Leo Laporte is considered the President of the Internet and is also the founder of the TWiT Network, so needless to say he has a fair amount of influence around the Internet. Well this morning he stirred up a bit of a commotion when he announced on his blog he was done Social Networking site.
What caused this sudden decision was the fact that none of his Buzz posts have been public since August 6, and more so, that no one even noticed, not even him. Those who follow Leo know he basically jumped off Twitter to join Buzz when Google first released it. He thought it was a robust platform for everything he needed.
Like most people who join Social Networks, Leo neglected his blog and only used these social platforms. He says in his blog post that, he was shouting into an echo chamber where no one could hear him, because everyone else was shouting at the same time. He goes on to say he should have been posting on his blog the whole time and he is glad to be back.
This is something I have always struggled with. Yes, it is great to connect, share, and socialize on these social platforms, but when it comes to getting out important thoughts, ideas, and information, those social platforms aren’t the best place. There are to many limits, other people, and no archive.
Think about it, when you say something on Twitter, how quickly does it go down your time-line, how many of your followers actually see it. With a blog you don’t get that, it is your time-line, the next post down is still yours. You can explore deeper into issues, ideas and opinions. You can share more and have a better conversation experience.
That’s not to say Twitter and the like are useless. Actually they are very useful for helping build a community around your blog. Everyday I realize how useful Twitter is, but I still think your blog should be you home on the Internet. A place where all those social networks connect back to, and place where all you ideas, thoughts and information leads back to.
Would you agree?
