Tuesday, February 01, 2011

D282-Transition-Remaining Active in My Network

imageIn an earlier post I started covering how I remain active in my network, and this second post will conclude this topic.  

My favorite networking tool in LinkedIn has to do with groups and adding to the dialogs taking place.  Best to listen to the conversation for a while and learn what is going on.  After feeling comfortable, bringing resources to the group, or adding to a discussion that is going on is a great way to network.  Over time you build up a relationship with the other members.  I find that I’m currently a member of too many groups, and it has spread me out a little more than I like.

Image representing LinkedIn as depicted in Cru...It is hard to find a group that both relates both professionally and has a good dialog taking place in the group.  Some groups are all recruiters, some have no discussions, and some have discussions are of a tenor that I would rather not be involved in, but it is possible to find groups having a good dialog involving a good sized group of people.  Networking in this way if fun and there are some great people to learn from—some of the discussion are quite good.

I try to check in to LinkedIn several times per week.  And try to quickly scan the  the LinkedIn Status emails when they arrive.  I try to participate a couple time a week in groups and read the emails of discussions that I’m following or started.  I also pay attention to all comments on anything that I post, in order to learn from and better understand what people feel has value.

FImage representing Facebook as depicted in Cru...acebook is a lot more personal than LinkedIn—not as professional and stuffy.  It is still very important to pay attention to the tone and content of your posts.   If you need to,  go scream into a pillow, don’t type your scream into the computer.  While Facebook’s standards and expectation are held to a lessor professional standard than LinkedIn, it doesn’t mean that what you type isn’t being evaluated by current workmates or potential employers—you still have to use care about what you post.  I generally check Facebook daily.

Image representing Twitter as depicted in Crun...Twitter is another tool that I’m in the process of learning how to use successfully.  It has a lot of potential.  And I can see that it being very powerful as more people that I know start to use it regularly.  When I find articles or other twits that are interesting to me I send them out via twitter.   I’m both sharing this with the people that are following me and as a repository that I can later go back to.  Depending on the article, I may also send it out on Facebook, and if it has professional interest, then my LinkedIn status may get it.  I would more likely share something interesting in a group that would be particularly interested in the subject matter.   

Another method of sharing with some of the people in my network is through this blog.  It isn’t for everyone but I’m amazed by the number of people that are reading this blog.

There four tools that assist in keeping in touch with my network.  They are Google Reader, Read It Later, TweetDeck, and GIST.  Combined these tools save me hours of time.

Image representing Google Reader as depicted i...Google reader is an RSS feed reader that assembles the latest articles from a very wide variety of sources.  I can quickly evaluate a 1000 articles headlines using Google Reader to reduce the number that I’m actually interested at look at down to about a hundred or so.  The ones that I want to take a closer look at I send to Read It Later.  Read It Later keeps a list of things I want look at when I get the time.  I can use it in Firefox or Chrome and it has a quick and easy interface.  Many of these articles I will only read the first paragraph and either get all the information I was looking for or decide the article isn’t worth the time to finish it—this covers 70% to 80%.  The remaining articles are the ones that I really like and read completely.  After reading the article, I then have to decide if I want to share it with others.  That is where TweetDeck can come in handing.

Image representing TweetDeck as depicted in Cr...When I find articles that I like, then I use TweetDeck to send them to Twitter or to Facebook or LinkedIn (less often).    TweetDeck allows me to schedule when I want to share them.  I can spread my sharing out so it doesn’t happen all at once, overwhelming everyone in my network.   TweetDeck also allows me to watch my lists on Twitter, which I can then retweet again to twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn and again these can be timed to be sent at a more convenient time.

Image representing Gist as depicted in CrunchBaseGIST is a program that allows me follow the conversations that people or business are having through their internet connections along with the conversations that I have been having.  It is nice because it packages these all up together in one place.  It also allows you to track companies and the information that they are releasing or news about them.  I use Gist to keep up on what is happening to people in my network.  From one place I can see what people are writing about on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, blogs, and websites along with seeing the interactions that I have had with this person via Email. 

My plan on Networking was to cover the following:

  • Keeping my Network Informed
  • Remaining Active in my Network (especially on the professional side)
  • Maintaining Personal Contact
  • Leveraging Networking resources
  • Growing my Network

Here are some additional resources:

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Posted by Chris M Abbey at 9:40 PM
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2 comments:

  1. AnonymousFebruary 02, 2011 10:38 PM

    The one thing you haven't mentioned is the old fashioned notion of spending time with friends in person as part of staying connected and maintaining relationships. What about meeting for a coffee or just hanging out? You need those connections as well and you don't talk about them. How have your friends supported you during this time? Do you meet for pizza, a movie, a coffee? Has it been difficult with them working and you not? Have you developed friendships with others looking for work? What do your friends do when you are feeling down?

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  2. Chris M AbbeyFebruary 02, 2011 11:06 PM

    Very well said and a very important part of networking. Something that I would like to become much better at. The next blog entry on networking will focus on maintaining personal contact and this will include face to face networking.

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