So if you’re following along and go, ‘zOMG, Amye, there is no way that I know 30 – 60- 90 people to pester’, let me be the first to congratulate you. You’re about to embark on a journey of figuring out exactly how many people you actually know.
If you’re on Twitter, think about how many people you’re following, how many people follow you. That’s an easy place to start connecting the networks. The hard part is having a memory that remembers who’s interested in what, who was looking for what, and being able to recall that as someone tells you a story.
Same with LinkedIn. The visual way to see who you went to school with, worked with, or currently work with is another way to jog your memory, and helps keep it current. Who changes jobs, who’s looking, who’s in a particular place.. All of this is useful information about your personal community. The groups on LinkedIn can sometimes be a distraction, but if you’re looking to change careers, pay attention.
I don’t use Facebook, but that’s Another Story. It’s a personal preference.
I’m going to level with you: This is what Social Media really is. Clean off that icky-gross feeling about the word ‘networking’ and stop imagining a roomful of suits drinking martinis and thinking only about where their next sale is coming from, and ‘working the room’ as fast as possible.
Imagine instead that there is going to be a fascinating conversation in that room, and you just have to start asking people about something that interests them. Imagine that your new best friend could be out there, but you’ll never know until you start asking around. Get over that feeling of gross and get out there.
Favorite book for Networking advice: Never Eat Alone.You’re going to have to be in the right frame of mind to read it, but at least flip through it.