Tag Archives: social networking

Oct2

Reaching out – A Best Practice of Networkers

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Reaching out – A Best Practice of Networkers

One of the things I try to maintain is “reaching out” to my friends, and colleagues.  It is something that is not just a great tool for business, it is a requirement to maintain relationships in this high tech – high diversity – far spread society!

Some of the folks  who “reach out” to me, do so in the form of forwarding massively long emails (long because everyone else has forwarded them, and not bothered to cut out the long addressee list)… but still, I recognize that it is the fact that the person thought of me that is the important portion of that.  Side note: This is a source for spammers to scrape addresses – so one should strip out the addresses and footers/signatures when forwarding if you can, and you think of it. And when forwarding, it can also be construed as spam, so be careful.

Others use the various services that allow you to forward an article from a site, to share… or let’s you clip an article which can be shared with followers like socialmedian.

Still others actually do it in “snail mail” – sending me articles of interest.  I admit that I still enjoy receiving actual hard copy paper mail…. LOL.

I tend to do all three and love the ability to share online articles – both to my Facebook Page and to individuals I think might be interested.  The key is to let people know you are thinking of them,  know them well enough to know that the item is of interest or entertaining to them, and opens the door to further communication.   (There is also an article on the WhoDoYouKnowAt blog about this today…not bad.)

I even love the connectivity of Twitter! It is a great way to reach out into the vast beyond and see what you get back! Follow me on Twitter by clicking here.

Whatever way you “reach out” do it with relevance and value, and you will find that the connections become of increasing value to you! You never know what opportunities, information, or entertainment will come your way simply because you thought of someone and let them know.

Aug5

Rules of networking

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Rules of networking

People network for a variety of reasons.

  • Sales
  • Business Development
  • Recruiting
  • Business Capital
  • Professional Development
  • Getting Help with Career/Finding a Job
  • Fund-raising for Charities or other Non-Profits
  • To Find a Date or a Mate
  • To Find a Group to Join

How successful you are in your networking, depends on what kind of networker you are.  And what KIND of networker is more dependent upon how you go about networking, than whether you are an Open Networker or only tap those closest to you.   That being said here are my “Rules of Networking”:

  1. Protect your reputation
  2. Don’t ask something of someone that you wouldn’t do yourself if asked
  3. Help when you can, be clear when you cannot help
  4. Stay true to your inner compass (if it doesn’t “feel” right, don’t follow through and see #5)
  5. Be honest and kind
  6. Keep confidences, share good news

If you are new to “networking” start small, talk to only your most trusted friends and colleagues when trying to get connected to meet one of the goals listed at the top.

Jul29

Social Networking and YOU

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Social Networking and YOU

At the end of the day the only person you have control over is YOU.  But each of us influence and have impact on others based on our relationships.  And “Social Networking” is a way of taking a systemic look at your relationships and leveraging them to help you accomplish your goals – whether that goal is to find a great realtor, gain access to a prospective client, find a new job, or raise funds for charity – your most successful forays will be with people who know you or know someone who knows you.

Randy Schrum, http://successwithlinkedin.wordpress.com/ has a whole blog, and an e-book about how to successfully utilize LinkedIn in marketing.   Charlene Li’s book Groundswell: Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies talks about how social networking has taken hold of the internet and where it is all heading.  There are many other references out there…

Ultimately if you are trying to decide to “Twitter or not to Twitter”  ( you might want to check out: Twitter Power: How to Dominate Your Market One Tweet at a Time ) or how to set up a Facebook page for your Business ( check out Clara Shih’s book The Facebook Era: Tapping Online Social Networks to Build Better Products, Reach New Audiences, and Sell More Stuff ) you need to set out a strategy and schedule some focused time to do it.  It is like any other aspect of your business, you need to schedule it in and spend some time to get comfortable with the ins and outs.

If you “shot gun” your approach, you spread yourself too thin, miss your target half the time, and may jeopardize the one thing you have to leverage – your relationships.   Guard them closely, your contacts are almost as precious as your reputation.  Learn how to nurture and leverage, remember to give value as well as harvest value, and take the time to stay in touch – that is the beauty of the internet and social networking sites – they enable you to stay in contact and find opportunities to help others.

