While I still go to networking events, due to having a kid and working from a home office in suburbia, it’s a lot harder. I’m not necessarily substituting one for another as I’m a strong believer in “clicks & mix” networking and think you need both. But, I am using Facebook and Twitter to supplement the fact that I can’t physically (or financially) afford to go to every conference, breakfast, lunch, cocktails and dinner that I could before I had a family.
Facebook is my coffee break. I go into
Twitter/FB about 2-3 times a day when I need a mental break and/or
human interaction. I may comment on a few posts from my friends. Or
pick my five favorite something or others. I’ll add any new
friend requests (more on that next week). Or, I might check
out if anyone from high school or college has hopped on. A
lot of the time I find news items and references to articles I need
to read for work, so I’m quickly off and back to research and
writing.
Facebooking is easier than a cocktail party.
Why? Because I basically know everyone on there, and my
Facebook friends have made an active decision that they want to
engage with me. This means that I can hop into conversations and
share information without getting a queasy feeling in the pit of my
stomach. Yes, even us extroverts get nervous around new
people. It also means that contacts are “warm calls” and you can
build relationships talking about favorite movies, TV shows, etc.
This winter, I enjoyed re-meeting one of my high school friends
through our Tues. morning “Bachelor wrap-up” sessions.
High school reunions can be fun and fruitful. I’ve noticed a phenomenon on Facebook. I’m reconnecting with many of my high school classmates (most of whom I lost touch with the day after I graduated), but not so much my college or law school friends. I have a few theories. One is that I went to high school in the mid 80s (basically Grosse Point Blank fans can relate… they were class of 86). This was probably the last time we all felt safe and really good about our country. Hence, the transitive trust of the people we know back then. Click here for more on Growing Up Eighties.
I can hear some of you still saying, that’s nice, but why would I want to waste time with non-business contacts when I need to find a job or new clients in a bad economy? My response – I’ve rarely mentioned what I do to my high school pals, yet there they are: signing up for the Downtown Women’s Club, giving me advice about which laptop to buy, showing up at my speeches, and hiring me as their social media coach. Not bad for dishing about reality shows and Mad Men (which if you aren’t watching, you are really missing something
This post is excerpted from the new eBook, The Downtown Women’s Club’s Beginner’s Guide to Facebook®, available for free with a Downtown Women’s Club DWC+ premium membership. See http://www.downtownwomensclub.com/facebookebook for more information.
