Where do you hang out online? email, Yelp, Facebook....

Greg · 01-01-2008, 10:11 PM

Fred Wilson (a venture capitalist and one of my favorite bloggers) once remarked that his social graph (where he hangs out online) is mainly in 3 places.

his email
his blog
Twitter

The term "social graph" was coined by Facebook to describe how people are connected and related. It's a geek term. The rest of us can think of it as "how do you connect with other people (online)?"

For me, I spend most of my "social" time and energy on a close inner circle. Email and chat connections. These people are friends and coworkers, or at least, acquaintances. I spend a little time at sites/communities that are especially useful to me (work and food).

I don't think I've ever been really addicted to a particular community, but I know some people who spend a vast majority of their online time at a particular site/community -- WoW, reddit and Perez Hilton come to mind.

Here's a roundup of my social graph....

I'm most active (interacting with people) at:

Email and private WB forums.
AIM, GTalk, other chat networks.
Sites and forums specific to my work: Drupal.org, vbulletin.org, problogger.net, etc
Wise Bread, of course

I have semi-active accounts at the following places:

Yelp - I'll post a review once in a while if I really liked or disliked a spot. I follow a couple of top reviewers who live in my area to get suggestions for new (to me) restaurants. Citysearch is dead. Long live Yelp!
Facebook - I've been getting more and more FB emails. Some of my friends are really into FB and update their profiles with news multiple times a day. I don't do more than respond to friends request for now, but I can see how FB may actually replace email one day the way some people I know use it.
LinkedIn - I created a profile and filled in my employment history. I could see that it might be useful for business networking or if I need to find a job... but since I'm not job-hunting right now, I'm not getting much value out of it. The "updates around your network" emails are sometimes interesting. I've emailed old friends when I noticed they're starting a new job.
Digg - This almost falls into the "wasted time" category. If I'm not careful, I could spend all day reading the articles on Digg. This is in the semi-active category because I read more than I comment or submit, and I'm not there everyday.
Random blogs - I read them in GReader daily and sometimes comment.

I have tried and abandoned these sites/communities:

Twitter
Tumbleblog
MySpace
Friendster
last.fm

Where some of my friends really like to hang out, but I've never gotten into it:

reddit
World of Warcraft
slickdeals.net
Chowhound

Where do YOU spend your online time? Is it Facebook, MySpace, Yelp, your blog, Digg, reddit, Wise Bread....

sloria1 · 01-02-2008, 05:32 PM

E-mail is still my preferred choice for online communication. But I only use it to send letters to a few of my best friends. Gone are the days that I get an inbox full of "real" letters. I use Facebook from time to time to share pictures and see what the latest gossip is at my school =). And I use IM (MSN and AIM) sparingly.

Prince of Thrift · 01-02-2008, 07:43 PM

well most certainly my email is the main place I hang out, followed closely by my various blogs and my MySpace page. Like the original author I don't do a whole lot with MyBlogLog even though I am a member. In that regards i spend more time at PFblogs.org especially when I am tracking how popular my latest post is, or when I want to see who else is posting currently.

MyBlogLog tends to be nothing more then a traffic statistics tool.

my Email
My various blogs (include DebtFree4ever, KevinsView and CJonline)
my MySpace page
PfBlogs.org

The Honest Dollar · 01-02-2008, 07:54 PM

Pre-blog days:

1. Poker

2. Facebook
3. Email
4. AIM

Post-blog days:

1. Blog
2. Google reader
3. Email
4. Relevant web forums

I think I spend less than 5 minutes a day on Facebook now. I'm never on AIM any more. I only play poker when I have a giant chunk of free time, which is almost never. But I think my use of online time is far more effective now that I'm blogging.

Gootsy · 01-05-2008, 04:16 PM

1: Google reader. Man oh man do I spend a lot of time on this thing! Which reminds me... I haven't checked yet. I'm a little scared to see how many new posts are up on there *shudders*

2: Forums like wisebread. a year ago or so, this was without question #1, but I've since eased up on my activity on forums.

3: Email. 4 years ago this was #1. Just used it less and less gradually as I used the new #1 and 2 more and more.

I've refused to get sucked into facebook and myspace. Saw how much time my friends/family spent on there and just said "No thanks!"

