The social side of networking

This morning I got a message from my niece on Facebook, two messages from colleagues on LinkedIn, one SMS message and a couple of dozen emails.

Which got me thinking about networking.

I use social networking tools LinkedIn and Facebook regularly (not heavily) but probably not the way most people think. I tend to feel that social networking via computer isn’t the be-all and end-all; in fact quite the reverse.

There is an expression in the army. A smart soldier:

• Doesn’t stand when he can sit.
• Doesn’t sit when he can lie down.
• Doesn’t lie down when he can sleep.

(This makes lots of sense when you are finishing up a 22 hour day).

My approach to networking is similar. In fact I might say, Brendan:

• Doesn’t broadcast when he can send a personalised message.
• Doesn’t send a personalised message when he can call.
• Doesn’t call when he can catch up for coffee.

A major objective of business networking is to generate opportunities. And opportunities are much more likely to come from a personal relationship. Because if they’re not thinking of you, they’re not thinking of you.

Therefore I would much rather meet face-to-face with people over coffee than try to connect online. Emoticons aren’t the same as body language 🙂

Gen-Y may love tools like MySpace, Facebook and SMS, but it appears that most still only have a relationship with an inner circle of friends (those they meet offline), despite the fact that they may be connected to thousands.

I feel that if they think social networking is the only way to network, that’s great for me. I have much less competition when I want to meet somebody new 🙂

So why do I use LinkedIn and Facebook? A couple of reasons.

1. LinkedIn is a good networking metric. If my connections, or “friends”, hasn’t increased in the last fortnight it means I am not putting any effort into networking and I should pull my finger out. This is also the reason why I don’t say yes to every friend request or engage in harvest networking (eg Toplinked), collecting 1000s of connections that I don’t know.

2. It keeps me up to date. It’s so much easier to connect with people over coffee when you know what they have been up to.

3. On rare occasions I use social networking tools to make announcements. 

4. I don’t have all the answers, so I like to be involved with trends to see where they go. I have yet to use my LinkedIn connections to solve a problem, and am looking forward to see how that will turn out. 

So I’d have to say that social networking tools are great, but shouldn’t be confused with actual networking. It’s hard to enjoy coffee over the internet.

Brendan Lewis is a serial technology entrepreneur having founded : Ideas Lighting, Carradale Media, Edion, Verve IT, The Churchill Club, Flinders Pacific and L2i Technology Advisory. He has set up businesses for others in Romania, Indonesia and Vietnam. Qualified in IT and Accounting, he has also spent time running an Advertising agency and as a Cavalry Officer with the Australian Army Reserve.