It’s just 140 characters, how long could it take? And so begins the story of my first experience with Twitter. Down, down into the social media rabbit hole I went. Updates, videos, photos on Facebook. Joining groups in LinkedIn like it’s my job (it isn’t.) Sure I’ll post to the Intel AppUp® blog!

Here’s the sneaky thing that social media never tells you: it takes a lot of time keeping up with all of it. And more social media sites are popping up. (Pinterest, I’m going to resist your pull a bit longer. I’m sure there are some excellent people there posting about mountain bikes, mountain biking, places to mountain bike and the corresponding pictures that will make me want to turn off my computer, gather the family and hit the road in search of trails, but I do have a thing called a job so stop tempting me!)

It’s time for me to get more streamlined in my approach to social media so I’m giving the free app Seesmic Ping a try. Because I can post to Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn and multiple accounts all at once, I can share interesting tidbits that are good for work and personal accounts. I can also schedule posts, which is really handy for those times when we’re releasing new apps or announcing a promotion. All you need to get started is a Seesmic Profile. This took me no time and then I was up and running with Seesmic Ping.

So far, I’m saving time and crossing things off my to-do list early thanks to the simple scheduling feature. Of course, with the time I save I’m able to surf social media a few minutes longer to find more great links and articles to share. Hm. Maybe I do have a few minutes to log into Pinterest.

Which social media tools are your favorites?