Category: Social Media

Social Networking For Those Of Us Who Are Not Particularly Social

Does social networking work for those of us who are not particularly social? What about those of us who are private by nature or have concerns regarding privacy in general? Are any of these platforms great places for introverts to hang out? The simple fact is, you can be effective on social networking sites and you don’t have to be particularly social in order to be so.

I know this to be true because I meet or exceed all of the above mentioned concerns. My focus tends to be task oriented. I’m intently private with all those who I am not close to. My cynical nature constantly fuels my privacy concerns. That being said, there is a HUGE difference between somebody who is social on the surface and somebody who is relationship oriented to the bone. Who will be more successful in the long run? The social butterfly who flits from person to person at a party or the relationship-builder who has deep and meaningful conversations with the few? Continue reading “Social Networking For Those Of Us Who Are Not Particularly Social”

UltraClean Smoke Out – 32 Business Tips

I attended the UltraClean Smoke Out yesterday as I do every month. This time it was sponsored by Sprague Solutions with help from a number of local vendors including Redline Recreational Toys (where the event is held), Event Rent who provides the tables and chairs, and Qdoba who was this month’s featured food vendor. Incidentally, UltraClean, Sprague Solutions, and Event Rent are all NetWorks! Boise Valley members.  If you have not attended this event in awhile, it’s a great time to start back up! The venue is excellent, the crowds are smaller and of a higher caliber, and the guest speakers are dynamite! Education, networking, and food? How can you go wrong?

The panel today was composed of:

Steven Nipper – nipper@stephennipper.com, Twitter – @nipper, http://www.linkedin.com/in/nipper Continue reading “UltraClean Smoke Out – 32 Business Tips”

What Good Is Having Email If You Rarely Look At It?

Is it like the tree that falls in the forest? If nobody heard the crash, was that sound ever made?

Yesterday I got involved with a conversation on FaceBook about email and your inbox. Let’s get more specific. How about unread messages in your inbox? To your left is a partial screen shot of this conversation. I have “fuzzed” the names and faces to protect the innocent 🙂

One guy actually has close to 13,000 unread emails! Incredible! Another goes on to say that he has over 56,000 but does not specify how many of those are unread. He further states that “if it’s a month old and I haven’t read it and no one followed up or hollered, I delete it”. Another gentleman, not on this screen shot, basically said that if somebody wants to get ahold of them, they know to text or call. Certainly, this got me to thinking. Not only did it truly open my eyes to the real world, it also encouraged me to examine certain phenomena that has a tendency to piss me off real bad 🙂 Continue reading “What Good Is Having Email If You Rarely Look At It?”

Networking Remains A Contact Sport

I really wanted to use a picture of a fight but …………. (smile). With all the hype surrounding Social media as a way to make contacts, it reminds me that it is even more important to meet contacts. As others have properly pointed out, it’s not about numbers, it is about conversions. And, in my experience, conversions occur face-to-face. Networking is still very much about “pressing the flesh” and “meet and greet”. Why do you think they have TweetUps? Even good little Tweeple recognize that, at some point, they are actually going to have to speak to each other in order to take the relationship to the next higher level (smile).

What social media really is, as Justin Foster puts so well, “old rules, new tools.”  It’s still communication. Social media excels in the areas of branding and initiating some form of contact. Case in point. I was having coffee with Jacob Nordby the other day and as some people were leaving he stopped this one gal and said “Aren’t you …..”. And, yes, she was. They had never met but recognized each other from Twitter. This is a result of branding. Jacob was initiating a form of contact. Mission accomplished. And there are many avenues to get to that goal. Honestly, while social media can be a lot of work, by the same token it encourages folks to be lazy where it counts. Here are some of my favorite, and proven, old school methods: Continue reading “Networking Remains A Contact Sport”

Hello Social Media – Buh Bye Networking Groups?

Disclaimer: I am a traditional networker who has been studying social media heavily for the last six months only. And, I am still learning more and more daily. My expectations and feelings about this phenomena change just about as often. As such, certainly what follows is merely my perceptions on this topic at this specific snapshot of time. There will quite likely be those who will read this and say “That idiot just does not get it yet!”. To which I would respond…. “O.K.” (smile). I also enjoy playing “devil’s advocate” and the devil in me just loves to “stir the chili”.

Let’s see now, traditional networking groups have been around since ……. well, a real real long time. Dinosaurs were around a long time too. And now? They be gone (smile). Evolution is a funny thing. So are the axioms “survival of the fittest” and “only the strongest will survive”. Therefore, with the explosion of Social Media, Business-Social Media, Internet Networking, whatever you want to name it, how does that bode for the traditional networking group? It’s gonna’ “bode” one way or another. The question becomes ….. will it bode well, bode badly, or have little or no affect? Continue reading “Hello Social Media – Buh Bye Networking Groups?”

NetWorking – Striking Your Balance

If you have never been to this site before, let’s just say that I am a traditional networker trying to find his way in a new fangled electronic world. Most of this blog is devoted to that journey. And, make no mistake, I am a huge believer in networking and close to 100% of my client base is connected in one way or another to creating, nurturing, and building these types of relationships. Now, more than ever, there are a lot of ways out there to connect with others. So, how to strike a balance?

Business-Social Leads Groups (business emphasis): Perhaps the traditional networker’s most widely recognized tool of trade. I have been involved in these since the early 90’s and still maintain relationships that began that same long time ago.  I am not making this up, I have sold millions of dollars worth of signs as a direct result of relationships that began in these same groups. Relationships that continue today. I am such a huge believer in these organizations that I created one that meets my exacting specifications for the leads group fueled by steroids …. NetWorks! (smile). NetWorks! fulfills what I like to call the business-social segment of networking. We are social but, the focus is on business. Just this week, I was presented with a ground floor opportunity to further present the sign aspect of my business to a very targeted and lucrative market. The offer came from a gentleman who was a member of my leads group some 16 years ago. This type of networking is best designed for those of us who are comfortable with being considered as carnivorous by nature (smile). Continue reading “NetWorking – Striking Your Balance”

The Way of The Weasel & Other Fun Stuff

Life is good and it’s about to get better (smile). Mr. Mailman just arrived with my “Dilbert And The Way Of The Weasel – A Guide to Outwitting Your Boss, Your Coworkers, and the Other Pants-Wearing Ferrets in Your Life”. After what I have been thru the last couple of days with all that tech stuff, time to sit down and polish up the ol’ sales, communication, and manipulation skills (smile). Better yet, I bought this used on Amazon for $1.97 plus tax and shipping and it is in perfect condition. Even with the $20 in shipping & handling, a good value don’t you think? Joking. $6.36 out the door and to my door (smile).

O.K., need to get some other things out today or I will fall way behind my already way behind schedule (smile).

Face Book: Justin over at Tricycle Brand Development convinced me (enough) to go back to that Face Book page I started over a year ago, and never did anything with, and start filling out my profile. Deja Vu. Same thing I did with LinkedIn (smile). I must admit, Face Book does a better job of putting a human face behind the name. But, this is why I write instead of go on T.V.. Face made for radio (smile). Continue reading “The Way of The Weasel & Other Fun Stuff”