Social Media IS Human Interaction. There are people who are suspicious of anything new, but the logical conclusion of that line of thinking is to get off the grid and go live in the woods.

It’s the future! It’s how the west was won!

But you make a very good point Andrea, I have such a long list of things to check; websites, news sources etc. that sometimes it can feel overwhelming. With access to so much news and information, it’s easy to get overwhelmed. The other side of that is feeling like you are “missing out” on something…

It’s like a tightrope walk sometimes!

I was thinking about this issue this weekend, and intentionally stayed offline for most of it, and in fact, occupied my mind with other things than work-related subjects, on which I spend the bulk of my online time. I actually felt guilty, even though I know that for me, personally, turning my mind off-topic for a 48-hour stretch of time is just the right amount of time to re-boot my energy and creativity.

So, to answer your question, I would never totally unplug, but I do struggle to find a balance between real life and online time that works for me.

I stumbled across your blog post as a direct result of one of the media applications you are speaking about which is LinkedIn. I just added one of your colleagues as my sister suggested that LinkedIN is a great avenue to network with people and I had beter get on board! I am a very mild user of Facebook and as of yet have not entered the dark side of Twitter.

From my point of view it seems that if we are not involved in some capacity with these social media applications we are simply missing the boat. There are a lot of opportunities to connect with people from both the present and past that can be influential in our lives in a very positive way, if we don’t stay conected we will be left behind!

I see nothing wrong with any of these domains as long as they are used properly and respectfully meaning we don’t get addicted! I do see a lot of people spending way too much time surfing their Twitter, MSN or facebook in the hopes that someone they know will soon pop online to chat with when they could be doing something a lot more constructive…..hmmmm is that what I am doing here…lol.

No need for the suicide machine, get connected, stay connected but be in control!

I won’t be pulling the plug on Twitter this year or anytime soon as I get so much out of it personally and professionally…so here’s to Following more of your Tweets in 2010. Cheers,

Andy