Features

86 Responses to “Why I don’t use social networks”

1. Pig Pen - Web Standards Compliant Web Design Blog » Blog Archive » Why I Don’t Use Social Software says (on August 21st, 2006 at 11:09 pm )

   […] Why I Don’t Use Social Software by Ryan Carson - worth a read over coffee this morning. Does social software have the future its said to have? […]

2. Mary says (on August 21st, 2006 at 11:31 pm )

   “I think Tom’s right, but the problem is that I just don’t have time to use all of these amazing apps, ..”

   Ryan, it’s not that Tom’s right BUT you just don’t have time, etc. It’s that Tom’s right BECAUSE you (and all of us) don’t have time to use these apps. You’re not contradicting him, you’re supporting his point; you don’t need a “but” there.

   And I’m confused by this: “I believe there is a huge market for more web apps that are aimed at users like me.” Wait…do you have time to explore these new services or not? Or are you really arguing that this is largely a marketing problem–that these apps *do* have value, but to niche groups, and that *your particular* niche group hasn’t been well-served yet? I think in general social software would be better by being much more targeted (this is sort of Ning’s idea, btw.), but it’s hard to imagine a group that’s been better marketed to than YOU personally, Ryan.

   And also, perhaps instead of asking six other experts who are essentially identical to you (white men in the social software industry), why not ask people who might have some less predictable suggestions? Google? Wikipedia? Flickr? Ooh, never heard of *those.*

3. Andrew says (on August 21st, 2006 at 11:37 pm )

   Actually I’d never heard of Travian before. It doesn’t seem terribly original (browser-based resource-management game), but it’s really beautiful (though a little baffling at first).

4. geirarne says (on August 21st, 2006 at 11:45 pm )

   I think it was Joshua Schachter (or maybe Cal or Tom) that said it on this February’s Web Summit, that no-one starts using social apps because of their social features. You start using delish because it’s a way better link database than your browser’s bookmark system. And my musician friend got on to myspace to get himself a record deal (which he did, btw.), not to “add friends”.

   But then you get hooked. And start spending hours clicking through your friends’ Flickr favorites. Procrastination? Of course. But not more so than most TV-viewing. And you always have time for more procrastination.

5. Andrew F says (on August 21st, 2006 at 11:48 pm )

   I totally agree with the time factor, if I had the time I would love to learn more about everything that is going on, but honestly I don’t. I come in to work, I read my Bloglines, I check my Gmail and Yahoo and play chess on RedHotPawn. But I don’t have time to read 3000 new blog entries in response to 5 news stories that are in response to one news event, and I sure as hell don’t have time to rate the stories on how funny or informative they are. I agree with the other Andrew, I had never heard of Travian either, or actually a few more that were on the list. I do to a certain extent wonder what Mary means by “…essentially identical to you (white men in the social software industry)…” This is Vitamin, who do you expect to be reading this? How many teenagers on mySpace do you think subscribe to the feed? That last paragraph of the comment makes no sense to me, I think even in this day and age of computer know-how, banter about Web 2.0 is still restricted to a certain group of people and not the general populace. That’s my 0.02.

6. Marston A says (on August 22nd, 2006 at 1:02 am )

   I agree that there is too much to do and too little time to do it in the area of social recreation software. As we see there are plenty of social networks, video/photo sharing or bookmarking websites out there.

   I think it comes down to personal need or how 37Signals might term it “Perceived Personal Value”. Or the classic case of just “Is this worth it to me”. Just like you I have my personal list of apps I use such Basecamp, Digg, Backpack etc. Mainly though because I have a need for them or they serve a higher priority to me in one way or another.

   There are no shortage of people in the world and what we’re seeing with these new web apps is a reflection of that. Everyone has particular interests and different tastes, they will gravitate toward the services that suit them and their lifestyle the best.

   I see the future of web apps moving toward niche apps solving large but specific problems that are important to people. More important for example than say finding the hottest tech news on the internet at a given moment. Web apps that solve problems and that affect many people personally, not just providing an entertainment outlet.

   Like you say we have a million things to do during the day and little time to do much else, the list of web services we use and their priority will be a direct reflection of how we feel they serve us personally and our lifestyle.

   “I believe there is a huge market for more web apps that are aimed at users like me. We’ve got specific problems that need to be solved and we’re willing to pay good money for solutions.”

   Couldn’t agree with you more.

   We’re building what we call a “Lifestyle Management” app here at SugarStats which is basically a web 2 app that help Diabetics manage their blood sugar levels online, Diabetic Analytics as we call it. Now this isn’t in the realm of social networking or online entertainment, but people with diabetics have a specific purpose for this and it is a big problem that affects many. It may not be of interest to those people who spend their days drinking 2 gallons of coke and eating fast food, but to the potentially 70 million people with this problem it might hit a little harder home. (being that the latest news says 1 in every 3 (1/3!) Americans have diabetes or are pre-diabetic).

   And I’m seeing this trend more and more, web apps that focus on specific problems outside of small business management or only tech released. Apps like ours that affect peoples health or some other apps that services the educational market, travel markets and niche arena’s etc.

