Which social networks do you use? [Poll]

By Rene Ritchie
last updated

You can find me @reneritchie most of the time. That's because the social network I use most is Twitter. I use it on my iPhone on the go, on my Mac while I'm working, and on my iPad while I'm reading or browsing. I use it to follow a few people I know and a lot of people in my industry. I seldom look at RSS anymore. To find out what's going on, I use Twitter. To keep in touch with real-life family and friends, and a few other people in the industry who prefer it, I use Facebook on the iPhone or the web. I use Instagram as well — also @reneritchie — from my iPhone, and sometimes share to Twitter and Facebook from there. And... that's about it. Only not really. Let me explain...

I do use Facebook but I don't put a lot of personal information there. I don't store a lot of photos, I don't check in, and don't do anything much at all but share the occasional story, and like and comment on the occasional post or link. That's more than I do on LinkedIn though. Mostly because I can't find anything else to do on LinkedIn. Likewise Pinterest.

Google+ I use because Google's bundled Hangouts there and that's our office video conferencing tool and what we use for our podcasts. Otherwise, I share the occasional story there too, and the occasional +1 or comment, and I keep up with my Google- and Android-invested friends. Like LinkedIn, however, I'm hard pressed to find anything else much to do there. And... that's about it. Seriously this time. Kinda.

Everything else has fallen by the wayside. However, I'm curious how you use social? Which networks are you on the most, how do you access them, and what do you use them for? Let me know your vote up top — just pick the ones you use a lot! — and give me the details in the comments below!

Note: I'm only including social networks with some public component in this, so no Snapchat or WhatsApp or the like.

Rene Ritchie
Rene Ritchie
Contributor

Rene Ritchie is one of the most respected Apple analysts in the business, reaching a combined audience of over 40 million readers a month. His YouTube channel, Vector, has over 90 thousand subscribers and 14 million views and his podcasts, including Debug, have been downloaded over 20 million times. He also regularly co-hosts MacBreak Weekly for the TWiT network and co-hosted CES Live! and Talk Mobile. Based in Montreal, Rene is a former director of product marketing, web developer, and graphic designer. He's authored several books and appeared on numerous television and radio segments to discuss Apple and the technology industry. When not working, he likes to cook, grapple, and spend time with his friends and family.

