Discussions about social media are cropping up everywhere this month, and I've made it my 'theme' for the month. (If you want to learn more about social media and on line networking, take a look at my posts, Tips for Making Connections on Social Networking Sites and Who should I link to or 'friend' on social networking sites? - and stay tuned for further posts this month on effective use of social media.) But with all of this discussion, it's worth remembering that there's nothing like a face to face interaction.
Yesterday, Tom Kane posted about social networking on the Legal Marketing Blog in "Is 'Social Media' Networking's Nirvana? Possibly Not!" Tom quotes Susan Wilson Solovic of Small Business TV about the basics of networking. Whether you've catapulted full-tilt into the social media world or not, it's important to remember that the goal is to form relationships, not just surface 'connections,' 'friends' or 'followers' which Solovic likens to collecting piles of business cards.
Tom concludes that the best networking is face to face interaction, and I can't disagree. Use social networking to make connections faster and easier, but be sure to get away from the keyboard and meet people in person if you want to develop the best relationships.
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