   So I think at the end of the day, the people exposed to them and find value for them in their own lives will use social software. As long as their are those people more and more apps will come out to feed that market, but eventually its going to level out as people settle down with what works for them the best. So I too feel that things have only just begun, those are my 2 cents.

7. Marston Online » Blog Archive » People don’t use social software? says (on August 22nd, 2006 at 1:14 am )

   […] An interesting post over on the Vitamin blog where Ryan Carson has a post titled: “Why I don’t use social software“. […]

8. Rachel C says (on August 22nd, 2006 at 1:32 am )

   I’ve had some fears about Web 2.0 - with a tonne of new online applications rolling out every day, I’ve wondered which ones people will find useful in the long term.

   Why has delicious survived? It’s not primarily because it’s social - above all, it’s because there’s obvious individual benefit. I can grab my bookmarks even if my computer dies or even if I’m on a different computer on the other side of the world.

   The real value in Web 2.0: “me first”.

9. James Collins says (on August 22nd, 2006 at 1:48 am )

   I’m looking forward to Virb.com. It’s done by the folks at Unborn Media (purevolume.com and neubix). Great designers.

10. William Kelley says (on August 22nd, 2006 at 6:33 am )

    I’m the founder of a band/concert tracking site, www.track50.com, similar to sonicliving, etc. While there are some current (and future) aspects of our site which are social, we have tended to keep the site simple, to deliver the service that our users want, notifying them when their tracked bands have shows in their area.

    Profiles, photos, friend pages might create more activity and give our site a certain current social hipness, but it would also hide and detract from the basic usefulness of the service. As we grow and add features, we are trying to resist the urge to become another myspace/friendster/flickr wannabe which, oh by the way, also tracks bands.

11. Labnotes » Are we taking “social” too literally? says (on August 22nd, 2006 at 8:18 am )

    […] Ryan Carson on Why I don’t use social software: I’d love to add friends to my Flickr account, add my links to del.icio.us, browse digg for the latest big stories, customise the content of my Netvibes home page and build a MySpace page. But you know what? I don’t have time and you don’t either… […]

12. Lorenz says (on August 22nd, 2006 at 9:10 am )

    It’s really like you said…who has really the time to use all of these great and not so great apps out there?

    For me the most important features the whole web 2.0/social impact gave me is defenitely RSS-Feads + RSS-Online-Readers.

    The only apps I’m using so far are: NetvibesComputerlove, a community-website for creatives with great content and possibilities for its users (take a look cpluv.com)

    for me I make a decision in about 15 - 45 seconds whether this specific app is going to help me or just wasting my time. it’s that easy, I guess.

    til then and your article is defenitely a good read,
    lorenz

13. Jason Crowther’s Blog » Blog Archive » Social Software says (on August 22nd, 2006 at 10:38 am )

    […] Vitamin had a good article on social web apps (like del.icio.us, flickr, myspace, etc.) by Ryan Carson. I totally agree with his observation that while social apps are the wave of the future, many folks like him (and I) just don’t have the time to invest in using the tools to get their maximum benefit; in either personal or community sense. While I am taking baby steps by using del.icio.us and flickr myself, but I admit that I using both more for the convenience of me being able to get to my stuff from anywhere, rather than sharing with the world. Maybe that will change as I use the tools more? […]

14. Stephen says (on August 22nd, 2006 at 1:18 pm )

    Instead of social web applications, why not socially conscious web applications. To see one in action, go here http://coolpeoplecare.org/

    To build a community around issues or values that really matter seems to me the direction online communities should move in, in order to take advantage of the power of the individual.

15. Nate says (on August 22nd, 2006 at 2:02 pm )

    I find myself in the same boat. I have so many other things on my plate, that I just dont have time for these apps. I HAVE tried, but eventually it just fades away. I tried netvibes, but in the end using Safari was just easier for me to manage my RSS feeds (as well as dashboard for any widgets). I have tried using delicious, but in the end its just easier for me to manage them within my browser. I read digg, but rarely have the time to submit and really get involved. I love flickr, but don’t have the time to add all of my friends (especially if they arent involved in the first place).

    Maybe its just too much effort for me - but I value my time and try to balance everything in life - and the things that get cut out just arent necessary. Also, I like to keep things simple. Even with my computer itself, I have the necessary software to get my job done - I don’t need a million apps that I will never use. This is why I like OS X so much, its easy for me to manage everything in one place - yet keep it connected and manageable.

    So, while I like many of the apps out there and I think they are great - they just don’t work for me right now - I just don’t have the time. However, I do feel that with the younger audience things are different.

16. Robert says (on August 22nd, 2006 at 4:21 pm )

    Time is certainly a factor, but your reasons for avoiding social apps don’t explain why so many other people *are* using those apps every day. Obviously, many people have that kind of time (or at least are interested enough to make time), because MySpace is one of the most used apps on the planet.

    Social apps are definitely at a peak, but I suspect that instead of seeing the bubble burst, we’ll see it deflate a bit. Users of such apps will start to focus their interests. As in, instead of collecting as many “friends” on MySpace as possible, we’ll see people narrow the lists down to their closest friends and use MySpace to stay connected with them.

