Photo by alexdecarvalho
The festive period is upon us already, which seemed like the perfect excuse to get a little social, learn a little about the power of networks, oh and share a little link love too. Well it is nearly Christmas :-)
One of the things I get to do as part of the Blog Angel Team is dot around the blogosphere looking for good resources to bring back here, and to follow what Claire's blogging clients are up to. (It's a pretty long list now - just take a look at the length of that client blog roll!)
There's been a distinctly social theme to some of the posts that have been pinging my feed reader over the last few weeks, and without further ado here's a serving of some links to the best of what you've been writing on networking, social media, and making them work for you.
Emma Bird at How to Italy brings us up to speed with Twitter, and why she rates it:
"It's simple. It's easy. And it's not time-consuming. Not least because you've only got 140 characters to play with.
I use mine for business purposes and to post things that don't warrant a lengthier blog post. But you can use it to connect with friends and family and broadcast what you're up to without sending out hundreds of texts."
Joanna Young at Confident Writing (yes that's me) wonders why some blog owners are so unsociable: asking for comments - and then leaving them unanswered
"You've invited me in. You've made it easy for me to reply. And then - nothing. Silence. Just my comment sitting there, unanswered, unconsidered, growing dusty on the lonely shelf of your 'recent comments' box."
Sarah Rourke at Rat Race Escape Artist reminds us not to swap one rat race for another as she battles a rising tide of e-mail social networking sites:
"I've been advised by various peers and mentors that the way forward when marketing businesses on the internet is by using social marketing sites such as Facebook, My Space, Linkedin, Ecademy etc. Now, I can see in principle how these things can connect you with thousands of people much more quickly than face to face networking but right now I feel totally lost in a sea of emails!"
From Social Networking
(Answers on how to solve this one on a postcard please!)
Karen Skidmore at her Kick-Ass Blog: CanDoCanBe talks us through networking with confidence - the trick's in having the right handbag. (I couldn't resist including this!)
"Have you ever found yourself digging deep in to your bag to find your business cards? Or managed to knock over a table of drinks as you turn round to say hi to someone? Or even not been able to shake someone’s hands because your bag is in one hand and a drink is in the other?"
Marion Ryan at the New Coach Business Network has tips a plenty on networking for success:
"Remember, people can usually sniff out insincerity quite easily and you will achieve far more effective long-term success at network events if you work to build genuine rapport with others rather than selfishly trying to convince others how great you are!"
A sound networking principle that applies to social media networks - including blogging - too.
What are your top tips for business networking - whether that's hanging out in social media spaces or working the room at a party?
Let's keep it social and share some conversational nibbles in the comment box...
