In a previous article on Social Networkng Tools I talked about what I called "very minor productivity enhancers" such as Socializer, Post Toaster, etc. That may have been a bit unfair.

Why unfair?

• They are better than doing nothing or only posting on one site
• They point towards the correct use of social networking sites
• They may provide little return but require little investment

Better Than Doing Nothing

If having a tool, even a poor one, helps you proceed to your goal, then the tool is worth something. Based on that I suspect the "thigh blaster" actually helped thin some thighs.

And the goal is.... putting your content on as many sites as possible where it is appropriate. Don't put an article on your Mac application on a sports pligg site, but you should certainly post it on every general purpose site where they have a "technology" section.

They Point You In The Right Direction

The right direction is simple: best return for your time invested. Period. If using these tools, with all their flaws and frustrations, gets you to think about investment (time) and return (traffic, revenue, PR, SERPS, whatever) then they've provided you an important learning.

If they make you aware that there are social networking sites which may provide better return than the ones you already know about, then that is a pretty good take home too.

And, finally, if they're like a gym membership that is so expensive that you actually go, then maybe the time investment in these tools will get you to post your content in as many places as possible.

Little Investment, Little Return

All these tools are free, relatively easy to use, and may speed you up 10% over using Excel to run your life. Big whoop. But none of them really require a lot of investment to use, so if you are using OnlyWire and decide to switch to Social Poster, well, it probably won't take you fifteen minutes.

My experience in life has been that the more important a tool is, the harder it is to leave. Switch from a PC to a Mac. Ouch. Get rid of your Nokia and get a iPhone. Double ouch. So if you can switch these free tools around so easily, well, they aren't really all that deep.

Still Minor

I would still use the word "minor" because all these tools rely on tricks and convoluted solutions. They either call a URL for direct posting or they frame the site and give you easy copy/paste. They're unsupported and often at least slightly broken. Many have no TOS. They have no obvious business model and no support.

Hopefully none of us would base a key business process on such stuff if we knew of better options.

And they just don't give you very much extra leverage in terms of time saved. Just for grins I had Don choose his favorite and raced him. I used Excel and he used Exstreme Socializer. He was 10% faster (5 minutes).

Which sounds good, but I had a record of what I'd done and which sites were up or down.

And I had a dozen sites that weren't on Exstreme's list. So I went and posted there.

So, over time, I might spend a bit more time than Don but, all other things being equal, I'd pull ahead in the SERPs over time because I did more and had the ability to track where I was actually getting results. (Excel vlookup to traffic logs. Yes, I am much Excel geek!)

Missing the Boat

That last is why this is so darn important. Never bring a spear to a fight where the other side is experimenting with muzzle loaders. (Best bet is to bring an assault rifle, if you can find one.)

If you are only going up against people with NO tools then these minor tools are going to be fine.

The instant you are in a competitive niche then you'll be facing people wtih better tools and you'll lose.

Detailed Reviews Forthcoming

I've spent a LOT of time looking at this batch, so I'll be putting out some detailed reviews of each tool, looking at strengths and weaknesses.