    As far as the lameness factor goes, social apps will most certainly be seen as lame soon enough. Not because they’re not useful (forums are still incredibly useful), but because people will again start to feel they’re dealing with “dancing bearware” (it can dance, but it’s an awful dancer, and people will soon get bored and move on to look for higher quality stuff). History has proven the masses will only stand for weak design for so long. Eventually, they look for quality.

17. 柏強的城市探險記 » Too much to do, too little time says (on August 22nd, 2006 at 6:26 pm )

    […] Vitamin Features » Why I don’t use social software […]

18. Arik says (on August 22nd, 2006 at 7:05 pm )

    The day I see all these new social webapps threading into eachother to create a more cohesive web environment is the day I’ll spend more time on it all.

    I think we all need to realize also that the web is still the web and that we are still humans beings that really only know how to relate in human ways. I think we are vesting to much our human nature into the web.

19. Roman Bercot says (on August 22nd, 2006 at 10:20 pm )

    I agree that social web apps require too much time to really be useful to me. That’s why I think Flock is the key to making these services usable.

    For example, I never added sites to my Del.icio.us account cause it wasn’t that convenient. But when adding a favorite to my browser automatically uploads it to del.icio.us then sure, why not share the link with everyone?

    You hit it right on the head that logging in an out of dozens of web sites is a drag. What’s really going to survive are useful services that can be consumed transparently.

20. Nicole says (on August 23rd, 2006 at 3:11 am )

    I really appreciate the article, it needed to be said loud and clear. We’ve had a great wave of web apps with all the new technology that is out, all the frameworks that make building them a breeze, and yet we’re seeing little true inspiration.

    I think with all the mildly used small single-purpose apps out there, compared to the success of companies that offer multiple interconnected services (like 37 signals), people are going to have to start working on making themselves one-stop shops.

    I definitely fall into the crowd that doesn’t have the time. I will try out various apps because I’m writing a review on them, but to use them more than that… it has to be really useful to me. Social networking is not something I have an interest in, and I have a strong dislike for MySpace (probably because it feels like a time-warp of web page clutter). I read my emails, try to blog as regularly as I can, check my feeds (though they often pile up), and most of the rest of my free time is spent working on my writing or coding or research for my book. So yep, you’re right, I just don’t have the time. If these people want to make a service really ’stick’ they’ll have to make it either extremely unique (at least until the clones of it pop up), or a combination of a lot of time-saving or useful services.

21. David Galbraith says (on August 23rd, 2006 at 3:27 am )

    David from Wists here, just to say that Wists was around for over a year before Crowstorm, but I totally buy your point - back to work!

22. Omar says (on August 23rd, 2006 at 6:45 am )

    I appreciate the sentiment in the post - there’s definitely a lot of froth out there.

    But let’s not forget that only about 2% of flickr users actually take the time to upload their photos to the service. But look at the value that all their efforts get all the rest of us voyeurs.

    As long as there continue to be applications in which a dedicated cadre can crate compelling content for the less-motivated - or busier - among us, social media will continue to thrive - especially as applicaitons move from being entertainment-oriented to being increasingly useful utilities.

23. Stefan Klose says (on August 23rd, 2006 at 7:46 am )

    For me, the most unexpecting part of this article was the fact that there’s a basic period of social applications. Of course it’s easy to see in today’s web that there’s an enormous growth of such applications, but i would be very interested in the art of research und analysis of those periods in web. Maybe you can publish an article about this development?

24. Dee says (on August 23rd, 2006 at 10:52 am )

    Most articles here are about web apps (11). Self promotion?
    And bizz (8)

    How about calling this website ThinkCarson?

25. Labnotes » links for 2006-08-23 says (on August 23rd, 2006 at 3:25 pm )

    […] Vitamin Features » Why I don’t use social software “But you know what? I don’t have time and you don’t either…” […]

26. j_king says (on August 23rd, 2006 at 5:55 pm )

    There are so many of them, that unless an app presents a solution to a very common or distinct problem in the collective consciousness of society — it’s likely it will just fall by the wayside.

    There is only a very rare and small window for a person or company to innovate a product in an existing market place and take up a lead position in that market. Google did it — but when they introduced their innovations, they still struck a fundamental problem in their market and provided a practical solution to it.

    I’m like Carson, even as a professional only at 24 — I have little time or interest in social apps that have no pragmatic advantages. Many of them I hear about or I do some quick research on and think, “that’s neat” … but rarely are they immediately useful in my everyday life.

27. John Griffiths says (on August 23rd, 2006 at 11:05 pm )

    Have to agree with Cal, social web apps are definitely and positively not on the out; if anything they’re just getting started.

    daily i use,

    Flickr
    (to keep my cousins in the know on what i’m doing)

    Digg
    (so i know what’s coming up in the websphere)

    Delicious
    (to store my bookmarks regardless of what machine i’m on & where)

    Technorati
    (to keep track of my favourite blogs & feeds)

    YouTube & Google Video
    (for my video shoots & travel memoirs)

    …and then i use a combination for research and keeping track of things regardless of operating system, platform or country.

    that’s the key here really with all these things, rather than me being stopped in doing something (showing my family travel photos i’ve left at home, sites i bookmarked on my work machine) by keeping these things online and available and not locked into some physical medium i can do more and keep doing what i love.

    all in all the best way ever, roll on web 2.0!

