The New York Times has a great article out today on social fatigue.

“For the Plugged-In, Too Many Choices”

The article begins with the spotlight on one lady who spends her energy on Twitter. She focuses, in large part, because she found a job, a house and a boyfriend on the service. She has opted to focus entirely on Twitter, personally, because she finds it useful.

Incidentally, Twitter is perhaps my most used social network but I am active on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr (due to this blog), Google+, Instagram and foursquare. I have presences on other sites and I use many of them, on occasion, for work. In large part due to these statistics:

The relentless pressure to partake of the newest networks was underscored in June with the debut of Google+, Google’s social networking site. According to Nielsen, social networking is now the most popular online activity, ahead of sending e-mails, searching the Internet and playing games.

Put another way: one in every four-and-a-half minutes spent on the Web is spent on a social networking site or blog. And last year the average visitor spent 66 percent more time on such sites than in 2009, when early adopters were already feeling digitally fatigued.

The article goes on to spotlight others and how they combat fatigue.

In large part, my work is focused on new media, public relations and communications. I have to keep my eye on Twitter, Facebook and now Google+ all of the time for that reason. Instagram, Tumblr and foursquare are used more sparingly.

For my personal use I am focused on staying in touch with friends, making new connections, expanding my reach, staying on top of trends and staying aware of new events + locations around my home base. I put One Nation work under personal as much of my client acquisition, research and pitching relies on those very tenants.

One service I focus on, as I consult with businesses, brands and politicians, is to help them figure out where they should have a presence, how to communicate on each network and how to engage/monitor. Organizations, more so than even individuals, have a tendency to overstretch themselves and do everything Ok rather than a few things well.

“Social fatigue” will continue to arise as new services launch which is why it pays to monitor where it would be best to spend your time.

I enjoy reading books, drinking a beer or coffee with friends and family, exercising and a host of activities that are not built around social networking. I do not have time for everything, which is true of everyone, and I feel that I have made the right decisions to date. I will continue to evaluate new services as they arise and grab accounts to “protect” my identity.

You, and your organization, would be wise to do the same.