In January of this year I signed up to MySpace and I’ve logged in about a half-dozen times since to check messages, reply to comments, and upload a few profile photos.
Shortly after that I signed up to Facebook and did just about the same thing. I logged in from time-to-time to catch up on friend requests, see if I liked any of the new applications, and then logged back out.
I’m not even sure when I opened my LinkedIn account but I’ve never taken full advantage of what it has to offer. Many of my "connections" on LinkedIn were not really work related and so I felt my profile on LinkedIn lacked the legitimacy that LinkedIn was trying to build. I’ve asked LinkedIn to cancel my account, via email since that is the only option at this point, so we’ll see how long that takes.
Here is what I said regarding my intial experience with MySpace:
"But once you force yourself to get beyond that, there is a “valuable†service underlying in there somewhere. In amongst the error-ridden web site is a service that actually helps you to connect with people you wouldn’t have otherwise."
I still stand by the above statement today. If you are having trouble finding the people you went to High School with look no further than using MySpace, and/or Facebook, because it seems that just about everyone on the planet with access to the Internet has signed up to either of these two services at some point.
My main reason for closing both my MySpace and Facebook accounts is because I believe that the value in these services is equal to the effort you are willing to put into them. As with any social network – you get what you put in. Unfortunately for me I’ve been unable to find the value in either of these services beyond the initial contact I’ve been able to make with those I haven’t been able to otherwise.
Side note: MySpace and Facebook have similar methods of deleting your account. I like MySpace’s method because they ask you for a reason, and I like Facebook’s method because they try to educate you on features they have based on your reason(s) for leaving. Pretty slick. LinkedIn, like Viddler, asks that you email them for deleting the account. As long as the response is fairly prompt, I think this method is fine too.
I’m not sure if this is a good idea or not, but I’ve been wanting to take this plunge since mid-summer and I’m relieved I’ve finally done it. There are a few other social networks that I am on the fence about, but they typically do something that other social networks simply do not do (or I use them a bunch) so I’m holding onto those accounts for a while longer. Have you ever thought about closing any of your social networking accounts?