28. John says (on August 24th, 2006 at 2:49 pm )

    As a web developer and designer involved in the “web 2.0 social” world, I have to admit the ONLY social app I use is digg — and I have been using it since it started.

    I have numerous accounts on all the popular social apps, but actually using them is another story. Their only purpose for me is to explore them for design ideas and to keep up on new technology. Like many people before have said, if there is no deeper reason for me to use the app then I won’t.

29. Michael’s Tech Blog » Blog Archive » The future of social web apps says (on August 24th, 2006 at 3:28 pm )

    […] I came across this article published on thinkvitamin.com. I found there many ideas which are similar to mine: Like you, I’ve got a million things to do and I’m constantly battling to keep on top of my inbox and RSS reader. The last thing I want to do is add another thing to that already-way-too-long list. […]

30. Webizen » Mi lesz veled, Web 2.0? says (on August 24th, 2006 at 4:15 pm )

    […] Ryan azzal érvel, hogy őneki személy szerint egyszerűen nincsen ideje ennyi közösségi munkát bevállalni, illetve aktívan részt venni különböző oldalakon. Nem a szándék az akadály, hanem az, hogy ezek a tevékenységek igenis időt igényelnek. Feltölteni a képeket, linkeket gyűjteni, vagy már egyszerűen csak befogadni a napi híreket - egyre több időt vehet igénybe. El lehet könyvelni az érveit úgy, hogy egyedi esetről van szó, egyszerűen el van foglalva, de nem hiszem, hogy ez lenne a helyes: igenis egyre több információ özönlik felénk, melyeket nem biztos, hogy kezelni (rendszerezni, szűrni, befogadni) tudunk, nem hogy részt venni az aktív alkotásban is. Az egészet a hazai viszonyokra vetítve a helyzet nem mondhatór rózsásnak: amikor még szabadidejében is fusizik az emberek nagy része, vajon honnan lesz idejük az internetre? […]

31. Gafugyaself says (on August 24th, 2006 at 9:41 pm )

    So you don’t have time to use these apps… but you do have time to review over fifty simple clones of del.icio.us alone out in the world?

    heh?

32. FluidZen » Blog Archive » The Best Way to Use Social Software says (on August 24th, 2006 at 10:15 pm )

    […] The Zen of Content First: Ryan Carson of Carson Systems explains Why He Doesn’t Use Social Software. He makes several good points that ring true with me. Like Ryan, I don’t have the time. More specifically, I don’t have the time to be social just for the sake of being sociable. I do however have the time for quality content especially if it’s going to keep me up to date in my industry or to help me do my job better. The social communities that will thrive past the fad are the ones that put content first and whose social aspects are simply complimentary. The trick: Evaluate the social network’s content to figure out if you should even bother with it. If it is worth bothering with, don’t fixate on the social aspect. […]

33. Hercules Papatheodorou says (on August 26th, 2006 at 2:25 pm )

    Exactly what I say to people that tell me “come one how come you’re not using this or that”. Time flies and one has to sort his/her priorities, faking needs doesn’t help…

34. GTD Power Links 08-28-06 « GGTD-Geeks Guide To Getting Things Done says (on August 28th, 2006 at 8:08 pm )

    […] Social Network This! I’d love to add friends to my Flickr account, add my links to del.icio.us, browse digg for the latest big stories, customise the content of my Netvibes home page and build a MySpace page. But you know what? I don’t have time and you don’t either… […]

35. Janos Pasztor says (on August 29th, 2006 at 7:37 am )

    Loging in is a pain in the mik’ta, we’d need a trusted login platform, then things would get better. And we’d need a tool to have all those webapps on one interface. Remember all those addresses and stuff? No thanks.

36. Josh Bradley says (on August 30th, 2006 at 5:10 am )

    I’m also looking forward to Virb.com. Unborn Media does incredible work!

37. Jim Meyer says (on August 30th, 2006 at 2:44 pm )

    For me it boils down to this: if I don’t feel the personal value, I naturally stop using the service once I’m pressed for time. Bottom line is that personal value precedes social value. The best services are those that give users personal value while the social value is created as a result of this (for example flickr).

38. jwphotodesign.com » Blog Archive » Why I don’t use social software says (on August 31st, 2006 at 12:30 am )

    […] I’m a fairly typical web citizen. I’m 30, single, make a reasonable wage, own a house and I have a few close friends. You’d think I’d be a web app company’s dream, but I’m not. How come? I’d love to add friends to my Flickr account, add my links to del.icio.us, browse digg for the latest big stories, customise the content of my Netvibes home page and build a MySpace page. But you know what? I don’t have time and you don’t either… […]

39. Social software is not a fad » Mathew Ingram: mathewingram.com/work says (on August 31st, 2006 at 4:33 pm )

    […] Ryan Carson says he doesn’t have time to use all those social apps like del.icio.us and Flickr and Digg, although he thinks they are cool, and Phil Edwards says that he likes them too but sees the phenomenon as appealing to a relatively small niche of Web geeks — in his post, he says social software is like a reverse Tardis (the time machine in the cult sci-fi TV show Doctor Who), in that it is “much, much bigger on the outside than it is on the inside.” Nice line, Phil. I wish I had come up with that one. […]

40. » Blog Archive » The Social Web says (on September 1st, 2006 at 5:51 am )

    […] Many folks think Web 2.0 is the Social Web, and there’s been a lot of discussion about what we are currently living in. It’s a misnomer to say this is the *social web* as I’d argue right now the web enables me to do social transactions but it’s not a social web. I can leave comments, IM, chat etc… but I do this in a solitary manner. There isn’t someone sitting next to me as I’m IMing… in fact I get bothered when someone is looking over my shoulder. […]

41. jamescoops says (on September 1st, 2006 at 8:50 am )

    “28 years old”

    You’re too old for this stuff!

