Whether it be Facebook, Google+, Twitter, or whatever, do you follow back or friend anyone that follows you? If so, why? I know there are people that do and I'm curious about their reasoning. I've seen Facebook users boast that they just hit 1,000 "friends"…really? I've also seen Twitter people say they prefer to keep their followers under 100. Again, really?

So what works for you? How do you manage your social media connections? Is it a numbers game, or something more? Would love to hear from you, please. Just comment here or connect with me at:
twitter.com/BobRodkin
facebook.com/BobRodkin
ca.linkedin.com/in/BobRodkin

For me, it's not a numbers game. I like to really connect with people I follow or who follow me. Yet after several years on Twitter, Linked in, etc… I find the numbers are becoming a challenge. Still, I read the bio and check the link of every person that follows me on Twitter. And I mean every PERSON, not every follower. So I won't follow back everybody. But, if you show me who you are — by profile pic, web link, and updates — then I almost certainly will.

Then again, if you follow me on Twitter and you haven't sent out any tweets, or none for several weeks — then highly it's unlikely I'll follow back. If you're not saying anything, why would I follow you?

Same for Google+. No profile? Then I won't be adding you to any circle. How would I know what one to add you to anyway?

Linked in says I'm now connected to 7.7+ million professionals. Once again, REALLY? I'm thinking that has to be of incredible value. That's a big number, but how can I possibly connect on a personal level with that many people? Really...how? Please let me know if you can tell me. 

So for me it is definitely not a numbers game — at least not intentionally. I will follow back, circle or friend anyone that has anything to do with my business (and updates actively), and anyone whom I find personally interesting. I follow real people. Simple.

I'm ditching my e-mail as a person-to-person communication tool.

Presently I am active on numerous social networks and now my personal "touches" are approximately 80% on social networks and 20% within e-mail. Yet my time is spent almost in the reverse. The good old 80-20 rule never seems to fail.

Electronic newsletters via e-mail are a huge time waster. I receive countless, and they are all good, just way too many for any one person to realistically manage. And my personal pet peeve, being CC'd…that could be a whole separate post. So the actual e-mail from an individual specifically to me is about 20% of all e-mail. 

I have several e-mail accounts that all dump into one Gmail account that currently is burgeoning with 17.2 GB of mail, or 120,000+ e-mails. If 80% of them are time wasters, then I've wasted a lot of time over the past few years.

Personal Touch Ranking
Here is a ranking of where my personal touches come from on a weekly basis. This is combined business and personal, though predominantly business.
#1 Twitter…by a long shot.
#2 Facebook
#3 text messaging
#4 Linked in
#5 e-mail
#6 telephone
#7 face-to-face (this is actually my preference)

The transition away from e-mail will take some time, but the process has begun and so far — I'm lovin' it! Lately I have opted to message my contacts on one of the "big three" networks when, only a few weeks ago, I would have used e-mail out of sheer habit. The replies were quick, concise, and friendly. If I had used e-mail I'm sure I would still be waiting for replies as my note would be lost in their e-mail nightmare.

So for me, e-mail is quickly becoming an e-reader and archival tool. Personal communication is far more effective elsewhere.

My current e-mail signature looks like this:
Please note that I am moving away from the use of e-mail as my primary person-to-person communication tool in favor of messaging via my various social media networks. To ensure continued timely replies to your messages please consider connecting with me at one or more of the following:
Facebook: http://facebook.com/bobrodkin
Linked in: http://ca.linkedin.com/in/bobrodkin
Twitter: http://twitter.com/bobrodkin

The only people who will see this signature (other than you) are those I cannot reply to via social media.

Thinking of a change to your e-mail strategy? Please comment below, I'd love to hear from you.