Question about Social Media by @jeffsarris

Jeff Sarris asked an interesting question on Google+ tonight: “How have you felt about social media in the last month or so? I’ve personally had a major drop in interest and have heard some people say that their streams are quiet. Thoughts?”

Here is my initial response:

My usage of social media has dropped significantly (and by extension my blog writing and readership has suffered dramatically) in the past 3+ months. I haven’t put my finger on the cause of it all, but I am starting to believe that my brain is getting saturated with content (tweets, status updates, pictures, media, blogs, etc) to the point where it’s a confusing mess that I can no longer make sense of. The problem with social media (and media in general) is that everyone is trying to create value with their content. It’s become more of a serious place than a fun place to be, like a developer deciding to build a condo complex beside a green space. There’s a constant struggle of trying to decide if your update has value or whether you are going to be sharing too much that may get you into trouble in the future.

My streams on Twitter are too noisy, even when I use lists. My stream on Google+ is too lengthy with comments to really dive into regularly. My Facebook stream is populated more with app updates than real updates. All of which are pushing me away to focus on other things and get my updates through shows like TWiT and TWiG.

Of course, there have been other factors that have pulled me away from writing online, being engaged in social media and other blogs (having a bad breakup with a girl, looking after a toddler girl frequently, a wedding, a move- oh, and beach weather for weeks on end). The factors I listed in the quote are some of the primary reasons though.

My brain is fatigued by the constant consumption of media. It’s tired of trying to decide whether to download the latest ebook (sorry, FREE REPORT!), whether to subscribe to the latest podcast, newsletter, another Twitter feed, and so on.

I have basically had enough.

Minimalism is such a trendy topic these days, and the paleo diet is growing in popularity, as well, so it makes sense that people have become more aware about what they consume digitally. People have taken digital sabbaticals and put themselves on a digital diet to cut down on the amount of content they take in.

But what about the amount people produce? Where is the green program for digital content?

The rule of thumb seems to be that a green blog is a dead blog. Case in point, this one. I have barely produced anything of note for months, haven’t participated much in Twitter and Google Plus, and it shows in Google Analytics.

I wonder what would happen if we all cut back on our engagement online and focused more on developing real relationships with people beyond the simple @replies and leaving quick comments on blogs?

I will certainly have more to share in the coming weeks. A lot has happened over the past three months, and the past month has seen me going full force in improving myself and my situation. I’m in a new condo, a much better area, lifting weights, doing my walks, and my diet has started to change for the good again. No morning coffee in a month (apart from a few times), and hardly any caffeine in general.

I couldn’t believe that last line either when I wrote it. No coffee for a month?

I must be crazy.

But a crazy good.