42. Social software is too much work at diggaddict.com says (on September 1st, 2006 at 1:04 pm )

    […] Nick Carr has a good post today, “Social software in perspective“, where he quotes from two posts ([1] [2]) critical of social software and then he says: […]

43. The Zen of 2.0 » Publishing 2.0 says (on September 1st, 2006 at 1:20 pm )

    […] There’s more inevitable debate over “social” software, Web 2.0, and 2.0ness in general. Is it really new? Is it a passing fad? Is it just for geeks? Does it help us get things done? Does it improve our lives? Has it jumped the shark? (Great commentary from Mathew Ingram, Kent Newsome, Stowe Boyd, Rob Hyndman, Mark Evans, Ryan Carson and, of course, Nick.) […]

44. Social software: the Obi-Wan Kenobi of the web « nerdflood says (on September 1st, 2006 at 4:01 pm )

    […] There’s a conversation going on right now regarding social software and its usefulness and, to some extent, its perceived longevity. Ryan Carson really started the discussion by detailing why he doesn’t use any web-based social software, and why he doesn’t expect the concept to truly take off and transform into more viable public-use services. But I found the comments of Mathew Ingram to be instilled with the most vision: […]

45. Ged says (on September 3rd, 2006 at 3:35 am )

    Social software has to have a pay-off in that you get out more than what you put in in order for it to gain critical mass. Wikipedia is a classic example of this.

    For many of the applications mentioned this means that they have to ramp up to a critical mass very, very fast. Sociality in widest sense has been the killer app of the web from the get go: AOL was built on the back of chat rooms, e-mail and IM.

    Back before that BBS were social software even before the internet.

    The problem you’ve outlined is more that many of the ’social’ applications out there do not have a compelling reason for adoption by the vast majority of users.

    The debate isn’t around social software being the right thing, but why so many products are being developed that don’t meet a current or future consumer need adequately.

    For the record I use:
    Bloglines
    Yahoo! MyWeb - more for bookmark portability between work and home
    LinkedIn
    Flickr
    Google
    mail.app
    Adium

46. The Social Internet - » links for 2006-09-02 says (on September 3rd, 2006 at 3:21 pm )

    […] Vitamin Features » Why I don’t use social software Interesting comments on the current social software bubble, and from some of the people who are at the heart of the industry. Many believe that the social internet is here to stay, there’s just quite a bit of evolving still to be done. (tags: socialsoftware web2.0 trends technology future internet web linklog) […]

47. Basic Thinking Blog » Nutzung von Social Software says (on September 3rd, 2006 at 6:33 pm )

    […] auf Blogrolle findet man eine schlanke Umfrage zur Nutzung von Social Software (siehe Sidebar, rechts). Anlass ist ein Artikel von Ryan Carson “Why I don’t use social software“, den Georg aufgegriffen hat. Bin gespannt, was dabei herauskommt, insofern ein par Leute mehr daran teilnehmen, wird es etwas aussagekräftiger. Leider geht keine Mehrfachauswahl. […]

48. MiFoMM Aktuell » Umfrage zur Nutzung von Sozialer Software says (on September 3rd, 2006 at 7:53 pm )

    […] Auslöser ist der Artikel Why I don’t use social software von Ryan Carson. […]

49. Kevin Cannon says (on September 5th, 2006 at 3:17 pm )

    I always find Mike Davidson’s writing interesting, but I think his comment here is in correct.

    Saying that websites that only exist for pure social interaction are doomed is incorrect. Social interaction is often a goal in and of itself. if it wasn’t, bars wouldn’t exist.

    There’s no reason it will be any different on the web.

50. Kevin Cannon says (on September 5th, 2006 at 3:18 pm )

    Ooops. First line should read incorrect.

