That’s Jason Whitlock’s bobblehead figurine. I got it for Christmas and it sits on my desk. I don’t keep much on my desk: An architect’s lamp, a sketch 
pad, a fine-tip sharpie, a coffee cup, a nalgene, a desk phone, an iPhone, a book, a stack of papers, a computer and various wires to make all the devices work. There’s also an elephant that I got in Côte d’ Ivoire last June.
Most of the things are good for work, my computer especially. Somethings are for decoration.
All of them are meaningful.
There are other useful and interesting things that I have in my office, but I don’t want them on my desk for any extended period of time. I may get something new I’d like to add (like this, if you’re in a buying mood). There may be things, like my coffee press or a project I’m working on, that need to be on my desk for a short time.
But most things don’t need to be there all the time. When more things start to collect on my desk, it’s harder to find the things I actually want.
Social networks are like this.
It’s easy to fill up our Twitter feeds with tweets from thousands of users. It’s easy to friend every single person we have ever met and some we haven’t.
It’s easy to be a mile wide and an inch deep.
But being a good neighbor isn’t easy, is it?
Creating a meaningful feed is a great way to be a good neighbor. By filling your feeds with people you actually want updates from, it makes your life easier and validates your friends and those you follow. It’s a way of saying, “Here are people I really want to hear from.”
(Because of the different natures of Facebook and Twitter, I’ve broken out some ideas for creating meaningful feeds into two different sections.)
Creating a meaningful Facebook feed:
Only friend people you want to hear from. Want to reconnect with your 3rd grade teacher? Great! Facebook will help you do that. If not, don’t hesitate to ignore the request.
Unfriend graciously. If you’re ignoring someone’s updates and you don’t have a good reason to remain friends unfriend them. Be nice about it if they ask why.
Hide applications liberally, but hide people only if you have to. There are instances when unfriending someone is unwise, but their updates are driving you nuts. If your roommate is constantly taking quizzes to find out what color popsicle they are, their updates are probably annoying you to the point of damaging their computer and blaming it on the cat. Try blocking the quizzes or use Facebook Lite. If that doesn’t work, and you just can’t unfriend them, go with the hide. But before you do, ask yourself if you’d be okay with them hiding your updates.
Creating a meaningful Twitter feed:
Don’t follow someone just because they followed you. Check them out. If they seem interesting, go for it. If not, leave room for people you find more interesting.
Follow only as many people as you can keep up with. You don’t listen to every 10th thing your friends say. The same applies here. Quality, not quantity.
Don’t unfollow someone just because they didn’t follow you back. If you like their tweets, then what they think of yours shouldn’t matter that much.
How do you create a meaningful social media feed?
Hi Paul,
I think it’s cool you are focused on have a meaningful social feed, and for the most part I agree with your advice on being polite. However, I disagree on some levels. Like you, I have many friends that suggests not accepting all friend request unless you personally know the person and that okay for people who wish to remain digitally connected only those they physically know, but I have the opposite philosophy regarding friend requests and accept all of my requests because in my experience, it pays off (both literally and metaphorically). I’ve accepted ‘strangers’ to my facebook from many countries and cities whom I later physically met and became good friends with, or who were art collectors and purchased my art (happened a lot actually), or was introduced by them to other blogs, websites or people I found exciting or was invited to events in New York where I made many more new ‘real’ friends and contacts etc. Besides, the internet is all about connection, especially connection with others and ideas beyond thephysical environment you call home. And yes while its true the downside to accepting everyone is that you ended getting some spammers and people you have to ‘prune’ later on, I still absolutely believe it’s expansive and worthwhile to be inclusive with everyone because you will most certainly ended up rewarded.
(PS-unfortunately, I’ve discovered unlike MySpace Facebook has a friend count ceiling of 5000, an arbitrary decision I find irritating, especially considering the only way to get beyond the limit is to start a fan page)
Hey Brian,
You make some really good points. My take for those who create, be it artists, musicians, writers, etc. is a bit different. Used in the right way (much the way you describe your usage), social networks are an incredible tool for promotion in a non-scummy way.
That said, you make a good argument for all users and it’s helping me form what I’m trying to say. You’re totally right about forming relationships with people you don’t know. This has happened to me on twitter and I have made some real, actual friends. Who knows, maybe someday it will literally pay off as well.
My hope for people is that they’ll steer clear of shameless promoters and people who are only in it for themselves. Your thoughts are helping me form this concept better, which is the reason I blog to begin with.
I’ll try to post a revised version of this post soon.
And you’re right, the friend limit/fan page thing is unfortunate for those rich in friends. I know a guy who got his account suspended because he tried to send messages to too many of his friends.