Keep the Social in Social Media

As I get further and further engrossed in social media, I find that more of the little parts of my day are being taken up with Twitter updates, LinkedIn invitations, blog reading, Ning-checking, e-mail purging, Facebook friending, and every other sort of phrase that would have sounded strange ten years ago.

What I've discovered is that all of this has eaten into what I used to consider the "gaps" in my day -- my commute, TV commercial breaks, family functions, bathroom trips (sad, I know). What I'm realizing is that those little moments are the ones I'm now missing. Walking through Manhattan during my commute, I used to relish taking in the sights, sounds, and the general people-appreciation that went along with life in New York City. Now, that time is being taken up with podcasts, e-mail checking, texting, etc. In a moment of cognition while walking the streets of New York, I stopped to notice how many people walking by were on their cell phones. It was about half ... half!

Saddest of all, I feel I'm starting to miss out on the super-important parts of my life that, on the surface, may seem routine: my kids, my wife, church, friends -- the real connections that define and nurture me. That's why I'm making a renewed commitment to them, starting now. I see my children growing up so quickly and think, "I can remember when each of them could fit in my one arm." That time is gone ... forever. It only exists in my memories now. I can't risk losing out on present and future memories of my family that I'll carry with me to my grave.

The way I see it, at the end of my days, will I define the worth of my life by the time I spent with my family or by the number of Facebook friends I have?

Facebook Countdown

Well, the clock is ticking, folks. As of this post, there's just over 12 hours left until hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of Facebook users will try to claim their vanity URL. At 12:01 a.m. ET on Saturday, June 13, you can log onto facebook.com/username to claim a vanity URL (facebook.com/WHATEVER) for your profile or page that you administer.

My prediction is that Facebook will crash at exactly 12:02 a.m. -- no doubt. And perhaps, as John Battelle pointed out, we're making a bigger deal out of this than is necessary. Already, everyone's trying to grab up as many Twitter account names in the same fashion as they did with Web site names ten years ago. At any rate, I'll be online trying to get mine and will most likely be kicked off due to traffic.