51. A Scentless Life says (on September 5th, 2006 at 5:28 pm )

    Social software for the busy professional…

    Ryan Carson has put together an insightful piece on the current state of the social software landscape and how it correlates with the typical nature of a busy professional. Indeed, I too face the prob……

52. Techcrunch » Blog Archive » Carson Systems launches Amigo newsletter advertising says (on September 6th, 2006 at 3:02 am )

    […] Email marketing is not the prettiest thing in the world, and much of Web 2.0 is about moving beyond email for communication with constituents - but a person can’t live on kool aid alone and Amigo is an interesting development. While I try to send all my email newsletters through a tool like SocialMail so they end up as RSS feeds, obviously most people do not. Amigo doesn’t appear to offer RSS feeds, it doesn’t use tags and generally avoids most buzz words so familiar to readers of this blog; company co-founder Ryan Carson recently wrote a widely read piece titled Why I don’t use social software - primarily, he doesn’t believe it fills a real need. I know RSS and in many cases tags fill a very real need for me, but I’m someone comfortable with redirecting email to a feed so perhaps it’s no big deal. […]

53. accelzone - techie weblog » Carson Systems launches Amigo newsletter advertising says (on September 6th, 2006 at 3:13 am )

    […] Email marketing is not the prettiest thing in the world, and much of Web 2.0 is about moving beyond email for communication with constituents - but a person can’t live on kool aid alone and Amigo is an interesting development. While I try to send all my email newsletters through a tool like SocialMail so they end up as RSS feeds, obviously most people do not. Amigo doesn’t appear to offer RSS feeds, it doesn’t use tags and generally avoids most buzz words so familiar to readers of this blog; company co-founder Ryan Carson recently wrote a widely read piece titled Why I don’t use social software - primarily, he doesn’t believe it fills a real need. I know RSS and in many cases tags fill a very real need for me, but I’m someone comfortable with redirecting email to a feed so perhaps it’s no big deal. […]

54. Interesting process of a web project development story at Morad’s Bloggie says (on September 6th, 2006 at 4:20 am )

    […] Email marketing is not the prettiest thing in the world, and much of Web 2.0 is about moving beyond email for communication with constituents - but a person can’t live on kool aid alone and Amigo is an interesting development. While I try to get all my email newsletters through a tool like SocialMail so they end up as RSS feeds, obviously most people do not. Amigo doesn’t appear to offer RSS feeds, it doesn’t use tags and generally avoids most buzz words so familiar to readers of this blog; company co-founder Ryan Carson recently wrote a widely read piece titled Why I don’t use social software - primarily, he doesn’t believe it fills a real need. I know RSS and in many cases tags fill a very real need for me, but I’m someone comfortable with redirecting email to a feed so perhaps it’s no big deal. […]

55. TechCrunch UK » Blog Archive » Carson Systems launches Amigo newsletter advertising says (on September 6th, 2006 at 5:35 am )

    […] Email marketing is not the prettiest thing in the world, and much of Web 2.0 is about moving beyond email for communication with constituents - but a person can’t live on kool aid alone and Amigo is an interesting development. While I try to get all my email newsletters through a tool like SocialMail so they end up as RSS feeds, obviously most people do not. Amigo doesn’t appear to offer RSS feeds, it doesn’t use tags and generally avoids most buzz words so familiar to readers of this blog; company co-founder Ryan Carson recently wrote a widely read piece titled Why I don’t use social software - primarily, he doesn’t believe it fills a real need. I know RSS and in many cases tags fill a very real need for me, but I’m someone comfortable with redirecting email to a feed so perhaps it’s no big deal. […]

56. TechCrunch Japanese アーカイブ » Carson Systems、Amigoニュースレター広告サービスを開始 says (on September 6th, 2006 at 7:24 am )

    […] eメールマーケティングというのはこの世界でかなりダサイ分野だ。ウェブ2.0 というのはそもそも多様なコミュニケーションの手段としてeメール以上のものに移行していこうという動きだ。しかし人生というのはkool aidばかり飲んでもいられないわけで、Amigoもひとつの興味深い実験ではある。私自身はメールニュースレターはSocialMailの ようなツールでまとめてRSSフィードとして購読している。しかし大多数のユーザーはそうはしていないのは明らか。AmigoはRSSフィードを提供するつ もりはないようだ。またタグづけその他Techcrunchの読者にはおなじみの仕掛けを提供することも避けている。共同ファウンダーのRyan Carsonは最近広く読まれた私はなぜソーシャルソフトを使わないかと いう記事で「第１に、それらが本当のニーズを満たすとは思えないからだ」と書いている。RSSと、多くの場合、タグは私の本当のニーズを満たしているが、 私はメールをフィードに転送することが気にいっているユーザーだから、（Carsonの言う大部分のユーザーではないので）何の証明にもならないのかも。 […]

57. Carson Systems launches Amigo newsletter advertising » JenIT says (on September 7th, 2006 at 6:39 pm )

    […] Email marketing is not the prettiest thing in the world, and much of Web 2.0 is about moving beyond email for communication with constituents - but a person can’t live on kool aid alone and Amigo is an interesting development. While I try to get all my email newsletters through a tool like SocialMail so they end up as RSS feeds, obviously most people do not. Amigo doesn’t appear to offer RSS feeds, it doesn’t use tags and generally avoids most buzz words so familiar to readers of this blog; company co-founder Ryan Carson recently wrote a widely read piece titled Why I don’t use social software - primarily, he doesn’t believe it fills a real need. I know RSS and in many cases tags fill a very real need for me, but I’m someone comfortable with redirecting email to a feed so perhaps it’s no big deal. […]