Jun23

Looking for work

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Looking for work

Several friends and acquaintances are looking for work at the moment.  And because I have staffing experience and hiring manager experience, they have been asking me for advice.  There are all the standard bits of advice that everyone in the industry (and out of it) gives; but I was surprised that some folks are unaware of a few tidbits that I will share here:

  1. Google your name before you send out your resume and really check out what comes up!  You may discover that there are many folks with your name out there – be aware of who they are and what they do – so you are not caught unawares if a Recruiter asks you about a subject that seems to be a non sequitor, chances are they are trying to figure out if you are that (insert your name) who skydived in a youtube video or not… You will be surprised at how much “surface” level research is done through googling, and how many folks are mistaken for someone else.  At least if you have looked already, and if the Recruiter or Hiring Manager says “tell me about your skydiving video” you can chuckle and explain that it isn’t you, but someone else with your name.  This is good, because you demonstrate you are aware of your web presence and that you are comfortable with the fact that someone tried to check on you.
  2. If you have a Facebook or Myspace page, edit your comments and pictures before sending out your resume. I know, I know, that is your “personal” space, but believe me – Recruiters and Hiring Managers will go and look to see what they can find out about you (and if anyone they know, knows you).  Rather than having to explain something that is iffy or unprofessional or just embarassing – remove it.
  3. Update your Linkedin page and if you don’t have one, set one up.  Many HR folks will check a resume against the Linkedin.com profile and if there are mismatches, or questionable items – use it to screen the resume out.  Likewise, some HR departments will screen a resume out that doesn’t have a Linkedin.com account – dependent upon your career area.  If you are in Technology, Sales, or Management – you should have a Linkedin.com profile.  And it should be up to date.
  4. The absolutely best way to get a job is through a referral from someone you know, who knows someone in the Company you are trying to get a job in.  This requires work – and let’s face it – finding a job is a job all by itself.  The job seeker should be actively researching where they are most likely to find a job that matches their skills and/or career goals, and networking to see who they know who can get them through all the standard resume filtering that happens.

I hope this was helpful to you if you are looking for work.  Let me know – leave a comment!

Jun22

Word of Mouth…

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Word of Mouth…

We used to call ourselves “Bargain Hunters” or “Smart Shoppers” – now we are “Recessionistas”, finding the best buy and beating the economic woes of the land!  My co-worker and friend, Afsheen, coined the term… and I have been using it with relish for about a week.  My circle of friends have adopted it and so on and so on… who knows where it will end up next.  That is the joy of a “living language”.   Not that I am assuming that my adoption of this clever term will make it into the jargonaries of the world, nor that by our usage we will change the language – my point about it is that usage is viral because people tell others about what they are using.

In the decades prior to mass media (not really THAT long ago), most products were spread through word-of-mouth marketing.  One person would tell another person about how well it worked or how wonderful the product was, and it spread.  This is why so many advertising formats are “Testimonials” of one kind or another… because the majority of humans like to pass things along, share, and enjoy as a group.  The concept of viral (word of mouth)  marketing  came back into vogue when the internet became mainstreamed.  Social networking and the marketing that comes with it, is the good old fashioned word of mouth type of testimonial marketing that was prevalent a century ago.  The village is bigger now… the “mouth” is a screen. 

A person in Dallas can coin a term like “Recessionista” and in two days,  it can be heard in San Francisco and Boston in a conversation 3 times removed from the source.   Just think what you could do with a strong strategy and  purpose!

May28

“It’s a living…language”

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“It’s a living…language”

The language of work has its own syntax and overflows to the world in general… a couple of centuries ago, the workers who wanted to protest their working conditions, through their wooden shoes (french: “sabot”) into the machinery – which ground everything to a halt – hence the word “sabotage” came into common parlance. 

I noted that at a recent conference of vendors to a noted large company, a new “work word” has come into usage… it is a word that you have no doubt heard in civilian usage often enough, but has a slightly new meaning with the internet age:  ”socialize”.  The context was that the presenter, in acknowledging a reported problem in the process, said that she had “socialized this with her team”  i.e. discussed it.  There was a clear division in the audience, not by age but by “social network” savvy – the faces with giant question marks on them were not plugged in to the crowd-sourcing, tweet producing group who “got” the meaning of the presenters sentence immediately.

Although anecdotal, the buzz at the refreshment table during break, told me that the term used in that one sentence stymied about 30% of the room enough for them to be “socializing” it over the coffee cake.  If I had had enough time, I might have polled the 30% to see how many knew the terms “google”, “tweet”, and “crowd sourcing”… but alas, the meeting resumed.

