This is the sin­gle most impor­tant thing that I think peo­ple for­get about what social media is: It is, sim­ply, a means to an end. Whether you’re want­ing to engage, broad­cast, enter­tain or be enter­tained, it can do all of these things. How you choose to use it will dic­tate what you get out of it.

Let me say, to close, that I’m not attempt­ing to bash Laporte or Scoble. Both of them, in their own rights, do amaz­ing work. I am, how­ever, bash­ing their argu­ments against the platforms…but I’m also bash­ing yours if you hap­pen to agree with them, so it’s fair play.

So get out there, sign up for every site you feel like using and find out what you like and dis­like about them. You don’t have to like every one of them. We’re all aware; there are stink­ing piles of fail in the clus­ters of social media and social net­work­ing sites. When you do find ones that you enjoy, use them how you want to use them and don’t let peo­ple tell you oth­er­wise. It’s your time, so spend it how you choose.