I am a psychologist, and I love my job (no, really I do), but I have had the past week off from work.  I spent my time exploring the various "social" activities now offered on the internet.  I created accounts on "Digg", "Stumble Upon","del.icio.us", and of course "Drivl" (to share my findings). 

I have not left my apartment in days.  Normally I spend 80 to 90 percent of my time with other people.  This is not unusual in my profession, and I am an extrovert by nature.  However, despite my apparent "hibernation," I have had many social interactions with other people.  Here are a few things I have found;

1) We "Love Lists"
I have read various blogs, and articles on blogs (including one in Digg on what a blog is not); generally we don't spend a long time on a page.  The information is scanned and on we go to the next page/blog/headline/picture.  The internet is not called the 'Information Super Highway' for nothing.  Fast, fast, and faster!  That's how I want my information!  Give me as much as possible in as little time as possible and I'm on to the next thing.  Hours and days pass by; it feels like minutes.  I look at the clock, and I can't believe I have been on my Laptop for 14 hours straight!  Addicting? Ha!  I think I'm in love.

2) Entertain me
I am a relatively new user to Digg, and the fastest way to tell if something is worth reading my fellow abusers is to read the comments first.  Yes, that's right,  don't waste your time on the article itself unless it's worthy of your time.  The fastest way to tell if it is worth your time is to read the comments posted by your fellow diggers.  C'mon, these are knowledgeable people.  They have the information, and the opinion, and they are willing to pass it along for your absorption.  I am not a computer programmer/technician, but believe me, I have learned TONS from the comments on Digg alone!

3) Express yourself
I created an account on Stumble Upon, and within days I had learned how to post pictures and add comments to them from other stumblers.  If I have something I want to say, it's easy--just post it on my page.  Other Stumblers view your page and can email you or review you on their own pages.  I have made many new friends all over the world this way.  Forget proximity!  I don't care where you are.  It's fun to meet like-minded people.  Friends!

Post a comment on Digg (although a word of caution to non-techies--this audience is not for the weak-hearted).  A "thumbs up" or a "thumbs down" is easier, and you feel as if you have contributed (trust me).  Digg also gives you the opportunity to add fellow diggers to your network as friends, although I have not explored this yet.

Save pages to del.icio.us, a social bookmarking site.  Save/bookmark interesting pages you found while Digging and Stumbling around.  The more people that add the same page you did make the page more "popular."  Add pages from the del.icio.us "popular" page, or add pages from people that you have added to your del.icio.us network.  Aha!  More friends!

4) How to make it work
I came up with this system:  Scan Digg topics from my Google Homepage.  If I decide to actually read the Digg article, I can give it a Stumble thumbs up or down.  If it has not been added to the StumbleUpon network (a new story probably has not), then it will be added to my Stumble page.  I can comment on the article, and when other Stumblers view my page they can see the link.  I can also add links I think are interesting, or text or links from other Stumblers pages (just be sure to thank and give credit to the original owner).  I then add the article to my del.icio.us page; now I can reference it later, and other people can benefit from the information.  Check the popular page to see what most people have been saving, and save it for yourself.  Quality stuff here!

Okay, let's review: scan Digg, post to Stumble, post to del.icio.us, then back to Digg to see what new stories have made the front page.  Continue this, or stumble around for a while and add your own comments to your Stumble page, then go back to Digg.  I Stumbled Upon "Drivl" and I am now able to create a blog without having to create my own web page.

I have found this to be an efficient way to accumulate a vast quantity of information in a short amount of time, talk to and meet new people all over the world, and become social in the internet community/blogosphere.  I didn't even leave my bedroom ;-)