How many social or business networks is too many? Some kids might argue 6 or 7 - they seem to be able to juggle a range of social platforms in one go.

For me, a working 44 year old family man delivering client work, on the road, writing materials, consulting and paying a mortgage, there's perhaps a bit less time.

I've been struck by a post to Ecademy earlier this year by Alan Stevens, media guru and a good friend of mine. If you type 'media coach' into google, you'll find him. Here, I've done it for you>>

Here's what Alan said:

"I was told to 'work' Ecademy. So I did. I blogged daily (I'm still one of the most prolific bloggers), commented regularly, and answered lots of requests for advice. In the ensuing five months, I had some fun, made some good contacts, but (as yet) nothing in those five months has led to paid work. Maybe it works for Blackstars - I can't comment on that.

I now spend an hour a day on Twitter. In the last five weeks, I have generated two full-fee speaking gigs, four full-fee media coaching gigs, and a book deal in the US - total value well into five figures."

That's quite a statement!

Coming back to the question how many social or business networks is too many, most peopel would say it depends. If your objective is friends, connecting and building up a network, then you can surely handle a few. If your objective is business and profile within your target market, then perhaps not so many.

You can spread yourself too thinly. The whole idea of niching is to go deep with a slice of the market where you can be 'king of your kingdom'.

I took notice of Alan's statement because (a) I respect his words and (b) he's in the same business as me - a professional speaker and author. We both write and speak for a living.

As much as having a great network is great, there's a need to put food on the table. Ecademy is a terrific network with some incredible people. For the elite blackstars, I'm sure there are lots of lucrative business deals and alliances. Is it more of a community and support network for a variety of one-man bands and smaller players? Or is it a rich area for referrals, recommendations and introductions?

I'm not sure. What I do know is that I have an hour or 90 mins a day to invest as part of my 90 day experiment. I wonder what would happen if I just put my energy into one network, say Twitter? I know Ecademy founders Thomas and Penny Power are huge fans of Twitter, and it's an integral part of their platform.

Could I use them effectively at the same time?

Anybody any comments?