The Top 4 social networking places you will find me in 2012

image by Rosaura Ochoa

When you look at the many social media options out there, it gets confusing. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, YouTube, and many more. Not only that, they change. The image above was a 2009 image.

Think about what we would call important now. Certain networks work best for most people and there are some that you will feel comfortable using.

Too many apps?

I find myself in the career industry looking at new applications all the time. If I was a job seeker, I would be very confused. BeKnown, Branchout, and many more lesser known ones are crying for your attention. As a business owner and as a solo entrepreneur, there are so many options calling out to me.

I will test applications to see what works best for me but I don’t want to use all of them. I tested Quora for a little while early this year because the question format seemed interesting but then abandoned it because it was one more thing.

My Top 4 social media networks

I can’t be everywhere! You can’t either. So where will I be?

1. LinkedIn was my initial venture into social media and it started my brave new world. I still think that LinkedIn has its purpose but I see it as the most professional of all of the social networks. I certainly have had client contacts from LinkedIn but I don’t use it for talking to people the way I do Twitter or Facebook or Google+.
2. Twitter came next for me on my social media journey and it is still one of my top places for conversation. This morning was particularly talkative and I found myself having conversations with multiple people in various parts of the US and UK all at the same time. I think I love Twitter because it rapidly lets you meet people from so many different places and yet you form common bonds.
3. Facebook was next and has since become a favorite for me. I use it both for business and personal and my Facebook updates crossover between both personal and business. Unlike some people who want to keep Facebook for friends and family, I find that if people get to know the real me on Facebook, they are more likely to either choose to use my services or recommend me to someone else who needs my help.
4. On June 28, 2011, Google+ launched. I was slow to join mainly because my family and personal life had some challenges at that point. I missed much of the information about how to use it best but then I found myself just learning how to use it as I do many other things by trial and error. I find it a place I want to be and enjoy the differences from Facebook enough to put some time in there not only posting my own things but reading things I might not see on other platforms.

I know that there are many other places to be but for now, these four will get my attention. I know I can’t be everywhere. For some people, four would be too many. But I find that I divide my time and pop in and out and it works for me.

If you haven’t already joined me, please follow the links on my sidebar to join my communities. What about you? Where will you be in 2012 and how many places can you be without getting overwhelmed?