Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves. Do not now seek the answers, which cannot be given to you because you would not be able to live them. And the point is to live everything. Live the questions now, and perhaps without even knowing it, you will live along some distant day into the answers. - Rainer Maria Rilke

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Social Media -- Finding a balance

I find the whole aspect of social media networking a bit overwhelming...facebook pages, twitter, linked in just to name a few.  I'm going to date myself here, but when I started in design, we barely worked on the computer, there was no internet much less on a phone, cellphones were the big handheld boxes, and you had car phones installed in you car and they weren't portable (told you I'd date myself) .

So skip ahead a few years (ok, more than a few) years, and I took some time off to have kids and be a work at home mom.  I kept up with technology as much as I could, and upgraded when I needed to, but had no idea of all the social media that is available.  I still don't understand some of the networks and how to use it effectively.  I am trying to get out of my comfort zone and respond to posts from other designers, enter competitions and join and participate in groups.  I like the social networking, and I love researching what other designers are doing, or how to do something.  What I don't like is how much time it takes to go through all my media outlets and wondering if it will pay off at some point.  I do think that it is a good tool, I have really been able to "catch up" on design issues, new techniques, and other designers and their styles. As a startup company I need to get out there as much as I can, let others see what I can do, but my problem is finding a balance. Is there a good way to balance the networking with working?  What are the best social media outlets for designers?  I'd love to hear your opinion!!

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