Social media can be a large time-waster. Many people spend much of their day tweeting, liking, and posting status updates.
社交媒体可以浪费你很多时间。很多人花很多时间发微博、加关注、更新状态。
It has forever changed the way the world communicates. Yet, as much as it can waste time, it can also be a great productivity booster. Are you using social media for productivity or procrastination?
社交网络永久地改变了世界交流的方式。然而，社交媒体可以浪费时间，也可以成为提高效率的强大助推器。你是用社交媒体来提高效率呢还是拖延时间呢？
Tool or Time Sink?
是工具还是打发时间？
We usually think of social media as a time sink. Something that takes up time and allows you to procrastinate throughout your day.
我们通常认为社交媒体会耗费大量的时间。它会花费你很多时间，使你每天的任务不断拖延。
There is no doubt that many people use it to pass the time in their day. Yet, when used for good, it can be a powerful productivity tool.
毫无疑问，许多人是用社交媒体来打发时间。然而，如果使用得当，它可以成为提高效率的强大工具。
Social Media: Productivity vs. Procrastination
社交媒体：提高效率 VS 拖延时间
In a world where ideas, communication, and speed are increasingly valuable, social media excels. Granted, social media isn’t going to write that report for you, or analyze that spreadsheet. Nor is it going to perform that manual labor task.
在一个想法、交流和速度都越来越有价值的世界里，社交媒体的优点脱颖而出。当然，社交媒体不能帮你写报告或者分析电子表格，它也不能帮你完成那些体力劳动。
However, there are many ways social media can help you get work done, develop new ideas, or just get feedback. In all of these areas, social media can save you time.
但是，社交媒体依然可以通过很多办法来帮你完成工作，搜寻新的想法或者得到反馈。在所有这些方面，社交媒体都可以帮你节约时间。
Here are 7 Ways Social Media Can Make You More Productive:
下面就是社交媒体让你更有效率的7种方式：
1. Seek Advice
1. 寻求建议
Need advice on a topic? Social media can provide rapid tips, thoughts, and input. It is a great way to cast a large net, instead of just getting the singular opinion of the person in the cubicle next to you. Of course, depending on the matter, you have to know who you are listening to and trusting. Other times, it can be a great way to get a quick point in the right direction.
需要某个话题的建议？社交媒体可以迅速为你提供小贴士、想法以及输入。利用社交媒体建立一张大网是个不错的办法，而不是仅仅听取你旁边那个人单一的建议。当然，根据事项不同，你必须清楚你该听谁说，该信任谁。此外，社交媒体还可以帮助你在正确的方向上迅速找到切入点。
2. Solve Problems
2. 解决问题
When you can’t solve a problem by yourself, ask the world. For example, a while back I was having a problem with a piece of software. I had googled and googled and couldn’t find a solution. I put the problem out on my social media channels. Within twenty minutes, a gentleman from Sweden (with whom I had never communicated previously) sent me a link to the answer. Simple, yet powerful stuff.
当你自己不能解决一个问题时，问问这个世界。比如说，我曾经在一款软件上遇到了问题，我用谷歌搜啊搜也没有找到解决办法。于是我把这个问题发到了我的社交媒体上。不到20分钟，一位来自瑞典的先生（我之前从来不认识）发给我一个链接告诉了我答案。就是这么简单这么厉害。
3. Reach Companies
3. 接触公司
Companies that are social media savvy are serving their customers in new and efficient ways. Twitter is one of my favorite ways to reach companies that I deal with. Instead, of getting on the phone and being on hold for endless minutes, I can send a tweet in seconds. A 5-second tweet can get me assistance on my upcoming flight. Anytime, anywhere.
善于利用社交媒体的公司正在用新的有效的方式为客户们提供服务。Twitter是我最喜欢的和公司打交道的方式之一。不用打进电话后忍受无休止的等待，我几秒钟就可以发一条tweet。花5秒钟发一条tweet就能帮我查询到下一班航班，而且没有时间地点的限制。
4. Get Feedback
4. 得到反馈
Have an idea and need some input or feedback? Ask your social media audience. Often, you don’t even have to ask for feedback. Just put an idea out there and see how much response and sharing it gets.
有一个想法，需要得到输入或反馈？问问你的社交媒体上的听众吧。通常情况下你甚至不需要询问他们来获得反馈。你只需要把你的想法发布出来，然后看看会得到多少回应和分享。
5. Find Ideas
5. 寻找点子
Whether it is for your business, blog, or hobby, there has never been an easier time to find ideas. Want to know what people are thinking, talking about, or have passion for? You have a searchable stream of consciousness at your fingertips. A friend of mine determines his blog post topics by searching for keywords on Twitter and seeing what people are asking about.
不论是为你的生意、博客还是兴趣，从来没有像现在社交媒体这样容易找到点子。想知道人们在思考什么，谈论什么，喜爱什么吗？你只需要动动手指就可以搜索到这些。我的一个朋友通过在Twitter上搜索关键词并观察人们询问的问题，来决定他博客发布的话题。
6. Communicate with a Broad Audience
6. 和更广泛的听众交流
Social media allows individuals greater power than ever to communicate with a large audience. It used to be you had to go through a publisher or big media company. Authors, speakers, experts, can now reach their audience directly, immediately, and in most cases for free.
社交媒体为个人提供了比过去更大的能力来和广泛的听众交流。过去你必须通过出版商或者大型媒体公司才能做到。而现在，作者、演讲者和专家可以直接快速地接触到他们的听众，而且大部分情况下是免费的。
7. Quick Communication
7. 快速交流
There is something special about the brevity of social media. Take Twitter. There is magic in those 140 characters. If you tried that with your email, your recipients would think you were nuts. (Of course, email is for a slightly different purpose.)
社交媒体的简短是有特殊意义的。比如说Twitter（还有微博），短短140字就具有魔力。如果你用电子邮件发同样的内容，你的收件人大概会认为你疯了（当然，电子邮件的目的又有不同）。
Social Media isn’t all about procrastination. It one of the most powerful technologies of our time. So, the next time someone tells you that you are wasting time on social media, tell them that you are being more productive.
社交媒体并不都会让你拖延时间，它是我们这个时代最强大的技术之一，所以，如果下次有人对你说你在社交媒体上浪费时间，告诉他们你比之前更有效率了。
Of course, that may not fly with your boss.
当然，还是别让老板知道的好。