58. Are Social Media “the Tardis in Reverse?” « Media SITREP says (on September 14th, 2006 at 2:56 am )

    […] Joshua Porter takes a different slant, citing Ryan Carson’s Why I Don’t Use Social Software: Ryan is right, most folks outside the teenage demographic don’t have time to spend actively seeking out new social networking tools. Instead, if we did hear about it we would probably find out by someone else telling us or by somehow inviting us to participate…If we look at the history of software, we see that it trends toward modeling human behavior (as I’ve mentioned before)…I quoted Wil Wright recently, and I think he’s (pardon the pun) right on. First thought of as super calculators, computers are now part of the social fabric of our lives. They are becoming integral to how we communicate with our family, friends, and colleagues. They’re still doing calculations of course, but the software that we’ve designed for them is all about human-to-human contact. Social contact. And since we’re social animals in the end, the trend of modeling this in software won’t be reversing any time soon. […]

59. » Blog Archive » Things I like from the last fortnight - 18 September 2006 says (on September 18th, 2006 at 2:22 pm )

    […] Ryan Carson tells us why he doesn’t use Social Software. A lot of this rings true with me. Don’t get me wrong, I’m very excited at all the things happening online right now. But who is going to use all this stuff? I don’t think there is a sustainable market for all the web 2.0 activity going on. Personally, I can count the number of web apps that I regularly use on one hand. […]

60. Web Too.Many: The Real Social Software Faceoff « //engtech says (on September 20th, 2006 at 2:51 pm )

    […] Ryan Carson comes to the shocking conclusion that he only uses around four web apps and decides to question other people in the industry — and they don’t have the time to use more than three or four either. And they’re the people making this stuff. I work in an industry where we use hardware description languages (HDLs) to create integrated circuits. We aren’t as geeky as a software shop, we are still more technological apt than your average person. Yet I’m the only person in the company who has a general concept of what web2.0 is. […]

61. De bästa sociala webbapparna är de som anpassar sig efter hur mycket tid du har [Det handlar om fibrer, Fleecelabs] says (on September 23rd, 2006 at 8:43 am )

    […] Det diskuterades nyligen att sociala webbappar kräver för mycket tid. Jag tror att det startade med att Ryan Carson konstaterade att han inte har tid med sociala webbappar (han vill få saker uträttade). Nick Carr hakade på, liksom Fred Wilson och många andra. Men den intressantaste tanken kom från Ross Mayfield.Ross Mayfield beskrev hur han när han har ont om tid vill att “nätverket ska arbeta åt honom”. Då vill han kunna se vad hans närmsta krets tycker är intressant just nu. Då har han inte tid att bläddra runt bland det som hela kollektivet tycker är intressant, eller att tröska igenom allt som är nytt, eller ens tröska igenom alla sina egna prenumerationer. […]

62. 12 frogs » Blog Archive » Tyranny of the timestamp says (on September 25th, 2006 at 3:16 am )

    […] I’ve been thinking about time management in social software. No, not in response to Ryan Carson’s post on being too busy to use the stuff. (Wondering whether or not MySpace will be the new LinkedIn in ten years is an interesting question, though.) […]

63. The Web 2.0 Dev » Blog Archive » Social Sites going away? says (on September 27th, 2006 at 1:41 am )

    […] Why I don’t use social software - Ryan Carson […]

64. pierre says (on September 28th, 2006 at 11:08 am )

    Another useful app is Ecademy

    Good balance between social and business - the personal interactions are senior to the business.

    Been using it for 2 1/2 years and experience it as very valuable.

    Pierre

65. Oma blogi » Blog Archive » Muutto lähestyy says (on September 28th, 2006 at 3:13 pm )

    […] Aikapulasta ja web 2.0:sta on hauska artikkeli täällä. Ei tosiaan riitä aikaa kaikkeen ja moneen uuteen juttuun tutustuminen jää “bookmarkkaan ja katson myöhemmin” -asteelle. […]

66. jm says (on September 28th, 2006 at 5:28 pm )

    Yet, you and most people probably DO have the time to watch at least a few hours (if not over 10 hours) of TELEVISION each week. Bring the computer and internet to the living room and this becomes a family activity just like TV can be for millions. This is the real future and you fail to see it unfolding.

67. Missives from the Technocave says (on September 29th, 2006 at 1:40 am )

    The Anti-Social Shmoe’s Thoughts on Social Sites…

    Ryan Cars0n’s got it dead on the money when he writes about why he doesn’t use places like Flickr, digg, and MySpace: there’s just not enough freaking time. I work about eighteen hours a day and like him, I’m good if my inbox is below 2000 and my…

68. Missives from the Technocave » The Anti-Social Shmoe’s Thoughts on Social Sites says (on September 29th, 2006 at 2:13 am )

    […] Ryan Cars0n’s got it dead on the money when he writes about why he doesn’t use places like Flickr, digg, and MySpace: there’s just not enough freaking time. I work about eighteen hours a day and like him, I’m good if my inbox is below 2000 and my RSS feed is below 5000. There’s just too much shit to sift through. […]

69. EveryDigg » Blog Archive » Why I Don’t Use Social Software… says (on October 4th, 2006 at 12:21 pm )

    […] I’d love to add friends to my Flickr account, add my links to del.icio.us, browse digg for the latest big stories, customise the content of my Netvibes home page and build a MySpace page. But you know what? I don’t have time and you don’t either….read more | digg story […]

70. BNe says (on October 17th, 2006 at 9:41 pm )

    […] Ryan Carson tells us why he doesn’t use Social Software. A lot of this rings true with me. Don’t get me wrong, I’m very excited at all the things happening online right now. But who is going to use all this stuff? I don’t think there is a sustainable market for all the web 2.0 activity going on. Personally, I can count the number of web apps that I regularly use on one hand.

