Gettin' Social With ControlGlobal.com

Nancy Bartels is Control's managing editor. You can her at [email protected] or check out her Google+ profile.Unless you've been living under a rock the last few years, you probably have some form of social media in your life—whether you want to or not. If you're not on Facebook, for no other reason than friends and family have nagged you into it, then you're on Twitter or YouTube or LinkedIn or Google+ or all of the above. And the one lesson you've probably learned is that these sites, while fun and often useful, can be awful time sinks. You begin with the innocent thought, 'Time to check my Twitter feed,' and the next thing you know, it's two hours later and you're still clicking links. Not good.

I don't have any good answers to this problem. I'm as bad an offender as anyone—if not worse—and the only solution I've come up with is the same one that applies to diet and exercise. You just have to do it. You have to leave these tempting sites and move on to something else, or you'll end up like that sad, iconic character who lives in a dark room, eating junk food and staring at a computer screen 24/7. Bad for the waist line, the complexion and your social life.

Meanwhile, we at Control and ControlGlobal.com are shameless enablers of your social media habit. Not only can you access us directly via the Internet and your browser of choice, but you can also make us part of your social network. You can follow us on Twitter, friend us on Facebook, add us to your contacts on LinkedIn, welcome us into one of your circles on Google+ or watch our process automation related videos on YouTube.Why should you do this? It's just one more way to keep current with what's happening on ControlGlobal.com and in the process automation community. There's so much more to our site than the monthly issue. By linking to us via your favorite social media site, you can keep current about news, stories, products, blog posts and everything else that comes up on ControlGlobal.com without having to remember to log onto the site. Your Facebook page will show a new article from Control that might interest you. Your Twitter feed will point you to the latest news item posted. LinkedIn provides you with a forum to consult with other Control readers. The ControlGlobal page on YouTube has dozens of videos from our editors and process automation professionals around the world.

Whichever social media tools you use, ControlGlobal.com can be part of your experience. To access us via any or all of these venues, just go to www.controlglobal.com/socialmedia. Pick the ones you use and become part of our virtual community. See you online.