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MyLife Looks At State Of Social Media, Aims To Address It With New Offering

MyLife has launched the MyLife Social App and Dashboard. This leverages the technology from Threadsy, which the company acquired earlier this year. We had a conversation with MyLife CEO Jeff Tinsley a...
MyLife Looks At State Of Social Media, Aims To Address It With New Offering
Written by Chris Crum
  • MyLife has launched the MyLife Social App and Dashboard. This leverages the technology from Threadsy, which the company acquired earlier this year.

    We had a conversation with MyLife CEO Jeff Tinsley about the App and Dashboard, as well as new survey results the company has put out with Harris Interactive, looking at the “State of Social Media”.

    MyLife says the app/dashboard (pictured above) will enable users to search for new connections, manage social media feeds and email from one place (with one password), address social media overload, staty up to date, and receive feeds and updates across networks from one place (push and pull).

    The company says the survey underscores both people’s obsession with social media, and how overwhelmed they are by social networks. For example, it finds that 2/3 of people are afraid of missing news if they don’t stay up on their social feeds, and nearly 40% would rather do things like “wait in line at the DMV” or “get a root canal” before they would give up social networking. In fact, here’s the entire list of things that people would rather do, according to the survey:

    • Wait in line at the DMV
    • Read War & Peace
    • Do their taxes
    • Give up an hour of sleep each night for a year
    • Run a marathon
    • Sit in traffic for 4 hours while listening to polka music
    • Get a root canal
    • Spend a night in jail
    • Clean the drains in the showers at the local gym
    • Give up their air conditioner/heater
    • Millennials are even less likely to part with their beloved social networks
    • More than half (54%) of people under 35 would undertake one of the undesirable activities before giving up their social media profiles

    “What we have learned from our users and the respondents to the Harris poll is an overwhelming feeling that often results from needing to juggle multiple networks,” Tinsley tells WebProNews. “And, as social media has moved from connections to being a primary form of communication, people are fearful of missing out on important updates, messages and news.”

    Here are some other interesting findings from the poll:

    • 38% of those age 18-34 log onto their social networking profiles after they wake up before they check email
    • Almost 3 in 5 (57%) wish there was a solution to help them use, monitor and protect their social networking profiles and emails at once
    • Over a quarter of people (27%) send messages from within their social network more than from their primary email account
    • While Facebook is widely known to be the most popular social network worldwide, the site actually doesn’t top people’s lists when it comes to being the primary social profile they turn to for consuming or sharing content, or even a mix of both.
    • LinkedIn is tops for consumption; 68% of people say they use the site mainly to consume content
    • YouTube (57%) and Twitter (53%) were next in line when it came to sites where people tend to view content without engaging in the conversation
    • Foursquare trumps Facebook (44% vs 17%) when it comes to the social network adults use primarily for sharing
    • Pinterest (48%) narrowly edged out Facebook (46%) as the site where people are most likely to equally consume and share content. Tumblr was a close third at 41%

    Like any poll, it’s not going to necessarily be a reflection of the entire world’s habits, but the findings are interesting nonetheless.

    “We created the MyLife Social Media dashboard to give people some relief, aggregating their social feeds and e-mail in one place so they don’t have to toggle between multiple social platforms just to keep up,” he adds. “Having a social dashboard like MyLife and others can really simplify how people share and consume news, as you can post updates, respond to messages, share photos and view all of the feeds in one central location.”

    “What the study has confirmed is that consumers are using multiple social networks for different purposes,” says Tinsley. “Surprisingly, our study found that Facebook does not top consumers’ list for sharing or consumption, even though it’s the most talked about social network.”

    “LinkedIn is tops for people consuming content, with YouTube and Twitter close behind,” he adds. “For sharing Foursquare came out on top of Facebook (44% vs. 17%), and that is not surprising, as the very nature of Foursquare is to share your location with your friends. Pinterest also has gained wide popularity quickly; it edged out Facebook for the site consumers use most for both sharing and consumption. So, while Facebook is used by more consumers, other social networks are seeing greater use as they understand the nuances of each social network.”

    When asked if people are spending too much time on social media, Tinsley says, “I can’t really say if they are using social media too much, but what I can say is that it’s become a part of our lives.”

    “We’re turning to it more and more often to keep up on the latest news and events, and it does help to keep connections with friends, co-workers and family that are living far away,” he says.

    Obviously the poll was released to alongside the new app/dashboard to convince users that they need such a tool. Do you think you do need something like this to get more organized?

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