[PeterMcCanney]

Having your question answered on Hacker News is fairly obvious benefit.

HN mightn't normally be considered social media but it shares many of the characteristics; networking, shared interest, profiles and self promotion.

I think each social media channel can have different negatives and benefits. I've also had the "communicating into a vacuum" feeling about twitter, but I've found some great links on it. Whereas I find Facebook good for keeping in touch with friends and family but not work colleagues.

Nice blog post btw, any luck with the increase in girth?