54 Comments
  • Mostly twitter these days. You find more diverse people and companies to follow and they have something interesting to offer. I've also semi used LinkedIn for job hunting
  • There should be a "none" as a response. Sent from the iMore App
  • by not responding to the poll you get that response. I do believe what do you use, not what do you avoid. Posted via iMore App
  • Um no.
  • You have no data comparing pollsters who don't network vs those who do. All you have are info on those who do. Companies would like data on those who don't to encourage them to get onto social media to sell their brand, if nothing else Sent from the iMore App
  • I use Instagram. I have accounts for other stuff but I don't really use them regularly. Like I have twitter but don't check it daily. Instagram is the first and last thing i look at. Facebook, well, i don't care about your kids or your farm.
  • In my Frank Costanza voice "I find hashtags distracting" Sent from the iMore App
  • maybe people should try Path, it's only available on mobile devices both iOS and droid. it's more personal than any other social networks which only about 150 friends can be on your friend list, of course they're the closest people to you which you don't mind to see their activities update.
  • To be complete I would add the extra options of:
    None
    Email
    SMS Although the last two are not dedicated social networks, they are still commonly used for social communication. Sent from the iMore App
  • Most of my friends still do that, we text and email one another. Especially because someone like me often pays just for minutes and texting and skips paying for the data if money is tight. Sent from the iMore App
  • Anyone know what app that is in the screen shot? thanks. Nevermind. closer looks tells me FB.
  • Twitter is by far my favourite. It's light, fast and easy. I find it is the best place for sharing and for getting the latest news...on any topic. I never bothered signing up to Facebook, but have tried all the others.
  • I use Facebook to keep up with family, classmates, and friends. I use LinkedIn to have some contact with professional contacts in my industry. I'm actually trying to figure out how to use LinkedIn in my business, but I'm cautious as I've heard that most people don't want to feel as though they're being sold to on that platform. I do like reading interesting business anecdotes on LinkedIn, and I found 2 jobs based on my LinkedIn profile. I use Instagram to "see the world" in photographs and find inspiration. Finally I use Twitter occasionally to catch news stories during the days, communicate with airline providers, and to "second screen" while watching boxing and large sporting events , i.e. Super Bowl, andWorld Cup. By the way, I did not choose Google + because I did not want to build another social network and invest the energy I put into FaceBook.I follow @reneritchie on Twitter and Instagram.
  • LinkedIn is used strictly for work or job-hunting purposes. FB is hard to quit (though I'd like to) because so many friends & family are there. Twitter is less interesting to me because there's a lot less interaction -- it's just everyone making announcements. As for Google+, I have *zero* interest in helping them track me further than they already do. If it wasn't for their image search engine I wouldn't use them at all. I acknowledge that Hangouts is genuinely useful to people but like everything Google does it comes with a hidden price that you may not find acceptable if you understood it better. I have been delighted that the service is largely a complete failure. With FB I have had to modify it HEAVILY to make it acceptable to use. There are some things I'm happy to share with services like FB for marketing purposes (honest!) -- my weird tastes in music, film and TV, for example. You can have that level of info, FB (et al), it's on the house. When they start spying on my through my thermostat or tracking me on non-FB websites, however, that's where I draw the line and take action.
  • All except Linkedin, although I use some WAY more than others. Pinterest I use the least; Facebook and Twitter I use the most. I do keep an updated G+ page, and Tumblr gets some heavy rotation as well. I've scaled back on Instagram... Sent from the iMore App
  • The fact that there's no "None" option really tells you something about this world.
  • Facebook, mainly, to keep in contact with family and friends. Linked In, on rare occasion, related to work and career. Flickr is what I use (outside of FB) for posting and sharing my photos (Instagram and Pinterest annoy me). Sent from the iMore App
  • No app.net love? :p Sent from the iMore App
  • I'm none too Sent from the iMore App
  • "None" for me, too. Wait--almost forgot about the NSA network...
  • Facebook beats Google Plus easily. Twitter farts on Google Plus as well. Instagram is nice to go to and share information. They all serve a certain purpose today. From my Galaxy Note 3 On T-Mobile via iMore App
  • Twitter and Instagram are definitely the two best. I LOVE Vine too but I don't have too many friends who use it. Unfortunately Vine is very much cluttered with self professing comedians. Granted, some of them are quite funny, but I mire so enjoy those Vines who take an artistic approach to 6 sec live photos. As amazing as Twitter is it still actually has the most upside, and within five years will be globally more used than Facebook. Facebook's only lasting quality is that everyone is on it. The product itself is like burnt steak, it's so overdone.
  • I once used Facebook a lot. Now it's just a way for people to seek attention. Sent from the iMore App
  • Facebook, and I don't post *anything.* I only follow friends there and use Facebook Messenger (probably delete the Facebook for Android app from my Note 3 soon, since I don't send anything there much). I don't see value in Social Networks. They are a bad place for Sharing Pictures and Videos since they destroy the Quality so much. I may start using Twitter just to share that stuff from OneDrive to the people I want to see it (Protected Account), but that's about as far as I'm willing to go. I typically only follow/friend people I know IRL on these, as well. I don't follow/like Brands, click on any adds. I absolutely do not use Like/+1/Fave on them. That can have unintended consequences. I don't post comments as it only makes me have to do a ton of work when I want to clean out the account (as in, delete everything on it). I post as little personal information as possible when setting up the profile.
  • I'm 70 years old, and have no use for any of them, despite the fact that my children use Facebook a lot. I've tried it, but I don't like the whole concept of social media, it makes me uncomfortable.
  • They are good ways to keep in contact with friends and family of you can't always see or phone them. Sent from the iMore App
