The Social Networking Phenomena
January 12, 2008
Phenomena…when was the last time you used that word? When I say it in my head, it makes me think of that Dr Pepper commercial where people would sing “mana mana”…
What’s so sad is, when I googled this to make sure I was spelling it correctly, I actually found the Muppets video of this song. I’m sure I even heard a kazoo in the chorus (another word not used very often – kazoo)!
“Social networking”, the new buzzwords for places such as MySpace and Facebook – online applications where people can connect and interact with each other.
Even blogs are the social networking “it” tool to have.
So, how does this affect you IRL? (If you are from the chat room era, I don’t have to tell you, IRL = “in real life”).
Well, I’m no scientist, I don’t have any technical data, nor much written research to back up what I’m about to say, but I am an avid watcher of people, a studier of trends and my friends tell me I have a knack for sensing change. 
Over these last four years or so, I’ve seen a change in “networking” and a rise in non-traditional ways of connecting.
Just like the field of sales. Long gone are the days of the slick salesmen with their bag of wares, traveling from door to door, successfully crafting their irresistible presentations and pitches.
At one time, that’s the way sales was done. They were sharp, with million dollar smiles, winning attitudes and always knew the exact words to use to get the sale.
Unfortunately, the door-to-door salesperson you see today is most likely a hustler, dropped off from a van, using pressure or guilt tactics, and standing on the corner sharing a smoke with their buddy in between knocking on doors.
This is what we see in our mind today when we think of “salespeople”, which is sad really, because business doesn’t get done without sales. Somebody has to do it, so we’ve created new names for it, like “Relationship Manager”, “Business Builder” and “Representative”.
What do you see in your mind when you think of “networking”?
A place where you go to exchange business cards? Perhaps. But for most people, that’s all that really ever happens when they “network”. Technically, that’s not networking, it’s business card exchanging.
How many people call you after you’ve given them your card? And of those people who call you, how many are calling because they really want to see if you fit into their network – as opposed to trying to sell you something?
This is why so many people don’t call. Maybe you don’t call your cards either, because you’re not sure what to say or what the next step is. You might be thinking to yourself, “If I call, they’re going to know that all I want to do is sell them something” or, you might be thinking, “I just don’t have time to meet with all these people one on one”.
So, what do you do? Well, I have a few solutions, but that’s not really what I want to talk about today. I want to talk about avoiding this scenario in the first place, which is where the new “social networking” phenomena takes place.
I recently attended a networking event where we did things a little differently. For me, it was perfect. We got to know each other so well, I nixed two people. That’s right, I eliminated each of them as potential person that I would want in my network. And I left knowing that there was one person I NEEDED to connect with right away.
We say, all it takes is one person. One person that could change your entire business because of their resources, connections and expertise. But how often do you find that one person, without following up with all 10?
Wouldn’t it save you an enormous amount of time if you could actually network, right there and then? And I don’t mean coffee and a chat. I mean, do a team building exercise or work on a quick project. Something that actually makes you interact with another person to the level that you’ll know how they behave and conduct themselves with others.
People no longer have time for networking the way that we’ve always done it. They want results and they want it fast. Just like they want their food. However, food is easy. Relationships are something else entirely.
We’re not there to get a bunch of business cards. We’re not there to be hustlers. We’re not there to sip coffee.
We’re there to meet the right people. We can only do that through interaction. It happens every day on social networking websites, and I believe that the trend will spread IRL. Look for the signs at your next event.
