In recent years I have watched my friends communicate more through social networks. After three days ago I had a birthday, I have sometimes taken the trouble to draw up a list of all congratulations, broken down by means of transfer. If the number of people I do not einbereche which I have personally shaken the hand (16 people), then I come to the following statement:

• 4 letters came by post,
• Three wishes I received on my private email address
• 3 by e-mail address on my business
• 24 people have given me the MeinVZ - written notice board,
• 16 on my Facebook - Wall
• 5 congratulations message and fluttered as MeinVZ
• 1 Congratulations via Facebook - message in,
• 2 calls came from landline (private) and
• 2 calls via landline (office)
• 6 people called me in this regard on the phone and
• 7 wrote me a text message.

The result is clear! Faced of 72 people who do not face-to-face, only 4% have written by post, 24% used the telephone (landline or mobile as a call or SMS) and 72% chose the blatant Internet as a delivery channel. Of these 72% (52 people) who congratulated me on the internet, just 12% used the good old email, and the remaining 88% attributed through social networks!

Which brings me to the question of how many social networks do I need? I even fixed limit myself to two networks: XING for the professional track and Facebook for personal contacts (of course, can not be strictly separated, so many contacts on Xing and private in nature). At times I have students still heavily used StudiVZ, then came the "move" to MeinVZ and for several months, I no longer use MeinVZ (I have deleted the account but not yet).

Another question: Would I even congratulated more people, even if I for example, to who-knows-or wen.de lokalisten.de would be active? After all, it is apparent that using social networks to communicate with people with whom you would otherwise not be recorded contact. Who writes for his old school friends birthday a letter by mail? Or who already send the friend a friend a birthday greeting via text message? Yes, that sounds stupid to - and that it is too! For something like this would make a little, but the social networks of thanks is that nowadays completely normal! And so it's pretty clear that the communication intensity and frequency increases further, the more networks you join. Because after all, not all people use the same service ... and who knows who I know have two corners of the party of my cousin brother of her former classmates (that's a gross exaggeration for clarity), who found me yet, because he is not in the same networks as I was active? Will I ever spend that much time for this kind of networking?

To match this, Cem Basman first end of May via Twitter , then Facebook sparked the discussion, how much does a human social network . Roland also has cooling v.Puttkamer the issue on werbeblogger.de taken once beautiful. On slidetone.net ye a place suitable podcast this.

In addition to people who operate digital Sebstmord , more and more deaktieren accounts or delete , there should be still some who can not get enough of it. If one or the other so even the most distant acquaintance of his friend (and so on ... so now that you know) is looking for, I put the following list to my heart: Martin Weigert last year has already started a list of German social networks to maintain and has now even taken the trouble to rank 149 networks using seitwert.de ( via )! Madness! Recently is the list even in the Special Rankin on Seitwert.de been included. There are now listed as 172 social networks. Have fun!