Business Social Networking
Business social networking is the newest response to the ever growing popularity of the social networking craze that has taken over the Internet in the past few years. Social networking online is defined as a website where people with common interests come to meet, talk, and often then plan to get together in person to further the relationship. College students began this phenomenon when sites such as Facebook took off, allowing students to meet one another online and providing space where a profile could be posted. Today, not only Facebook but MySpace and other sites host millions of profiles and people can meet one another online and take the meeting to the next step of face to face if so desired. Soon, businesses began to realize the power of these websites and the opportunity to find new customers and new business partnerships online and the result is commerce social networking, often on sites just dedicated to the world of commerce.
Many entreprenuerial people already have profiles on Facebook and MySpace. With so many people popping in and out of these sites every day, there is always the possibility that someone may find a person's profile interesting and want to contact them for advice, job offer or to see if they are interested in a product for sale. But because these sites are often more for dating and just having fun, business social networking has taken on a whole new face with its own sites. The largest and most popular business social networking site now is called LinkedIn, which boasts of over thirty million members. But along with LinkedIn are also Ryze and Tribe.net.
How do these websites work? All the sites begin by having a person fill out a form that asks standard questions about where the person is working now, past work experiences, names of associates, etc. All of this information is meant to foster communication and referrals. Once a person submits contacts, friends and colleagues (and make sure you ask before submitting their names) then the system of business social networking begins. The system is meant then to seek friends of friends of your associates and soon the pool begins to grow almost exponentially. While doing good works does not get one into heaven, Jesus said that they are to be a part of the Christian lifestyle. "But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil." (Luke 6: 35)
The ease of use of these business social networking websites is a real plus because many business persons don't have the time to spend hours filling out a profile. But once it is finished, including a picture, the profile is discoverable through search engines. This is an amazing opportunity to not only find other friends and associates that a person has lost touch with, but for people to find you. LinkedIn has some unique applications that can be of real help to business persons. For example, there is a reading list that lets a person see what books people in his industry are reading. There is the ability to form work teams within one's own network that is private and where projects can be collaborated as well as an ability to share completed presentations with selected colleagues and friends.
Many people associate networking with just meeting new people and kind of blow off what business social networking can do for one's enterprise. Through the years, studies have shown that the average Joe Schmo knows about two hundred and fifty other persons, either by name, or through facial recognition. That means that out of the pool of people a person knows, there is a potential of getting to know or at least getting one's face in front of over sixty thousand persons through the concept of business social networking using the power of the World Wide Web and networks that are designed to just enlarge the gene pool, so to speak. This concept of an ever growing pool of people who has the possibility of providing life-changing information, such as a new job opportunity, or knowing someone who needs just the product you are selling can change forever the new people coming into our lives is just another excuse to forget a name or face. Meeting new people is an opportunity to add hundreds or thousands of other contacts to our ever growing list and one of those people might be the key to a life changing commerce opportunity. So when a person takes the time to carefully and thoughtfully fill out the profile on one of the many business networking websites, a whole new world may await.
Once all the information has been entered into the website, persons that you know can search your network for relevant commerce contacts. While the social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace stress in-person meetings, there may come a time when there will never be the need to have those types of enterprise contacts. As the technology continues to expand, there is no reason to think that face to face video meetings through these business social networking sites won't be possible and happen. In the meantime, even these lower level abilities to network with thousands of other contacts in one's own field of commerce needs to be embraced by everyone doing business in the 21st century. Without a doubt, this is the way business will be done in the decades that follow.
Many entreprenuerial people already have profiles on Facebook and MySpace. With so many people popping in and out of these sites every day, there is always the possibility that someone may find a person's profile interesting and want to contact them for advice, job offer or to see if they are interested in a product for sale. But because these sites are often more for dating and just having fun, business social networking has taken on a whole new face with its own sites. The largest and most popular business social networking site now is called LinkedIn, which boasts of over thirty million members. But along with LinkedIn are also Ryze and Tribe.net.
How do these websites work? All the sites begin by having a person fill out a form that asks standard questions about where the person is working now, past work experiences, names of associates, etc. All of this information is meant to foster communication and referrals. Once a person submits contacts, friends and colleagues (and make sure you ask before submitting their names) then the system of business social networking begins. The system is meant then to seek friends of friends of your associates and soon the pool begins to grow almost exponentially. While doing good works does not get one into heaven, Jesus said that they are to be a part of the Christian lifestyle. "But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil." (Luke 6: 35)
The ease of use of these business social networking websites is a real plus because many business persons don't have the time to spend hours filling out a profile. But once it is finished, including a picture, the profile is discoverable through search engines. This is an amazing opportunity to not only find other friends and associates that a person has lost touch with, but for people to find you. LinkedIn has some unique applications that can be of real help to business persons. For example, there is a reading list that lets a person see what books people in his industry are reading. There is the ability to form work teams within one's own network that is private and where projects can be collaborated as well as an ability to share completed presentations with selected colleagues and friends.
Many people associate networking with just meeting new people and kind of blow off what business social networking can do for one's enterprise. Through the years, studies have shown that the average Joe Schmo knows about two hundred and fifty other persons, either by name, or through facial recognition. That means that out of the pool of people a person knows, there is a potential of getting to know or at least getting one's face in front of over sixty thousand persons through the concept of business social networking using the power of the World Wide Web and networks that are designed to just enlarge the gene pool, so to speak. This concept of an ever growing pool of people who has the possibility of providing life-changing information, such as a new job opportunity, or knowing someone who needs just the product you are selling can change forever the new people coming into our lives is just another excuse to forget a name or face. Meeting new people is an opportunity to add hundreds or thousands of other contacts to our ever growing list and one of those people might be the key to a life changing commerce opportunity. So when a person takes the time to carefully and thoughtfully fill out the profile on one of the many business networking websites, a whole new world may await.
Once all the information has been entered into the website, persons that you know can search your network for relevant commerce contacts. While the social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace stress in-person meetings, there may come a time when there will never be the need to have those types of enterprise contacts. As the technology continues to expand, there is no reason to think that face to face video meetings through these business social networking sites won't be possible and happen. In the meantime, even these lower level abilities to network with thousands of other contacts in one's own field of commerce needs to be embraced by everyone doing business in the 21st century. Without a doubt, this is the way business will be done in the decades that follow.
Business Social Networking
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