Thinning the Herd: Getting Social Media Focused

January for many of us is a time for organization, de-cluttering and even cleaning. I look forward to the fresh start each year and spend time collecting donations around the house for Goodwill, fix, update and even paint.

I apply the same renewed energy to my virtual space as well. It’s a great time to review your RSS feeds or other methods of reading content and dump the feeds that no longer interest you. The same goes for those you follow on Twitter. Don’t hesitate to unfollow people. Furthermore, and to some this seems harsh, but really think about that circle of friends on Facebook. Sometimes in my Facebook newsfeed I see people I don’t even recall friending. Sorry, pal, but if I can’t remember you, we’re probably not really friends. LinkedIn should always be limited to professional contacts, but in the event that you find that a few outliers have slipped in, get rid of them! Another way to look at your contacts on LinkedIn includes seeing if somehow you have duplicates; sometimes users end up inadvertently creating a second profile. Figure out which one is current and delete the unused profile.

It’s NOT easy to figure out  how to de-friend or delete contacts — obviously these social networks are much more interested in you GROWING your circles, rather than shrinking them. If you need help, let me know.