"Oh what a tangled web we weave, When first we practice to deceive” Sir Walter Scott
Forget about that deception stuff, you want to talk about a truly tangled web? Try explaining to people how you met someone through Social Networking. The days of saying "I went to school with her" or "we were neighbors" are over! Instead, conversations are "Oh, Tyrone Turner? I talked to him during a BlitzTime that I was reminded about on Twitter after I met Mike Sachleben on LinkedIn."
And because of social networking, you can a) never talk bad about anyone ever again and b) find people who know people you know in the most unlikely way. Here's a great example.
I spoke on the phone today to Mindy Selinger, Networking Guide and developer of www.networkingeventfinders.com because I clicked a link in one of her Twitter posts and downloaded an mp3 and she called me to follow up. (Sorry but all explanations about how you met someone that involves social networking is going to require run on sentences).
We had a very convivial time - she's an excellent conversationalist as well as good at following up - when I asked her where she was located. San Diego.
"Nice," I said, "I have a friend from Fresno who moved there and now says she died and went to heaven."
Mindy asks, "Oh, what does your friend do?"
"She teaches people about self-defense and personal safety," I replied.
"Is her name Kelly?!" says Mindy.
!
Well, sure enough, Mindy knows Kelly Rudolph who I've known for years (who was a member of the Clovis Chamber before I started there) and whose blog was one of the first I linked to from here. Now, how's that for finding something in common?
I suggest when you meet someone new, whether in person or on line, that you figure out who the two of you both know. The world is small enough that there's got to be someone. And you better discover who it is before you say something bad about them!
Networking tips and the best way to network ... by Networking on Purpose! Professional business networking strategies from Beth Bridges, speaker, and author.
Hey Beth!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the mention.
Mindy is great at networking and teaching others the proper way to do it as well. Most networkers have no clue about how to network and show up to events just to sell their stuff to other people wanting to sell their own stuff. WRONG, WRONG, WRONG. It becomes just one more episode of "The Obnoxious Sales People," instead of an empowering new relationship.
That's why many of us have opted out of networking groups and seek something more empowering and profitable. I've found that to be social networking for the very reasons you mentioned in your post.
Networking, as you know, is building friendships so that you think of one another when you find someone else needs what they have to offer. It's like going to the gym. You don't go to see how much fat you can lose while you're AT the gym. You go to the gym to program your body to burn fat when you're NOT at the gym. Geeze, I should teach a class!
Blog on Beth Bridges!
Kelly Rudolph, "Your Personal Safety Trainer"