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Before you go and sign any divorce papers with a social network, please take a brief moment to consider this “cantankerous guy’s” opinion on the subject matter. Obviously we all know that at the end of the day, technology is indeed advancing. And it will do so with or without us. And just like the state of our economy, or the lack of tolerance by some of our politicians, or even the quick tempered shaking of a fist you may have recently offered someone that angered you, perhaps it might be wise to start appreciating things more.

Meet Irvin, a 12 year old boy who currently resides in El Paso, TX. And like most kids his age, he attends grade school, and enjoys making friends. Recently he reached out to me via a social network. And after closer inspection, I came to realize that he spends most of his time managing several different social networks. In our correspondence online, I also learned that his hero is Steve Jobs. By now you may have figured out that Irvin loves technology. But most importantly, Irvin is actually earning a substantial income online using these social networks. Which leads me to ask, how productive were you when you were 12 years old?

What’s my point here? Well…, I am not a 12 year old boy, but I can tell you that I have definitely gained because of social networking. In fact, I have gained more new contacts, more new friends, more new leads, saved hundreds of dollars with coupons and special offers, and yes…I too have earned an income online. In fact, I am making more now online working for myself, than I would be working at a…real job.

I know what you’re thinking. “What about my privacy?” Privacy…what are you living on the lamb? “Yea… but they will have my email, my photo’s, and my most secretive data.” Go grab a cup of decaf, and remember what I told you before. Technology is advancing, and there will be competitors eventually offering you higher levels of security, added features, and other great add-ons that we have yet to even imagine. And they are going to be doing this for us on the fly. For example, I have been playing around with Google+ like most others. And so far, I have to say that I am impressed with what I have seen. But what I really found cool, was how the timing of this move into social networking by another giant, really forces Mr. Zuckerberg and his crew to keep trying to outdo their competition. And everyone knows competition is a good thing, right?

While I am not trying to sound overly preachy, there is a comedy sketch from one of my favorite comedians, that really emphasizes the point I am trying to make here. His name is Louis CK, and recently he had an interview with Conan (see below) that you may have already seen. But it really sums up exactly how we all should be feeling about these great social networking tools. After all, these tools just help make it easier to share with those that we know and trust, or those that we seek to know more about, and not to mention all the free swag that is included. So I guess what I mean to say is use these tools, or don’t use them. But if you do use them, try to focus on molding them to better fit your specific needs or interests. You will start gaining from this, trust me. And whatever you do, please remember not to kick the social network. Not just yet anyway.