Multiply was a late starter in my case, I had joined Friendster and Blogger beforehand. Friendster flew off and I got connected with lots of my friends, before Facebook usurped its throne and connected me with even more people. Blogger, on the other hand, proved to be a robust medium to store and publish my writings, although Wordpress is starting to show similar, if not better, functionality. So, Multiply was left with pretty much nothing, since all my needs have been taken care of by “specialist” social media sites.

I had intended for Multiply to be my educational and Islamic Finance personal sites. Turned out that I have a lot of interests that I want to put in writing, and I haven’t had the time and passion to commit to single topic most of the time. Hence, I have retired Multiply, but I keep it online for archival purposes.

Brazen Careerist is mainly targeted for professional use, but in a less formal way, combining the best of LinkedIn and Facebook. In sum, a LinkedIn geared for Generation Y. It has not reach tipping point yet, but it’s getting there, although getting international crowds may prove a bit difficult, as it’s not common in the culture to mix work and play.

I think Brazen Careerist has kept up with its innovation, it has quite innovative way to present one’s resume. I have not put the social media site into good use yet, but I can see how I am going to craft a new vitae for myself.

I’ve written quite extensively on my Twitter usage in Blogspot since I joined it here, and then one year later here.

YouTube is platform neutral since you can upload and watch video clips whether you are using Windows or Macs, and even mobile hardwares. Among the options for amateur video uploader sites, YouTube is probably the #1 choice due to its network effect. Since Google acquired it in 2006, its network effect got multiplied thanks to Google’s own massive users.

I found quite a few independent as well as world movies in YouTube, albeit being divided into several pieces due to its own limitation. It might not be long before big studios start using YouTube as a distribution channel. When it happened, it’ll pose serious threat for Netflix and iTunes.

I have put my YouTube channel link on the Social Media widgetized footer area.

I had known Digg about four years ago, where a co-worker forwarded me a dugg article about something, which I can’t remember. I got curious about Digg at that time but didn’t pursue it any further. Last year, I decided to join Digg, since I started seeing lots of yellow buttons with the word “digg” on different contents around the Web, and also to feed my curiosity.

I immediately saw Digg as an alternative bookmark site, and a publishing source. I have been using Digg as such ever since.

I have put Digg’s link on my Social Media widget.

But, I guess Friendster still has that nostalgia on it. So, I haven’t erase the account even though I have reduced my visits since 2006. Plus, it still has its uses on occasions (like double-checking profiles or what-not). I have put Friendster social media button in the footer widget.

Facebook happens to be my primary social media as well since most of my friends have Facebook accounts. Friends from kindergarten, middle schools, high school, colleges, workplaces, professional networks, locals, and overseas. At the moment, it is probably my most valuable contact list. I still have some fun on Facebook, answering quizzes and playing games. But mostly, I use Facebook to maintain my network contacts, express my views, and to a lesser extent, build my personal “brand”.

Facebook used to be an exclusively academia community with only those having .edu email address able to register. Now, Facebook is wide open, enabling those with not so legitimate identity with questionable motives to open an account. My niece learned of privacy traps on Facebook the hard way, but that is another story. Although I already put privacy blocks on certain contents, I believe I’ll have to be more vigilant in monitoring my Facebook account nowadays.

On version 2.0, the concept for Social Media links was to put them all in one separate page. While it’s still possible to do it on version 3.0, I think a widget in footer (or sidebar) area can come handy. For one thing, it’ll show up in every pages on the web site, hence driving up traffic and improving retention (so the theory goes). Plus, the customized button design is so neat.

Sure thing there will be several links down there, but I’ll start with my Flickr. Flickr is a photo-sharing site similar to Google’s own Picasa. I have joined Flickr since 2004, but until now have only uploaded 3 photos. I have lots of photos, mind you, as my former colleagues can attest. It’s just that photo capturing and photo uploading are two different interests I guess, requiring similar level of enthusiasm to make Flickr works. Well, let’s hope it’ll change, or will it?