It brought to mind that however pervasive technology seems to be… there is a section of the population who are at the fringes of it… perhaps getting some benefit, but mostly just wondering what is going on as it passes them by.  For those trying to stay employed in an age of evolving job duties and ever-pressing needs for more tech savvy even in the most traditionally non-tech areas, this means plugging in to the latest vocabulary.   And how does one find out what the newest terminlogy is? Use your connection capital and “socialize” it with your network(s)!

Apr6

The Age of Hybrids

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The Age of Hybrids

I like the concept of hybrids:  “Something of mixed origin or composition” enabling a transition – the last part is my overlay of the dictionary definition.  The hybrids I am most excited by are the technological ones… the devices or services that are enabling us to transition easily to even newer and more exciting technologies.  Hybrid cars come to mind…enabling us to move from Gas dependent to a more efficient use of energy.  This concept of hybrids needs to be applied to the tools of our socializing and networking, as well… this is not as much a generational issue as it is a Tech/Non-Tech issue.  To move effectively and communicate efficiently in this age of hybrids, means to be able to use the tools wisely – to use Linkedin.com and Facebook.com in concert, to understand the values of texting, email, twittering and establish a strategy for it all.  It means exploring the other networking applications like Naymz and Brijj and eCademy and Xing and BrightFuse and the list goes on… It means making time to review and digest the fire hose flow of information and learning how to slice and dice it so that it means something to you. And most of all – it means finding a hybrid balance between using the technology well and maintaining your humanity. 

And for those of you checking out new fun things I share this tech-tool: http://phonetag.com/

Also, if you are still nervous about playing in Facebook – read this series of articles: http://mashable.com/2009/04/05/facebook-week-resources/

Knowledge is Power… use it wisely.

Mar20

The elegance of social synchronicity

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The elegance of social synchronicity

Yesterday, while reviewing the various and sundry news of my friends and acquaintances on Facebook, one of those friends (not an early adopter of technological toys) had posted a video of her front garden. It was very nicely done, and I loved seeing the progress of her garden. I was also impressed with the video quality and smoothness of the motion as she moved around the various plants using the zoom and moving around for different angles. I asked if she had bought a videocam, and her response was that it was a Flip Video. Of course I went out to the net to check on what exactly a Flip Video is…it is a small cell phone sized video camera with a usb plug and you can buy one that has 30 minutes of memory or 60 minutes of memory. The little blurb says you can upload to Youtube.com or any of a variety of social networking sites, such as Facebook, very easily…

In true synchronistic style, I then told some folks at the office about it. It is an impressive toy for less than $150 and of course, I want one. This afternoon, I get a tweet from Techcrunch about [insert drumroll] Flip Video…Cisco apparently has bought the small company that makes Flip Video – PureDigital Technologies for a cool $590M.

This is what I really love about the information age… once you have focused your attention on a particular item or subject matter – suddenly it is all around you. Very much like the act of observing the behavior of particles influences the behavior of particles… the act of observing phenomenon on the web creates phenomenon on the web.

And in this case, inspired me to comment about it on my blog. And BTW, the best price I have found for the FlipVideo 60 minute is on Amazon. Check it out.

Jan25

The old dog that teaches itself new tricks

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The old dog that teaches itself new tricks

Being at the tail-end of the Boomer generation, I become ever more surprised at the number of my peers (the technical as well as ”non-technical” ones) who are quickly becoming, well, downright stodgy. These are the people who have computers but do not have a Facebook or Myspace page…answer their emails about once a week or less, and complain that their kids and grandkids know more about the computer than they do. They also complain that they are no longer getting promoted, or able to figure out what their younger co-workers are talking about.

These are not unintelligent folks… they are in professions that are not dynamically involved in networking, or at least in positions that they perceive to be “not networking oriented”…and when they lose their job, through attrition or economics or because they don’t “fit” anymore…they are at a loss.   Why is this happening?

Aside from the social divisions, there are self-imposed divisions within any culture.  The self-imposed divisions are the hardest to overcome.  People who make an effort to stay on top of what is going on in the world at large, not just the news, but what people are doing, how they are doing it, how new jobs are coming into being – those are the people who are teaching themselves “new tricks” and are able to be adaptive and “embrace changes”.

