We like to carry on about how social media is about have conversations. How it’s about finding and make new friends based of common ideas. How it is built around the idea of opening sharing all kinds of information.

But really though when we look into our heart of hearts just how many people are using things like Twitter and Facebook for generic “hi, how are you?” social conversations?

I ask this not so much as a rhetorical statement but really as a valid question. A question that came about while reading an interesting post by David Spinks where he says not to forget the fact that a lot of people using social media are doing so as a way to increase the size of their social network for business reasons.

My activities and interactions in this “social media community” have the primary goal to succeed as a professional. If my time spent here doesn’t help me to perform my job better, and to benefit my career, then I am wasting my time.

Does that mean I can’t make friends during the process? Of course not.  I have made amazing friendships along the way. I consider people like Lauren Fernandez, Arik Hanson, Keith Burtis, Gloria Bell andStuart Foster to be some of my closest and most trusted friends.  I didn’t engage with them to become friends though.  I engaged with them to benefit my career, and the friendship resulted from the process.

Don’t forget why others are here.  YES, most people are participating in this community for the sake of “conversation and networking”.  But conversation and networking aren’t a result, they’re tactics.  The purpose of building these relationships is to drive more traffic, build more opportunities etc…we’re building relationships for business purposes.

Are we being made to believe that being honest about using social media as a way to further one’s career, one’s profession is a bad thing and as a result we pretend to use social media for mindless entertainment and inane pseudo-conversations?

Just curious……….