In an increasingly connected world, the “new elite” are those who are the most disconnected.  Bill Gates, for example, has only 5 connections on LinkedIn.  While the masses are linking their Facebook pages with their Twitter accounts and syndicating their blogs, there’s a large group growing that is abandoning social networking altogether.  They block all but their closest friends from accessing their information online and are all but invisible to the likes of Google.

As a marketer, I’ve questioned this level of exclusivity in the world of social media.  It never really made sense that people would shut off the outside world so completely.  I asked a co-worker once why he wasn’t on Facebook.  His response, “I value my privacy.”  I’ve always seen social networking tools as just that, tools.  Tools that are meant to be used by the technologically savvy to propagate their brand message throughout the virtual world.

A few days ago, though, a friend of mine forwarded me a great article about a man who used Twitter (in my opinion) far too much.  He interrupted his own wedding to send a tweet from the altar!  I understand the allure of being ever connected to your friends, colleagues, and other peers.  But when technology becomes so invasive as to interfere with every activity of your life there’s a problem.

I really should have noticed this some time ago.  One of my friends in marketing was drawn into Twitter by a client.  Within a few days he had an account and was steadily sending updates about once per day.  Then something broke.  Rather than the daily sales and marketing tips I had been getting, I now had a window into every facet of his life.  “There’s a bird outside.”  Followed a few seconds later by, “it’s a pretty bird.”  Then by, “oh look, it’s singing.”  Also by, “darn , the bird flew away.”

Over the period of an hour he sent his entire network a series of 45 Tweets that had nothing to do with either his business or his life.  It wasted our time, frustrated our peers when we kept checking our phones, and ultimately led to his being ‘un-followed’ by the majority of his network.

So while I still embrace the power of social networking for communication and message dissemination, we should all be wary of the “dark side” of social media.  Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, Twitter, Plaxo, Orkut, and the like can consume our lives, damage our real-world relationships and, in an extreme, hurt our business.  As you go about the coming week, take some time to think about when social media touches your life and why.  Is this the healthiest interaction, or are you starting to drift over to the dark side?