The new year is the perfect time to get rid of all the clutter and organise yourself for the year ahead. I tried to do this last week before going on a road trip up the east coast by removing everything from my wardrobes at home and getting rid of stuff I don't use. Unfortunately it was really hot and after managing to finally get everything out, I was too hot, tired and bothered to actually de-clutter and everything just ended up all over the floor.
Luckily it's a little easier to de-clutter and organise my online self. So here is my plan for a clutter free and organised online presence in 2011.
- Getting rid of people I don't talk to is fine and deleting those messages I keep getting from people I don't know clears my inbox.
- I will mostly be focussing on all those applications. All those old applications I don't even remember 'allowing to access my contact details' are going, anyone who posts on my wall through applications that send me virtual flowers or cows are all being blocked. You may like playing them, in which case don't delete them but I urge anyone to go through all the ones they have accepted and delete any they don't use. They just spam me and my wall.
- Make sure my info, work and interests are still all up to date.
- I don't know about you but I hate it when someone follows me, I look at their profile and they seem ok with lots of followers. Then later that week you realise that once you follow them back they unfollow you to inflate their follower/following ratio. So I will be using http://www.justunfollow.com to find those people that don't add anything of value to me.
- Those that also just push out get quick schemes or 'special deals', you are all being unfollowed!
- It's also a good time to check your lists and make sure they are still all usable or relevant.
- I will also be updated my bio and background.
Simply put it's always a good idea to go through 'people you may know' and add anyone you have worked with. I also will be checking my profile is up to date.
Other than trying to get through the sheer amount of emails I have I will be focussing on all those newsletters I have signed up for and all the google alerts I get. If I don't get time to read them, or don't feel the need to read them then it's time to unsubscribe!
Websites
I have two main websites that I use for my online presence; this blog and my website www.louisegriffiths.com. They serve two very different purposes. Louisegriffiths.com acts more like an online Resume, detailing who I am and what I do, whereas this blog is a little less formal and allows me to express my opinions and write about things of interest. Both sites will be getting facelifts, content will be updated and I will be adding videos. It may take a while to get this done, but the changes will be worth it.
Other Online Profiles
I have signed up to so many sites; digg, stumbleupon, technorati, Friend Feed, Brazen Careerist etc. I think it's time to consolidate a little bit and only focus on those I have to time to update and use.
I will also be streamlining everything through my website www.louisegriffiths.com which will link out to my presence everywhere on the web, including this blog, but don't worry this blog isn't going anyway - I like having my blog separate. This should make finding out everything about me much easier to do; especially now since I am gaining more freelance work, it's an important step forward for me.
So what will you be doing to de-clutter and organise your online presence for the new year?