I've got way too many social commitments.  Unfortunately they are mostly online.  I have developed this terrific group of friends on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Ning networks, and various blogs.  And like a good social networker I participate, comment, volunteer, post, etc.  So much so that I have little free time.

I realized recently that my offline social life is decidedly less zingy than it used to be.  Maybe I am subconsciously dialing it back to save money in this economy.  Maybe I'm just trying to be a good dad to my three rowdy little boys.  Either way I'm still glued to my laptop quite a bit even after office hours. 

Granted, I use social media for business, so I justify much of my time there by meeting new clients and candidates.  But the truly social aspect of online community is still pretty social.  I have read that much of the world is feeling the same effect,  more online social life, less offline social life.

We are entering football season, so my couch / beer / buddy time will be far more active soon.  Still I wonder if we are forever changed by our ability to have such an active online social scene, hanging out in places like Twitter and Facebook for fun in the evenings.  Even when the economy comes roaring back, is this our new nightlife?

"No," you say?  "Not even close bud!"  Okay, but how pathetic is it that we now take our online community with us to our offline social scene by way of mobile apps, sms groups, and smart phones.  Are we desperate for attention or what?

Nowadays the party just isn't a party without it's own FB event page and a hashtag Twitter stream.  Even if its just getting together for a football game (#Sooners_at_Fishdogs!), or perhaps a meeting of the physics club (#properties_of_physics).  Is this really just for the sake of convenience and ease of communication?  Bah!

We go around pretending to star in our own documentary reality show and even vainly tell our loyal viewers "Good night, signing off" when we're done updating for the day as if the world is hanging on our every move.  And maybe it is.  Welcome to your social life.  Demented and sad, but social. 

Do you spend more time socializing online than in the real world?  Are you plugged in even when you should be unplugged?  Let me hear from you.

View my blog at www.fishdogs.com and Tweet me @fishdogs

By Craig Fisher www.fishdogs.com

I see quite a few posts lately about "old school" recruiting, about how all this social media and web2.0 stuff is just a waste of time. And it makes me wonder if we are really talking about old school, or just recent school.

My first recruiting job in 1995 was for a physician search firm. That company folded about 9 months after I started. And looking back I'm not surprised (I have since confirmed that it wasn't my fault). There was good coffee. There was a split desk setup, accounts and recruiting. There was the old school schedule: everyone works until 5:30pm, goes to work out, and comes back by 6:30 or so for pizza, or whatever the company bought for dinner, and continues working until about 9pm every night of the week but Friday. On Friday we went home closer to 7pm.

So far so good. We each had our own office with a big desk. This big desk was absolutely necessary to support the giant freaking list that we used to call our prospects. It also held a phone, a Rolodex, a calendar, some pens and highlighters. That's it. No PC, no ipod clock radio, no cell phone charger.

Ah, the good old days. I wonder if we could effectively recruit "old school" today. Really old school. No job boards, no ATS, no Outlook or email, no Google or LinkedIn. Just a list, a phone, and some note cards. Yes, I think maybe we could. But we would also be stuck at the office every night until 9pm.

How "old school" are you?  Could you be effective that way today?  Would you rather work at Red Lobster?