Crazy times!

I am about to facilitate a number of workshops about the use of social networking in the UK and Denmark. So as I wait in Christchurch airport for my plane, I have been reflecting on my use of social networking, and the message I want to leave the participants of my workshops.

The last few weeks and months have been quite crazy and as a result, I have changed the way I use social networking. 

I have badly neglected my blog, because I haven't had the time, energy or motivation to put the thought I need into writing posts. I have even noticed that I am using Twitter infrequently, which is quite unusual, because my custom is to use it extensively to keep in touch with professional friends and news. 

What I have noticed is an increase in my use of Facebook. This is partly because it doesn't take long to post up a quick sentence about daily activities, or share an item of interest. The slightly more complex reason, I think, is that as I have moved jobs and countries (more about that later), Facebook has allowed me to keep in contact with personal friends and family – most of them do not use Twitter. And Facebook allows me to have far more control over what I say, and to whom, as opposed to Twitter, which is a much more “free for all” approach. 

I am thinking that my message is:

• social networking can be used in a variety of ways; 
• different tools meet different needs; 
• social networking is a very fluid thing that changes as life changes; 
• keep your mind open and don't stop exploring and engaging with people. 

How has your use of social networking changed, or not as the case may be, over the last 12 months?