If we’re connected on LinkedIn, and you linked your Twitter account to your LinkedIn account, I’ve hidden your updates. Why? Because I don’t use LinkedIn to see your Twitter feed. If I want to follow you on Twitter, I’ll follow you on Twitter. I’m also not interested in your Foursquare check-ins (why is your Foursquare automatically linked to Twitter, which is feeding in to your LinkedIn account?), or most of what you’re sharing on Twitter. At least, not on LinkedIn.

I go to LinkedIn to see information relevant to my business network. New jobs. Promotions. Recommendations received. Recommendations made. Connections made. Groups joined. Updates relevant to the individual’s business network. A really, really interesting white paper shared. Each social network has a different audience and a different purpose. LinkedIn is about business. Twitter is also about business but is much more frequently updated, with a few personal touches thrown in, and I mostly follow people/brands who use it for business purposes. Foursquare is about location. I’m only going to connect to people I really, really wouldn’t mind seeking me out to say hello at some bar I checked in to listen to live music. I’m also aware that my followers on Twitter probably really, really don’t care that I checked in to IHOP. Plus, if you link Foursquare -> Twitter -> LinkedIn, what impression would a potential client, recruiter, HR professional, hiring manager, boss, or any other professional connection have of you if for some reason – like a friend visiting and a very busy social calendar – you check-in to four bars in two days?

I don’t think automation is necessarily bad. This blog goes out via Twitter, LinkedIn and FB, but I only post once or twice a month. However, automation without thought to your audience and purpose is bad. Check your broadcast settings. Think about what you want to share and where you want to share it. Think about whether it’s appropriate to why people are following you. Also think about why someone would follow on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter, if all the content is exactly the same. If you want to streamline, look in to using Hootsuite or Tweetdeck, which allow you to pull in multiple accounts and simplifies posting, while also making it easy to tailor your message to the network.

What are you social media pet peeves? What drives you the most batty?