------- Clearing Up the Confusion E-Zine ------- Vol 3, Issue 5 Lisa and Kaylie went down to Perrysburg on Saturday to visit with Grandma Debby (http://cnpofohio.blogspot.com/2009/03/little-kids-networking.html). They all went out to a local playground where Kaylie immediately found a bunch of other young kids to play with. They had a grand time. Some of the older ones even took Kaylie under their wing to help her get the most out of the playground toys. It's almost funny how easy it is for little kids to come together and make friends. They have no concern for what the others think of them or whether they "should" go up and say hello. They just walk up and start playing. We adults, on the other hand, make things so difficult with all of our neuroses and self-doubt that we often end up isolating ourselves. This is especially true for those of us who work alone. We don't even have the traditional water cooler around which we can gather to discuss the latest happenings of the day. As with most dilemmas, the Internet has come up with a solution: social networking tools. Login to one of these services and you need never fear of being alone again -- more or less. ---------------------------------------------------------------- In This Issue... ---------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Article: Linking In to Your Face 2. Shameless Self-Promotion 3. The Fine Print ---------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Article: Linking In to Your Face ---------------------------------------------------------------- OK, before I even get into the whole social networking service discussion, we need to have an agreement up front. No matter which service(s) you use, they *cannot* replace real, face-to-face (ar at least voice-to-voice) contact. I don't care how clever you are with text. If they haven't actually seen or heard you recently, you really don't exist. OK, that said, I've been starting to play around a little more with the online social networking tools. In particular, I've focused on LinkedIn and Facebook. I'm starting to check out a few of the others, but there's only so much time in the day. Here's what I've found so far. LinkedIn: For lack of better words, this is the "business" social networking site. I've noticed that the interactions here tend to be a lot more formal. "Friends" -- those people whom you have listed in your connections -- are supposed to be only those whom you would be willing to introduce and recommend to a third party. In fact, LinkedIn's reason for existence is primarily that -- to allow you to find a path of introductions from yourself to someone whom you would like to meet. How well this works in practice is a matter of some debate. Of course, as with pretty much all of these services, you can create or join groups, chat with friends, and participate in discussions. Unlike most, though, LinkedIn provides the ability for people to write recommendations about you. It undoubtedly has a number of other features with which I am unfamiliar, but to tell you the truth, LinkedIn has one underlying problem for me and in this brave, new world, it's one which can be a real killer. It's boring. I just don't have any real reason to check in on any sort of a regular basis. I know there are others who swear by it, and I know that the folks at LinkedIn are trying to up the more social aspects of the service, but still, I just have a hard time getting excited about it. Facebook: Now this is a service that seems to be a lot more fun. Facebook focuses much more on the "social" aspect of social networking. "Friends" here can be anything from the bossom companions from your youth, to classmates from high school whom you haven't seen since, to that guy with whom you chatted at the last Chamber reception. Where LinkedIn is a rolodex, Facebook is the water cooler. I've been spending a lot of time on Facebook recently. Whether it's real or not, Facebook gives you a feeling of being part of a social group. At the top of your FB home page is an area where you can record what you are doing right now. Further down is a running list of everything that your "friends" are doing. Facebook is mostly about fun. People chat back and forth. they post pictures and videos. They challenge each other to trivia quizzes about beloved movies. Staying in touch and learning about each other is the name of the game. That's not to say that FB *can't* be used for business. Many organizations have set up pages for themselves. The Ann Arbor Chamber is only one of a multitude who've done this. This is one more mechanism to get the word out about events going on at the Chamber. I've even had a friend or two who claim to have found work through their Facebook connections. If you're not already using them, give social networking services a try. Expecially if you are in business, you should have a LinkedIn account at least. Remember one caveat about these services, though: Everything you put on them will be around *forever*. On the Internet, nothing gets forgotten, so before you upload that picture of yourself partying in Mexico, think hard about whether you want that to show up the next time someone googles you for a job interview. To which social networking sites do you belong? How have you used them? Drop me a line at gpeters@cyberdatasolutionsllc.com and let me know. Copyright 2009, Greg Peters ---------------------------------------------------------------- 2. Shameless Self-Promotion ---------------------------------------------------------------- The "Clearing Up the Confusion" E-Zine is a production of Greg Peters, owner, chief cook, and bottlewasher of Cyber Data Solutions. CDS has been helping website designers develop better web presence for their clients for more than a decade. Visit us on the Web at www.cyberdatasolns.com to see how we can help your webmaster. ---------------------------------------------------------------- 3. The Fine Print ---------------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe: You can subscribe to the "Clearing Up The Confusion" E-zine at: http://www.cyberdatasolns.com/ezine Questions: If you have any questions, concerns or comments regarding the Clearing Up the Confusion E-zine, please email Greg Peters at: gpeters@cyberdatasolns.com This content may be forwarded in full, with copyright and contact information intact, without specific permission, when used only in a not for-profit format. If any other use is desired, permission in writing from Greg Peters is required, with notification to the original author. We never send the "Clearing Up the Confusion" E-zine uninvited, and we NEVER share, sell or rent our mailing list to anyone. Your privacy is safe with us.