walls and whatever else, watching clips on you tube of my favored stars and digging in their history following wikipedia and ongoing links... so hours pass by easily and all of a sudden I might realize I burned just another midnight oil in the virtual world without having seen anyone that night in the flash.
Having done this some evenings in a row I realized that it could become quite challenging, to take the decision: social networks or meeting up with friends for drinks and a nice chat?
Well, I was asking myself how do the others cope with it, as I do know quite a lot of people who are present at every party at night but also active in social networking online. Maybe they are younger and much more used to combine those two worlds or what is the clue? I do not want to sound like a dinosaurs but have to admit that I changed my behavior with every new upcoming trend online-whereas GenY grow up with it and can not think of keeping up with friends differently.
However as our time budget is limited, even more if you spend long hours at work and respect the rules not chatting with your friends via face book, linked in, twitter, Xing, and others during working hours, you need probably pencil dates and appointments into your dairy when to meet in the virtual world and when you do your updates and digital house keeping.
I for sure will still give preference to anything that will happen in the real world with my friends. So keeping up with my social networks will have to come in second, form a private perspective for sure. On a professional perspective I can not think not to use all of the digital treasure every day, also driven by the fact that more and more clients stay in contact with you on social networks and not always only as friends. And all the facts and rumors you can read about the products of your clients online on so many blogs and opinion sites.
Now I could go on with some reflexions about blogs, but that will have to wait until the next time.
So see you online and don’t forget your friends in the real world…otherwise you might end up like http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYoAwfh4QOU. Bye.
Hannelore Grams
Business Director, OgilvyOne Middle East, Bahrain
Hannelore brings 20 + years of experience and expertise in CRM Consultancy, Strategic digital communication consultancy, social media training and business development.
For rants and raves please click here.