Before you dive into social media it’s a good idea to identify your goals. Do you want to create a conversation with other designers? Reach new clients for your work? Find out what’s going on out there and get constant input through a myriad of RSS feeds?
All of this is possible, and you will get out of it what you put into it. Keeping on top of your social media presence can be a lot of work, but if you pick your tools appropriately, you can make it work for you.