71. Jamie says (on October 31st, 2006 at 3:02 pm )

    I agree about the lack of time thing. I’ve attempted to solve this with a local, more specific search tool (for Cambridge, UK in this case). The idea is that by limiting search to a particular location (and/or topic), you get to the bottom of what you’re looking for much quicker. Of course, its user base will be limited to Cambridge residents. Give it a try: http://www.justaskjamie.co.uk

72. Harrison says (on November 22nd, 2006 at 1:14 am )

    I think the solution is basically a Trillian for social networks. And actually Spokeo.com got it !

    It works. And it combines all your friends’ blogs, photos, and videos from different social networks/websites all into one destination.

73. Tanya Ryno says (on January 5th, 2007 at 8:57 pm )

    I found myself helping my husband with his blog and being technical I got sucked into the whole thing…. including the social network aspect… which took me away from my actual career (I was only helping out). I put myself on myspace as a way to quitely promote my husband and found that I was now obligated to correspond with hundreds of people. I would then check into mybloglog (or similar) only to find that people have left me messages there as well. I was finding that I wasn’t even able to see what was going on in the world because I was waisting more time and energy checking into each site… ironically only to find out that there were more sites that I should be a part of!

74. incontro sex says (on January 11th, 2007 at 8:53 pm )

    incontro sex…

    news…

75. John says (on February 14th, 2007 at 7:06 pm )

    Great software!

76. GELLOAN says (on March 17th, 2007 at 5:29 pm )

    The first place is your local newspaper, under �money to loan

77. Meme: What’s Your Web 2.0? » Webomatica - tech, movies, music blog says (on April 30th, 2007 at 7:31 pm )

    […] Additional Reading: Vitamin Features […]

78. 15: Brian Solis of FutureWorks PR « Tech PR War Stories says (on June 28th, 2007 at 12:37 pm )

    […] For some balance, you can read a somewhat opposite viewpoint on social media here. […]

79. Feed fight! Feed fight! says (on June 29th, 2007 at 2:44 pm )

    […] And in the other corner, Ryan Carson, author of Why I don’t use social software (click to read the entire post. It’s from about a year ago but maybe even more relevant today.)  I’d love to add friends to my Flickr account, add my links to del.icio.us, browse digg for the latest big stories, customise the content of my Netvibes home page and build a MySpace page. But you know what? I don’t have time and you don’t either… […]

80. What’s Your Web 2.0? (meme/survey) « Internet Duct Tape says (on July 20th, 2007 at 5:03 am )

    […] Web2.0 is all about web-based communities and services that make it easy for people to share and collaborate. There’s an old post from around a year ago by Think Vitamin where he reasons that social web apps are great and all, but casual users don’t have the time to use them. He then goes on to interview the founders of several social software startups and finds out that most of them don’t use more than five either. […]

81. techcrunch » Blog Archive » Carson Systems launches Amigo newsletter advertising says (on August 14th, 2007 at 12:16 pm )

    […] Email marketing is not the prettiest thing in the world, and much of Web 2.0 is about moving beyond email for communication with constituents - but a person can’t live on kool aid alone and Amigo is an interesting development. While I try to get all my email newsletters through a tool like SocialMail so they end up as RSS feeds, obviously most people do not. Amigo doesn’t appear to offer RSS feeds, it doesn’t use tags and generally avoids most buzz words so familiar to readers of this blog; company co-founder Ryan Carson recently wrote a widely read piece titled Why I don’t use social software - primarily, he doesn’t believe it fills a real need. I know RSS and in many cases tags fill a very real need for me, but I’m someone comfortable with redirecting email to a feed so perhaps it’s no big deal. […]

82. Ed Hoffman says (on October 21st, 2007 at 7:16 am )

    I personaly love Yahoo apps, Flickr and Yahoo messanger are two of them. I use Wrike for organizing my life. Wrike developers support the GTD idea, which I’m very fond of. http://www.wrike.com/blog/9/4/2007/Getting_things_done_with_Wrike_saves_us_hours

83. links for 2007-11-11 at DeStructUred Blog says (on November 11th, 2007 at 2:18 am )

    […] Vitamin Features » Why I don’t use social software (tags: Article Social_Networking Social_Network Software) […]

84. Fax Loan Missouri No Payday says (on November 23rd, 2007 at 1:23 am )

    Fax Free Loan Payday…

    …

85. Advance Cash Loan Payday Software says (on November 23rd, 2007 at 2:02 am )

    Loan Milwaukee Payday Store…

    …

86. polyphone klingeltöne samsung polyphone klingeltöne gratis polyphone klingeltöne says (on January 14th, 2008 at 10:52 am )

    kostenlose klingeltöne fuer samsung kostenlos klingeltöne runterladen kostenlos klingeltöne…

    Vor download ringtones for tmobile free motorola v3 ringtones…