On the topic of social media applications, there seem to be
three types of people: the super users, the avoiders, and
the people that say, "I know I need to, but which ones and
why?" Most business people probably fall into the last
group: the ocean of people who lie between the
early-adopter über-geeks and those mind-boggling
creatures who only check their email once a week or so.
Yes, there's potential there for good things to happen...if
you're actively using the right applications.
The number of applications and communities is overwhelming.
Many of the most popular ones, like MySpace and YouTube,
aren't going to be all that helpful for professional
interaction. That's not true for every industry, though, so
it's worth asking around and seeing what your communities
are using. If your colleagues, contacts, and customers are
all using some other method of connecting, by all means go
participate there. The point of this is for you to be able
to make useful, meaningful connections and interact.
LinkedIn is a simple, useful tool for any professional.
This is the business networking equivalent of being listed
in the phone book. It doesn't require very much attention
and can provide a great deal of benefit. Spending half an
hour building your profile lets you put your CV out there,
easily find your network of contacts, and be visible for
the sort of notice you want to receive. If you want to do
more, there are great community features. People can
recommend you and your work. You can ask questions through
LinkedIn Answers and get answers from people who actually
know what they're talking about. If you need to hire
someone or are looking for a job, it's an ideal place to
put out feelers. You won't get clobbered with email from
LinkedIn—just one summarizing any updates your
contacts made during the week—so use your real,
regular address to ensure that you don't miss out on
something important.
If you want to add something more interactive, more
personal, and a bit more relaxed, Facebook is your next
step. The service has exploded in the business sector
lately, which is probably due to all the people who used it
in college and have moved into the workforce. It's a good
way to connect with people in your industry through groups
and keep on top of events of interest. It's more social and
casual than LinkedIn, but less messy and far more
professional than MySpace. You can talk about events and
ideas through group and event pages, instantly notify
people of changes to meet-up plans, and more. This has the
added benefit of being useful in your personal life. If you
don't already have a ton of friends on Facebook, you
probably will soon enough.
Among the tech elite, Twitter is the place to be right now.
Maybe you read about it after its usage during SXSW was all
over the internet. Be warned that it's a love it or hate it
thing and can be addictive. Twitter is a micro-blogging or
micro-chat service where you can make posts of up to 140
characters. You can follow people and see their "tweets",
they can follow you and see your "tweets". Only follow the
people you really enjoy or benefit from—CEOs, the
A-list bloggers, the professional contacts—and don't
feel like you have to follow everyone who follows you. If
you participate and have a similarly-minded network of
people that follow you, Twitter can be a very powerful
tool. What's even better is that you can ask questions and
get answers from people who actually know. Need to know
which spam filter for your blogging software is best? Ask
your Twitter network. You can use the service through web,
text messaging, and a host of widgets and services. While
you can monitor tweets constantly, you can also take a
break for a couple of weeks, come back, and not be behind
or swimming in a sea of things that require your feedback.
If the reason you haven't tried any of this already is
because you don't want to put your life online where
everyone can see it, relax. You're in control of what you
put up and how much information you give out. Be judicious
in what you put on your profiles, but don't be afraid of
having your life be a little bit public. The benefits of
giving people a face to put with the name and a sense of
who you are far outweigh any risks you are worried about.
These services don't just build connections, but they do
the important work of humanizing us in our online
relationships. In the end, it's all about the relationship
anyway, isn't it?
----------------------------------------------------
Specializing in marketing technology-based companies since
1987, and active in Internet marketing since 1992, John
Rasco's skills as a marketer, team leader and strategist
are key to successful client engagements. Founder of
RefreshWeb, John has an entrepreneurial gene, a creative
bent and a passion for challenging projects. More at
http://www.refreshweb.com
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