Social networking has been around for hundreds of years - well before the advent of Facebook, YouTube and wireless networks. It just used to happen face to face: over a cup of coffee.
During the 18th century coffeehouses throughout Europe were popular meeting places for artists and socialites. Today, they remain hubs of social activity... but a lot of it happens online. Coffee shops patrons are paired with laptops or smart phones instead of human companions - which makes coffee shops much much less interesting than they used to be.
On the weekends, 80 to 90 percent of tables and chairs in my favorite coffee stops are taken up by people using computers. Some patrons camp out at the best seating locations for six to eight hours - without buy anything and without interacting with anyone else around them.
Call me 'old school,' but I still utilize coffee shops daily for face to face interactions. I do my online social networking at home with my first cup of coffee in hand. I get up, fire up my Keurig single-serving coffee machine, and great the day on social networks before the rest of the household wakes up. The first cup lasts 15 to 20 minutes... which happens to be the perfect amount of time to manage the bulk of my social network activity.
During my first cup of coffee, I read the incoming Facebook stream from friends, respond to Facebook comments on my wall, check my FB inbox, send birthday greetings, and tend to my Twitter profile as well. This timing works great - as long as I stick to routine tasks without being distracted by social network games, quizzes, or applications.
Social networks have replaced the newspaper in my morning routine.
I'm not the only one who's integrated social networking into their morning routine: According to a recent study by Oxygen Media and Lightspeed research, one-third of women aged 18-34 check Facebook when they first wake up - even before going to the bathroom (a urological feat to men over 40).
Dennis Leary on Coffee
My favorite part of his rant: "Coffee doesn't need a menu, it needs a cup," says Dennis Leary. "That's all it needs."