The iterative model for development seems to be one that more and more applications are taking. I don’t think it’s necessarily intended to create a more readily adaptable public, but that outcome is an apparent byproduct.

What’s interesting to me is that as people become used to that (frequent smaller updates to design & functionality), will they expect it everywhere else? Most college web design groups wait years between major revisions. If their Facebook-savvy userbase starts to get tired of the same design after a few months, that could have a significant impact on design processes across the Web.

And like in anything else, once competition begins, everyone wants in. When free is the new currency, everyone joins the gold rush.

The fact of the matter is that social media is here, and we’d better learn to deal with it and to use it effectively to accomplish our goals.

As for the value of social media: There’s always going to be clutter, just as in any media. We need to filter out the quiz requests, spam tweets and all the other crap, just as we do with traditional media (via channel-surfing, turning the page, etc.).

Two things recharged me: 1) Surrendering what seemed like a publishing schedule meant I didn’t pressure myself into producing for the sake of production, and 2) I met new world of people on Twitter (@jesskry included) who turned me toward the new blog on communication (or writing, words and the Web, as I say) that provided a fresh outlet with a seemingly endless supply of material. And whether I update once or twice — or no — times a week, I can now enjoy blogging again.

However, in my experience, that’s not what happens. Many people get “addicted” to their Facebook status and Twitter updates and lose touch with the real world. I know someone recently who almost lost their kids because he and his wife would spend all their time on the internet and not clean house or properly take care of their kids.

The employees at my company who have been reprimanded for using the internet improperly are usually posting junk to their “pages” that is neither beneficial to the company nor professional in nature. They post pictures of their party weekend in San Diego, on the company’s dime. They use IM to gossip with their friends, who are also supposed to be working, which means two companies are losing money and productivity because of it. These same time-wasting employees then complain about their paychecks and/or the lack of commissions they receive. If they had spent more time making their sales calls, instead of gossiping with friends or blogging about how drunk they got last weekend, then maybe their commission checks wouldn’t look so pathetic.

I’ve tried Facebook and see no value in it. It’s a big time waster and the only networking I get from it is requests to take the latest quiz or help my friends in whatever online game they’re playing. I’ve got better things to do, like write a thoughtful email to a friend, play Stratego with my kids, or exercise my pet. I’m 35 and I love technology, but sometimes the best way to use technology is to simply turn it off.