Do Social Media Make You Schizophrenic?

Right now on Facebook, I "had a perfect spring term weekend."
On AIM, I'm "finance project, then dinner out with ali"
On Twitter, I'm " Blogging about social media kind of feels like a form of existentialism. I think."
On LinkedIn, I'm struggling to find a job.
And I have an entirely different personality on Blogger, mainly because I'm allowed way more characters.

As social media continue to explode, we suddenly have dozens, sometimes even hundreds, of different ways to express who we are. I'm not even going to list all of the ways social networks allow today's consumer to display information, because there are just way too many. But as a student of social media, it is interesting to note the different ways people tweak their personalities depending on which social medium they are using.

For me, Facebook is strictly for my friends, and people in my immediate (in real life) social circle. My status frequently includes current song lyrics that reflect my mood or plans, details about what I'm doing that week/weekend, or shout-outs to friends on their birthdays. AIM is the same, just a free way to talk to many people at once. My buddy list is solely people I know and have reason to talk to on a regular basis. My away messages, then, are pretty similar to my Facebook statuses-- what I'm doing, when I'm doing it, and how I'm feeling.

But I conduct myself differently in different areas of the Internet. I just started using Twitter, and I've found it more interesting to "follow" people I don't actually know, but who share my interests. With only 140 characters to craft your statement, it feels less creepy to follow someone via Twitter than to follow them on Facebook, with its over-sharing capabilities. So my "tweets" generally have more to do with what's happening in my chosen industry than anything about my emotions. And on LinkedIn, I'm just trying to job hunt, so I limit myself to professional information.

Managing all this information about myself can be daunting, and it does feel as if I have multiple personalities. Does anyone else feel this way? Is there a way that companies could capitalize on this in any way? Definitely good questions for the Web 2.0 age.

Random Thought of the Day

Why is coffee you make at home never as good as coffee you have at restaurants?

And I'm not talking coffee shops, that's a given that it's going to be better. I mean restaurants like your favorite brunch spot, where you can order large amounts of carbs and fats and grease to start off your day. (My personal favorite? Eggs benedict and home fries.) I think it's because when I ask for cream, I actually get cream in all its fat-full glory, whereas at home, I'm health-conscious and just splash in some fat-free milk. Which is basically water. And at restaurants, they have those handy packets of Splenda, which always seems to get my heart racing a little more quickly than actual sugar does.

So, in conclusion: Coffee at restaurants tastes better. Because I put bad-for-me shit in it. Next question: Is it worth it?