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Hi My Name is (insert your name here) and I Am Addicted to Social Networking



There are different opinions on how social networking websites can impact a business. Social networking membership continues to rise among 30+ year old adults. Does work productivity have a risk of suffering because of this, or are these tools to make professionals more efficient? There is a big difference between using these sites to be more efficient at your job and using them for social and entertainment purposes. If you find yourself distracted at least three times a day logging onto social networking sites like Facebook, MySpace and Twitter, you may have a problem that can affect your career.

Take an example that many of us have experienced. How many times in a work day does an email pop up from a social networking site? You stop working to see who is communicating with you. Someone “commented” something really funny about your status on Facebook. You stop the project you are working on to quickly comment back. After all it only takes a minute! But then you log on, and OH, my friend posted new pictures from the weekend, I HAVE to look at them quickly. Twenty minutes later you finally get back to that project. These little breaks add up quickly and cost you more productivity than you realize.

The Good
However, there are some professional advantages to having access to social networking sites. There have been studies in Europe that actually show an increase in efficiency when using social networking. There are professions that use these sites to connect faster with other professionals. Recruiters and sales people can make the argument that they use social networking sites as an innovative, efficient way to connect with prospects.

Business owners can use social networking sites to get their name into the market place. An example would be a “friend” on Facebook that posts his bar’s specials daily. This is an efficient, cost free marketing strategy that reaches a large network. Twitter is another popular site. A connection may update their status that they are looking to connect with a local architect. This reaches everyone in their network, who then leverages their network and within minutes they send back a recommendation for an Architect.

The Bad
Business leaders in Milwaukee have mixed opinions on this subject. Small business owners see this as a vital tool. However, they are not sure how much their employees are using it for professional versus personal use. What a business owner will monitor is overall productivity. If your work is suffering or is not at the level it could be because you are spending too much time on these sites, they will notice. Although they may not be able to tie it back to social networking, it could be detrimental to your career.

The Ugly
Larger organizations have the ability to track your internet usage and see exactly how much time you spend on each website. A large, well known Milwaukee organization recently had to give out written warning in regards to overuse of Facebook. Another violation would lead to termination. Imagine having to explain that in an interview for your next job!

The first step to overcoming the threat of wasting away valuable work time to social networking is to not connect these sites to your work email. It is difficult for many professionals to concentrate on a report they are working on, or sales calls they need to make when they see the email pop up that someone, most likely in their personal life, is looking to connect about something that could quite possibly be more entertaining than the job they are doing.

Even if you take it off your work email, and make the switch to your personal email, there is still your cell phone. It is relatively easy to connect your social networking sites to your cell phone. This makes it even more difficult to stray away from social networking distractions. Unless you absolutely need to be connected because of your job, find a way to disconnect during the day. If this presents a problem that you could miss important calls, I would suggest taking the applications off completely. You have your personal time to get caught up. Again, this is only if you do not need these sites to be efficient in your role.

Social networking sites are powerful and can have a very positive impact on business. Everyone has to take responsibility for how they use these tools. If you know what your network of friends and acquaintances are doing on an hourly basis, you are abusing your ability to use these sites at work and it is time to cut the cord to social networking during work hours. Your performance is constantly being measured and that is arguably more important than knowing the exact minute your best friend from grade school joined a new fan group. Use these sites to your advantage to make yourself more efficient and do not become reliant on these sites as entertainment to get you through your day. And, by the way, if your job isn’t holding your interest enough to stay away from social networking, it may be time for a career change.