In a comment on RecruitingBlogs.com, Josh pointed out that I have not posted there much, if at all.  His comment was an eye-opener for me.

I have always been a supporter of RecruitingBlogs.com, and given the connection that I feel to the community on that site, it was a pretty big shock to see him point out that I had not posted there in over a year.  It made me think.

And the more I thought about it, the more it made sense.  My professional social network is not about ERE.net, RecruitingBlogs.com or any other single site.  I feel a strong connection not to the domain name or the social media platform, but to the people on the other end of the conversations that I have, wherever they are.

For instance:

I connect with Dennis via email, instant messenger, Twitter , FordyceLetter.com, RecruitingBlogs.com, and occasionally I am lucky enough to see him in person at industry events.

I connect with Susan mostly on Twitter, but also by phone, on Facebook and in person.

I connect with Shally via email, instant messenger, ERE.net, Jobmachine.net and in person.

I connect with Bill on FordyceLetter.com, RBC, Twitter, and XtremeRecruiting.tv.

I connect with Michael mostly on his show, but also by email, instant messenger, and Twitter.

My connections with these people and many more - that's what my social network looks like.  It's a bunch of people that I want to listen to, interact and converse with, and it does not really matter where I do it.  More and more, those interactions span across multiple online networks, and they involve in-person or phone conversations as well.

If I were to turn off my presence in any one of those networks, my interactions with each of these individuals would be poorer for it.

I'm seeing this in my own life, and I think it's where social media is headed - my connections follow me and I am able to have meaningful interactions with them regardless of what site I am on, or even if I am not on any site at all.