Learning doesn’t stop when you leave school.  Technology, whether you like it or not, is continuing to evolve and if you can’t keep up you will not stay marketable.  If you aren’t sure where to begin, start with Groundswell: Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies ; then go open your Facebook or Myspace account and findout who you know that is there… you’ll be surprised.   I stay in touch with many of my Godkids more frequently through my Myspace and Facebook pages than I do on the phone, email, or snailmail.  Although I was surpised to have to explain just what “snailmail”* was to my 16 year old godson – *snailmail is paper mail sent by regular post.

If you work for a living and you don’t have a Linkedin.com account – why not.  It is the main US career-oriented site out there.  The one place where your “resume” being out there doesn’t instigate retaliation by a boss who thinks you are actively looking… this “open networking” is important for you should you ever need to find a job.  Remember the old adage “It isn’t what you know, it is who you know“. It isn’t strictly correct, of course, you do have to have skills and experience, but you also need an introduction to the people you want to work with.

Recently a friend of mine was interviewing for a position she really was excited about…she was represented through a recruiter who went AWOL for a few days. During that few days, the company was trying to reach the recruiter to set up the second/decision making interview.  She lost out on the job, and she was very understanding of the recruiter that had a family emergency and was AWOL.  She is still on unemployment and hoping that she can find a job before she winds up having to move in with friends.  She still doesn’t have a Linkedin profile.  She does have Myspace and Facebook, but doesn’t ever use them to network.

My unspoken thoughts (she is my friend and I was comiserating with her) were:

  • Why didn’t the company have your direct contact info and why didn’t you have theirs?
  • Didn’t you send a thank-you for the first interview, another opportunity to get your contact info to them?
  • Why didn’t anyone else in the Recruiter’s office handle this for him?

When I asked her, gently, why she didn’t follow-up directly with the company, she was horrified at me… in her mind, the recruiter was representing her, and she would have been rude and inapproprate to contact the employer directly.

In my mind, once the introduction is made, it is as much my responsibility (since I am the one who wants the job) to communicate as it is the recruiter’s.  The recruiter works for the employer, not for me.  And I know that the recruiter will be compensated based on my placement – and has “skin in the game”, but I would not let that prevent me from trying to get the job if I really wanted it.  And unless the recruiter specifically asks me not to contact the person I interviewed with at the company, then I see nothing wrong with it.

This is an example of “old dog” behaviors that have not evolved with the technology.  In the coming year, and in the current economy, unless you are able to teach yourself new ways of doing even the most basic things, like saying “thank you” after an interview, you will be behind the curve.

I am going to go check my email now…and tweet some folks.  And after I make another pot of coffee, I may clip and share some news on Social Median.  Check it all out…
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Jan22

How do I know you?

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How do I know you?

I had a little focused time to really look at xing.com the other day… and using the xing plugin (have I mentioned how much I dislike plugins?) I pulled emails from my Outlook and sent off invitations to people to join my network on Xing.  This took about 2 hours for the plugin to digest my Outlook and spit out potential folks to invite.

For those of you who do not know Xing.com, it is a publicly traded company in Germany, that is the Euro counterpart to Linkedin.com (altho both may have issues with that comparison). 

I sent out 400+ invitations.  And many people signed up within seconds of receiving their invite (I know, because Xing sends me a confirmation of the person who signed up at my invitation).  So far, only one person has emailed me personally asking who I am and how they know me. 

I am not saying that I sent 400+ invites to total strangers…these are people I have done business with, or made inquiries to for business, and so they qualify as passing acquaintances and are certainly appropriate to invite to a social/business networking tool. 

I am saying that the phenomenon of receiving an invitation to join these sorts of networks must be so commonplace, that people sign up without thinking too much about it.  Either they were already familiar with Xing.com or I had left a favorable impression in our last email interchange or they are simply open to exploring new apps as they are presented to them.

In any event, I am glad that I make notes on my vcards about how I met someone and so I was able to quickly answer with specific information – the gentleman who queried “Who are you and How do I know you?” and we had a nice email conversation, allowing us to get reacquainted, since it had been June of last year when I last spoke with him.  I don’t know if he will choose to join Xing.com, but I do know that the invitation opened the door a little bit wider for our discussions, and I have a better idea how to I could be of help to him in the future in our business dealings.

And that understanding may help me grow the business I am in… which is what I am networking to do.
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