01-02-2008, 07:43 PM	#3
Prince of Thrift Junior Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Topeka, KS Posts: 10 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Reputation: (10)	well most certainly my email is the main place I hang out, followed closely by my various blogs and my MySpace page. Like the original author I don't do a whole lot with MyBlogLog even though I am a member. In that regards i spend more time at PFblogs.org especially when I am tracking how popular my latest post is, or when I want to see who else is posting currently. MyBlogLog tends to be nothing more then a traffic statistics tool. my Email My various blogs (include DebtFree4ever, KevinsView and CJonline) my MySpace page PfBlogs.org __________________ - Kevin S. http://www.debtfree4ever.net Last edited by Prince of Thrift; 01-02-2008 at 07:51 PM.

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01-01-2008, 10:11 PM	#1
Greg Administrator Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Sunny Southern California Posts: 242 Thanks: 21 Thanked 3 Times in 1 Post Reputation: (53)	Where do you hang out online? email, Yelp, Facebook.... Fred Wilson (a venture capitalist and one of my favorite bloggers) once remarked that his social graph (where he hangs out online) is mainly in 3 places. his email his blog Twitter The term "social graph" was coined by Facebook to describe how people are connected and related. It's a geek term. The rest of us can think of it as "how do you connect with other people (online)?" For me, I spend most of my "social" time and energy on a close inner circle. Email and chat connections. These people are friends and coworkers, or at least, acquaintances. I spend a little time at sites/communities that are especially useful to me (work and food). I don't think I've ever been really addicted to a particular community, but I know some people who spend a vast majority of their online time at a particular site/community -- WoW, reddit and Perez Hilton come to mind. Here's a roundup of my social graph.... I'm most active (interacting with people) at: Email and private WB forums. AIM, GTalk, other chat networks. Sites and forums specific to my work: Drupal.org, vbulletin.org, problogger.net, etc Wise Bread, of course I have semi-active accounts at the following places: Yelp - I'll post a review once in a while if I really liked or disliked a spot. I follow a couple of top reviewers who live in my area to get suggestions for new (to me) restaurants. Citysearch is dead. Long live Yelp! Facebook - I've been getting more and more FB emails. Some of my friends are really into FB and update their profiles with news multiple times a day. I don't do more than respond to friends request for now, but I can see how FB may actually replace email one day the way some people I know use it. LinkedIn - I created a profile and filled in my employment history. I could see that it might be useful for business networking or if I need to find a job... but since I'm not job-hunting right now, I'm not getting much value out of it. The "updates around your network" emails are sometimes interesting. I've emailed old friends when I noticed they're starting a new job. Digg - This almost falls into the "wasted time" category. If I'm not careful, I could spend all day reading the articles on Digg. This is in the semi-active category because I read more than I comment or submit, and I'm not there everyday. Random blogs - I read them in GReader daily and sometimes comment. I have tried and abandoned these sites/communities: Twitter Tumbleblog MySpace Friendster last.fm Where some of my friends really like to hang out, but I've never gotten into it: reddit World of Warcraft slickdeals.net Chowhound Where do YOU spend your online time? Is it Facebook, MySpace, Yelp, your blog, Digg, reddit, Wise Bread.... __________________ Admin / Tech guy Wise Bread, Parenting Squad, Healthcare Hacks

01-02-2008, 05:32 PM	#2
sloria1 Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 56 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Reputation: (10)	E-mail is still my preferred choice for online communication. But I only use it to send letters to a few of my best friends. Gone are the days that I get an inbox full of "real" letters. I use Facebook from time to time to share pictures and see what the latest gossip is at my school =). And I use IM (MSN and AIM) sparingly.

01-02-2008, 07:54 PM	#4
The Honest Dollar Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: New York Posts: 90 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Reputation: (64)	Pre-blog days: 1. Poker 2. Facebook 3. Email 4. AIM Post-blog days: 1. Blog 2. Google reader 3. Email 4. Relevant web forums I think I spend less than 5 minutes a day on Facebook now. I'm never on AIM any more. I only play poker when I have a giant chunk of free time, which is almost never. But I think my use of online time is far more effective now that I'm blogging.

01-05-2008, 04:16 PM	#5
Gootsy Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 283 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Reputation: (24)	1: Google reader. Man oh man do I spend a lot of time on this thing! Which reminds me... I haven't checked yet. I'm a little scared to see how many new posts are up on there shudders 2: Forums like wisebread. a year ago or so, this was without question #1, but I've since eased up on my activity on forums. 3: Email. 4 years ago this was #1. Just used it less and less gradually as I used the new #1 and 2 more and more. I've refused to get sucked into facebook and myspace. Saw how much time my friends/family spent on there and just said "No thanks!"