(An abridgment of a former series…)
Staying in Control
Blogs are wonderful, especially in the world of RSS and the like. I am able to keep up with reading about 40 77 blogs. This is very manageable in my world, especially because I can read new posts on my phone (using Google Reader). If I spend a few minutes reading while walking here or there, I incur minimal opportunity cost.
I also keep up to date on facebook using my phone. Again, I am able to multi-task. If something demands a greater amount of attention, then I will save it for the evening. If you cannot do this, then squeeze in 15 minutes a day for a couple of weeks and ‘test-drive’ a social media site for yourself. Determine if and how it fits into your schedule.
On my website, I invest a little time nearly every day to developing ideas and post outlines. I check comments and reply if necessary. My content deals with topics that I desire to study, so my time is well spent.
Conclusion
I would encourage most people to test-drive the most prominent social media sites (if they haven’t already). Social media does seem to be a wave of the future, though I cannot tell how big it will become. It is not inherently bad, and using it has many benefits (as discussed in previous posts). But when using social media sites, remain others-centered and content-oriented. This is the balance I wish to strike.
If you’re ready to dive in to blogging and want to make your own .com website, check out this resource. Or read more about starting an academic blog.