What is Your Online Social Limit?

Okay , so i came across one Facebook profile and got stumped by the number of Facebook pages (see below) he has liked. Yes yes the count is in excess of hundred. Got  interested to know how he actually keeps up-to-date with his facebook news feeds. Won't the updates from these numerous pages cannibalize those pouring from his FB friends? And what about the Bounded Rationality concept being taught in our MBA classes? Will he be actually able to 'consume' the contents thrown by this pages? Perhaps he should have chosen Twitter (yes , thats how the twitter is being used now , more like feed/reader).

And can he keep on liking the pages the way he is doing? Can we keep on following on twitter and making linked connections endlessly? No flat no , it would convert the social space into spammers paradise, infact we do see many so called 'tools' which 'connects' to the unknowns basically in pursuit of their own marketing motives. So lets see the limits imposed by the social networking sites to ensure they remain relevant and avoid the spammers' dominance in their network :

Linkedin

• The status updates has a limit of 700 characters but keep it to 140 incase your linkedin account is linked to your twitter account.
• Total number of Invitations any one can send : 3000
• Number of Linked Groups any one can join at any time: 50
• Maximum number of connections one can have : 30, 000
• Also , the number of additional invitations one can receive is a direct function of the acceptance ratio of the invites sent earlier by the account.

There are basically 2 types of Linked Accounts:

1. LION: Linkedin Open Networker - They just go and connect with anyone and everyone sending and accepting invitations with no selectivity and inhibitions. Majority of them are regular recruiters who wants to broaden their network to find the best suitable candidates for their job openings.
2. Non-LION : They connect with only those they know and have some sort of personal or professional relationship. They believe more on the quality of their connections for any potential opportunity in case they require.

Facebook

• Maximum number of Facebook Groups you can join at one time : 300
• Number of friends one can have in his/her friend list : 1000
• Maximum Number of friends one can have is 5000 after which no friend can be sent an invite. But still one can follow any additional person through his/her fan page. What we lose out is having a sense of personal touch with such friends
• There is no limit on number of fans a facebook page can have.
• The status updates has a limit of 420 characters.
• The maximum number of pending friend requests one can have : 120

Twitter

• Maximum number of twitter account you can follow = Max(2000,110% of your follower count)
• There is no limit on the number of people following you.

Twitter in due course of time seems to be converging towards becoming a jungle of affiliate marketers. These accounts follows you indiscriminately so that you follow them back and if you don't in next 2-3 days they unfollow you. They just  want maximum followers for them who can click on the links they tweet and eventually help them get those pay per click advertising revenue. If you have a public (or not protected) twitter account , just ignore them once they follow you. They will go , come back again and again but don't you follow them back as they don't add any value to your network. Hold on.