The Power Found in Social Networking
The new craze on the Internet is social networking. Being able to connect with people all over the world gives individuals tremendous power to accomplish good, but at the same time it’s a two edged sword; you can very quickly and with relative ease, make a fool of yourself and discredit all that you’ve worked to accomplish.
I think we’ve all witnessed the good, the bad, and the ugly of social networking. We’ve probably also heard of the mishaps that have taken place because someone posted a bit much on Facebook or Twitter. A random party photo, or a snide comment about a co-worker or boss, can come back to haunt the individual.
In order to take advantage of the best social networking has to offer, we can’t just focus on doing the positive things, we have to also limit the negative things we do too. It’s like wanting to be rich, earning $500,000 dollars but then at the same time spending $500,000. In the end, your negative (spending) cancels the positive (earnings).
Social networking has some clear negatives to avoid, and good to do:
BAD: Irrelevant Updates: Unfortunately no one cares that you just woke up at 11 AM (actually, it makes you look lazy, and potential influential connections will look down upon these things). No one wants to know that you had cereal for breakfast, brushed your teeth, or walked the dog. Everybody does those things, so it’s nothing new, nothing important. There’s nothing wrong with the everyday things, but keep it minimal and interesting.
GOOD: Insightful Updates: Post about things you’re reading, comment on events, and what others have said. Updates are like free marketing, it is a great way for start-ups and companies to gain an underground following. You can use it to broadcast updates, news and even articles and blog entries to the masses. Individuals can also use it to show their skills, talents, expertise, and by the value of your content, prove to others that you are worth the connection.
BAD: Insincere Connections: On more of the social variety of networks, it amazes me when people you haven’t spoken with in over 15 years request your ‘friendship’…only to turn around, after you accept, and never contact you again. Others post themselves on various sites just to be able to get more followers or contacts, just for the sake of numbers.
GOOD: Powerful Connections: Your contacts should be useful. You should stay connected with these people, comment on what they are working on, reading, actually stay in touch with them. When the time comes that you may need something, they will readily come to your aid. If you haven’t ever bothered to stay connected (other than just having the connection) there’s little chance that you’ll get any help. Show your worth and when your contacts need something, they’ll come to you.
BAD: Inaccurate Contact: If your contact information is old, and not up-to-date, it’s of no use to your contacts. If you have a Web site listed in your profile, keep it up-to-date. If you don’t have time to do that, make the site just a landing page with basic information on how to contact you.
GOOD: Up-to-date Contact: If you have work information, skills, experience, etc. keep that up to date too, you’ll be surprised how many people look at that and if the information is old you may miss some opportunities. I would suggest that you “Google” your name and see what is out there, then get to work at building your personal brand. Your personal brand is your name, if you have a common name it make take a little more work since there will be many other people doing the same time. Setup your basics, Web site (with your name [or a variation] as your domain name), Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, GoogleProfile. Get your name out there, what you do, and how to contact you.
Taking some of these basic steps will ensure that you develop at strong, professional online profile that will be useful to you and not something that will handicap you in future opportunities. Developing an online profile through social networking will increase the influence you have from your normal social group of co-workers and friends to include a whole wide community of people with similar interests, skills, and experience throughout the world.
Hi, good post. I have been wondering about this issue,so thanks for posting. I’ll definitely be coming back to your site.
Hi, great post. Very helpful to see the potential of LinkedIn.
It’s a masterpiece. I have never thought people can have such ideas and thoughts. You are great.
Great Site……
[...]check this out as this contains important information about[...]…
[...]Although in his defence I must say that Woland is quite capable of throwing dust in the eyes of men who are even cleverer than Berlioz[...]…
but Margarita could not tell if it was the falling rock or the sound of satanic laughter…
Related…Trackback…
[...]just beneath, are numerous totally not related sites to ours, however, they are surely worth going over[...]……
Momma is one cool chick…
Momma Highlight of the day:…
Related……
[...]just beneath, are various totally not associated web sites to ours, having said that, they’re certainly really worth likely over[...]……
Nice Site…
[…] … great article that everyone should read […]…
Recent Blogroll Additions……
[...]usually posts some very interesting stuff like this. If you’re new to this site[...]……
Awesome website…
[...]the time to read or visit the content or sites we have linked to below the[...]……
This is Good…
[...]That’s really accurate there, I’m getting excited about your next write-up[...]……
Nice Site…
[…] … great article that everyone should read […]…
Websites you should visit…
[...]below you’ll find the link to some sites that we think you should visit[...]……
forex mini…
http://forexmini.info...