  • I use Instagram and Twitter. I have never been into Facebook (IKR!) and Facebook is about dead anyways !! I have a Pinterest, but I don't use it (I think I have 1or 2 pics.. ?) and I have a google+. My Google+ I use for different contest or things on YouTube, but if people I knew actually used Google+, I would probably use it more. Sent from the iMore App
  • I use LinkedIn because work requires it, and Facebook because nowadays people send invites for events almost exclusively through Facebook. I wouldn't use any of them if I didn't have to. Posted via my Galaxy Note 3 on the Android iMore App
  • I love Twitter and Instagram. I have a love/hate relationship with Facebook. As an expat it's an invaluable tool to keep in touch with everyone back home but that means having to put up with all the nonsense Facebook throws at you. The unfollow and hide button is my friend. LinkedIn I am on but I don't know what to do with it. I'm in the corporate world by accident so I'm not sure what's going behind its doors. I have a Google+ because Google told me I had to.
  • I use Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest for my Blog, but with what's going on here in STL right now, I've been really amped up on Twitter since it's what's actually happening on the ground, and staying the hell OFF of FB.
  • I don't know of anyone using Google+ knowingly.
    Which I suppose is why Google is forcing it on everyone during logging in. I think I've got about 3 different profiles without actually ever intending to create one.... Desperate! I post different things to different networks... I'm warming up to Tumblr finally...
  • I have accounts on them all, but I don´t really use Twitter, Facebook I browse and occasionally post something, Google + I am more involved with due to being part of a number of communities. I have used to but have since stopped most activity on LinkedIn and Instagram. I am considering purging my life of unnecessary social networks.
  • None of the above Sent from the iMore App
  • Facebook for the people and businesses I should connect to. LinkedIn (finally after all these years!) for professional and career purposes. Twitter to follow my interests. Whatever my friends post on Instagram always ends up twitter or Facebook anyways. Not sure the purpose of Pinterest. Google I will get to when I return to college or find a group of friends who mostly use Google to communicate socially or professionally. And I actually blog, with Wordpress, not just re-tweet memes on a promo-filled website.
  • I only really use Facebook. Posted via the iMore App for Android
  • A few ex colleagues contact me on LinkedIn occasionally, but frankly it's a pain in the arse, because of the constant invites from people I don't know who just want me to buy something. Then there's the rampant endorsing of skills that many people have no idea whether I actually possess them. It's good for the 'Living Resume', and recommendations from colleagues, past and present. I like Twitter, but need to use it with a VPN (I live in China). Facebook - I've been on it twice and left for good over a year ago. I found it an utter waste of time, and now I can get some work done. My wife likes it though. Google+ = too hard in China. My business partner uses Weibo, QQ and WeChat to promote our business, via links from our website. For me, I mostly keep in touch via IM - BBM, Messages, WeChat (probably not very secure), Skype (mainly for the call credits - as an IM it's a POS). Threema for the added security, when needed. Sent from the iMore App
  • Twitter is the Best!, the rest ugh. Sent from the iMore App
  • I use all but tumblr! Posted via the iMore App for Android
  • I use Twitter and Facebook purely for work because I have to have a visible internet presence due to the nature of my job. If I didn't, I wouldn't use any of them.
  • A lot like you Rene... mostly Twitter. I used to use Facebook, but now it's more a marketing channel for my company and another organization. I've been hearing that a lot more lately, which means it will eventually become irrelevant for that as well. Google+, like many Google products, might be pretty decent in concept and technical implementation, but the UI and workflow are bad (and it's kind of hard to top Facebook in that department, but they pulled it off somehow). So, I use it a bit now and then just to see if it ever takes off.
  • I use Facebook literally to keep connected with people i care about and that's it i just hate all the other junk now, i also like twitter and if i really want to share a photo i will every few months put on photo on Instagram
  • I only sometimes use twitter, but not too often. I have a google+ account for auto backup of photos, but rarely log in, and I used to use Facebook, but I have been Facebook free for over 4 years and wouldn't go back to using it if they paid me a million dollars a year just to use that piece of turd! Sent from the iMore App
  • I use Twitter mainly, although I use Instagram and Facebook as well. Twitter for me is perfect since I run 2 accounts (1 personal one and 1 for CBS' Big Brother). Tweetdeck on the desktop and Tweetbot on the iPhone and iPad have made it so perfect to use anywhere.
  • I use FB the most -- more for links to interesting articles to read later. I mute most of my friends there. Twitter I only use when there's some huge simultaneous event going on (TV show, Event program, SOTU), and I want to hear what others have to say. Google+ I only use to see who's commented on my YouTube videos, although the app is much better than FB or the Twitter App. Tried Instagram and it felt far too voyeuristic for my tastes.
  • I use twitter @mzauk and find it intuitive to use and keep up to date with news etc Sent from the iMore App
  • I am Facebook free for 15 days as far as having my account fully deleted. Don't miss it a bit. I love Twitter and am starting to figure out Google+ a bit. I don't really like its suggestions of knowing any and everyone you've had email convo's with but we'll see how it goes. Whisper is interesting too.
  • Twitter is it for me, and I've even backed off of it to a degree.
  • None.
  • i still using facebook to keep in touch with family and Former Classmates, twitter to keep updating with what is going on around me..
  • Twitter, Facebook and Google+ then Instagram. For photography I find Google+ to be the best.
  • I'm all over the place, but for iMore I'm on Google+ and Twitter.
  • I mostly use Twitter for everything now along with Instagram to share moments in photos and some videos, Vine comes if I want 6 second moments which most gets shared on twitter. Facebook comes for close friends and families
  • I use primarily use facebook to communicate with family and friends.... I don't do Twitter.. just can't get on board with it for some reason... Thinking about doing instagram soon as well.
  • Twitter, tumblr and http://peepoc.com for polls.