Before blogs were the next big thing, social networking was just a name unheard by everyone. A place where you can keep track of your friends and find them when when necessary. Nowadays, you can't mention blogs without mentioning social networking because, face it, it was a good idea to begin with and anyone who wants to market their blog out there knows that the best way to go about it is by gathering everyone into one spot and having your blog right there for all to see.

Now social networking has always been a failure for me. Why? Because the thing about social networking is that you have to put in a lot of effort into marketing whatever you want to market, which in this case is your blog. People like me who don't exactly have that much free time on our hands and would otherwise spend more time doing things more related to their lives, don't have the luxury interacting with people on other sites. Some of us already have time issues interacting with people on our own blogs.

Then of course yes, there are social networks that tend to make things easier to blend both blogging and socializing into one. The other catch is that because of the number of people with so many social networks, it'll be hard for them to sieve through the amount of people trying to market their blog and get to yours. Most people aren't that stupid, they know a good deal when they see one and because of that, it's hard to just add yourself into a social network and hope people will come in. It all goes back to putting a lot of time and effort into marketing yourself. The very thing some of us are pressed for.

So while others can easily reap the benefits of social networks, it's not exactly an easy thing to do given the multitude of social networks out there and the upkeep you need to maintain the steady flow of people to your blog. For the most part, we just don't have enough time. Unless you are some thick skinned ham without a trace of shame, you can juggle them all without any trouble.

But there is one thing people shouldn't overlook because your blog is its own social network. Even if the numbers are incomparable to that which you get from social networking sites, the main purpose has always been to develop a relationship with your readers or potential readers. That's why it takes so much time to just maintain a blog much less your content on other sites. It all starts with what you have to offer and how you offer people. You don't really need other social network sites to market the person you really are. After all, as Liz Strauss has proved before.

Good blogs talk to their readers. Great blogs empathize with them.