Superb website…
[...]always a big fan of linking to bloggers that I love but don’t get a lot of link love from[...]……
Great website…
[...]we like to honor many other internet sites on the web, even if they aren’t linked to us, by linking to them. Under are some webpages worth checking out[...]……
Great website…
[...]we like to honor many other internet sites on the web, even if they aren’t linked to us, by linking to them. Under are some webpages worth checking out[...]……
Cocktail Recipes…
Wow really glad i found your website, i’ll be sure to visit back now i’ve bookmarked it….
Websites you should visit…
[...]below you’ll find the link to some sites that we think you should visit[...]……
Online Article……
[...]The information mentioned in the article are some of the best available [...]……
rolety okienne…
[...]here are some links to sites that we link to because we think they are worth visiting[...]……
Cool sites…
[...]we came across a cool site that you might enjoy. Take a look if you want[...]……
You should check this out…
[...] Wonderful story, reckoned we could combine a few unrelated data, nevertheless really worth taking a look, whoa did one learn about Mid East has got more problerms as well [...]……
Sites we Like……
[...] Every once in a while we choose blogs that we read. Listed below are the latest sites that we choose [...]……
Superb website…
[...]always a big fan of linking to bloggers that I love but don’t get a lot of link love from[...]……
Gems form the internet…
[...]very few websites that happen to be detailed below, from our point of view are undoubtedly well worth checking out[...]……
Websites you should visit…
[...]below you’ll find the link to some sites that we think you should visit[...]……
Related……
[...]just beneath, are numerous totally not related sites to ours, however, they are surely worth going over[...]……
Blogs ou should be reading…
[...]Here is a Great Blog You Might Find Interesting that we Encourage You[...]……
Gems form the internet…
[...]very few internet sites that occur to be detailed below, from our point of view are undoubtedly nicely worth checking out[...]……
Awesome website…
[...]always a big fan of linking to bloggers that I love [...]……
Our Trackback link…
[...]very few websites that happen to be detailed below, from our point of view are undoubtedly well worth checking out[...]……
Peluang Bisnis Online Tanpa Ribet…
Wow really glad i found your website, i’ll be sure to visit back now i’ve bookmarked it….
http://www.protea-electronics.com...
Wow really glad i found your website, i’ll be sure to visit back now i’ve bookmarked it….
what is dowsing…
(…)Dowsing, also known as rhabdomancy, witching, divination, dousing, doodlebugging, radiesthesia – an art and a science that allows you to expand your abilities beyond three-dimensional limitations(…)…
Thanks…
Wow really glad i found your website, i’ll be sure to visit back now i’ve bookmarked it….
Websites worth visiting…
[...]here are some links to sites that we link to because we think they are worth visiting[...]……
Check this out…
[...] that is the end of this article. Here you’ll find some sites that we think you’ll appreciate, just click the links over[...]……
Websites we think you should visit…
[...]please visit the websites we follow, including this one, as it represents our picks from the web[...]……
Sites we Like……
[...] Every once in a while we choose blogs that we read. Listed below are the latest sites that we choose [...]……
Great website…
[...]we like to honor many other internet sites on the web, even if they aren’t linked to us, by linking to them. Under are some webpages worth checking out[...]……
Don’t simply retire from something; have something to retire to….
Pretty nice post. I just stumbled upon your weblog and wanted to say that I’ve really enjoyed surfing around your blog posts. In any case I will be subscribing to your rss feed and I hope you write again very soon!…
Recent Blogroll Additions……
[...]usually posts some very interesting stuff like this. If you’re new to this site[...]……
Great website…
[...]we like to honor many other internet sites on the web, even if they aren’t linked to us, by linking to them. Under are some webpages worth checking out[...]……
Read was interesting, stay in touch……
[...]please visit the sites we follow, including this one, as it represents our picks from the web[...]……
Websites you should visit…
[...]below you’ll find the link to some sites that we think you should visit[...]……
Links…
[...]Sites of interest we have a link to[...]……
Our Trackback link…
[...]very few websites that happen to be detailed below, from our point of view are undoubtedly well worth checking out[...]……
Great website…
[...]we like to honor many other internet sites on the web, even if they aren’t linked to us, by linking to them. Under are some webpages worth checking out[...]……