September 13, 2010; Source: Mashable | If you’re anything like me, this story from Mashable.com will make you shudder with terror and reflexively grab your smart phone to send a quick tweet—just to make sure you still can.

When I read that Pennsylvania’s Harrisburg University of Science and Technology will enact a week-long social media blackout for all students I grabbed my phone and wrote: @HarrisburgUniversity, how could you? Toilets, maybe. But social media, that’s just wrong! The students will be forbidden from using Twitter, Facebook, instant messaging and any other online communication except for e-mail.

As NPQ’s social media department has revved up over the past few years, I’ve become increasingly aware of not only the power of social media to reach out and touch someone (or rather some thousands upon thousands), but also it’s ability to distract, suck time, and require 12 steps to remove my hand from the mouse.

Does your organization use social media to spread its message? How do you manage your work and personal Twitter accounts and Facebook pages simultaneously? Does it leave any time in the day to well, get any work done?—Aaron Lester