Networking Insight

Facebook Devises Child Safety Plan

Facebook has agreed to a child protection pact similar to what was agreed upon by MySpace. As more and more online predators emerge, parents have pressured Facebook to take these measures.

"This agreement marks another milestone step for social networking safety -- protecting kids from online predators and pornography," Blumenthal said in a written release.

Facebook said it will improve its technology to minimize the amount of inappropriate online behavior by its users. The website will also sever links to pornographic websites and to boot users linked to incest, pedophilia or "cyberbullying," according to Blumenthal.

For the complete article, check out Facebook Tackles Pedophile and Cyber Bullies with Safety Plan.

Do you think this is a good move by Facebook?

Five Unique Networking Tips

It is important that you try several techniques when building relationships. Over time, your techniques may have varied results of success. If that is the case, then it is time to try new techniques. Talk to people to find out what they do so you can implement some new ideas.

Below are five unique techniques that may be worth your time if you haven’t tried them already.

1. Send out personal greetings in the mail. Either create your own note cards or try SendOutCards. Good old fashioned mail can be more personalized than email.

2. Invite people to lunch or coffee every week. Good technique with existing and new contacts to get to know each other better. Face-to-face interaction is necessary to build relationships.

3. Publish your own blog to demonstrate your subject matter expertise. In addition to showing your expertise, a blog is a great way to share others more about your personal side. Good relationships are built on both personal and business connectivity.

4. Create a signature look.  When interacting with others, it is important that they remember you, otherwise, you will be lost in the crowd. Therefore, consider creating a signature look so you stand out. Examples include a personal nametag that you wear at events or memorable piece of clothing such as a tie or hat.

5. Carry a nice pen and business card holder. Each component of your networking activities should be very professional. Therefore, make sure that you carry nice accessories that accent the rest of your dress. By doing so, you come across as someone who is polished and takes networking very serious.

What other unique tips can you share?

Another Successful Great Chicago Networking Extravaganza!

Lillian and I hosted another successful Great Chicago Networking Extravaganza on May 8. We had a packed room of eager networkers who listened to some of our relationship building insights while participating in structured networking activities.  We designed the evening to give each attendee several opportunities to interact with one another.

We know that new relationships were formed that night. I want to especially thank the following sponsors for making the night a success: DuPage Woman Newspaper, M5 Networks, Benedictine University, MyReferralNetwork.com, SendOutCards, The Entrepreneur's Source, and The National Networker. Most of the sponsors also donated door prizes, which added to the evening's excitement.

We had a fun time planning and hosting this event.  We look forward to planning the next one. Thank you all for making it a success.

Do You Hate Networking?

Do you like networking? Are you comfortable talking with strangers? Do you see results from your efforts?  The following article, If You Hate Networking, You’re Not Doing it Right — 5 Tips for Getting Comfortable With Networking, provides some insights into how you can be a more successful networker. Below are the tips that are shared:

1. Stop telling yourself you’re bad at networking

2. Make a point to recognize those professional networking opportunities that happen in day-to-day life

3. Put yourself out there

4. Practice your pickup line

5. Set small goals

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The High Risk of Networking

Sports and networking have always been closely linked. For some people, extreme sports is the way to connect.  One sport that is gaining a lot of momentum with Silicon Valley venture capitalists and technology entrepreneurs is kiteboarding.  All you need with this extreme sport is some surf, a board, a kite, a 75-foot-long tether, and guts.

In fact, Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin are regular kiteboards, which has helped to further this new trend.

Check out the following article to learn more how this trendy sport is a great networking platform for some people: Want a VC deal? Go fly a kiteboard.

Have you tried this sport before? What other unique sports or situations have you leveraged for networking?

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How Do You Measure Relationship Building Success?

As you should be spending countless hours building relationships each month, you need to measure the success of your efforts. The time you spend can take place at events, managing existing relationships, and building new relationships. All of these activities should have some effect on your personal and business life.  We all measure success in different ways, however, you need to be aware of the power of relationships and how it affects your life.

Below is a serious of questions that you should ask yourself, which will help you track the success of your relationships.  It is a good idea to think about these questions every week or at the latest every month. Also, you should evaluate the success of your actions for both sides – you and the individuals in your network.

1. How many referrals did I receive?
2. How many referrals did I give out?
3. Am I only asking and not giving?
4. Are certain people in my network only asking  and not giving?
5. Did the referrals generate any new business?
6. Did the referrals help build any new alliances or partnerships?
7. Did the referrals build any new friendships?
8. How have my actions further branded myself in the marketplace?
9. Am I consistent with my branding efforts?
10. Do I have a positive image with others?
11. Do people come to me for resources?
12. Do people ask me to speak on my topic of expertise?
13. Have I built a solid network that I can take anywhere?
14. How often do I keep in touch with people in my network?
15. Am I providing enough value to my network?
16. Do people know who I am?
17. What tools do I use to build and manage relationships?

The above list is just a starting point for what you should be asking yourself on a weekly basis.  If you can comfortably answer these questions, then you should be doing a great job building relationships.  It takes time to build relationships so it is a process that you will refine and continue to see benefits.

What other questions should you ask yourself or your network?

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What is the One Word that We All Like to Hear?

Our favorite word to hear is our “first name”. When people call us by this name, we are happy to be acknowledged. Calling people by their first names shows a sign of respect and that you were paying attention when you were introduced to each other.

Repeat First Names in Conversations

One way to better remember a person’s name is to repeat it several times during a conversation. Not only does it help you remember, but also it shows respect. 

Introduce Someone by First Name

When making introductions, make sure to introduce people by their first names.  By doing so, it will make the introduction more personal and set the tone for the conversation.

Address People by First Names in Emails or Letters

When sending someone a personal note, it is a good idea to always use the person’s first name.  Emails or letters should be personal if you know the other person. If you start a letter with a first name, end with your first name as well.

What other situations do you use first names?

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Online Social Networking Tips from the Pros

In a recent article, Using social networking safely: tips from security pros, security experts who were once reluctant to participate in the sites, share with us some of their tips on using these sites. 

1. Do your homework - Spend time researching and talking to people to find the right site for you.

2. Secure your settings - Decide how much or little information you want to share with others

3. Be careful who you link to - A good rule of thumb is to not link to people who you don't know or haven't reasearched

4. Avoid the TMI trap - Be careful what information you disclose about yourself

What other tips can you share?

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Five Situations to Walk Away When Interacting with People

Every day we interact with people. Some of the conversations are pleasant and some are not fun at all. For the ones that are not fun, we usually try to be nice and stick with the conversation (at least some of us). However, our gut sometimes tells us to walk away.  Below are five situations that we should walk away from because our reputation is everything.

1. Very Strong Opinions – Usually, it is okay to let the other person voice his/her opinions. However, there can be times when peoples’ strong opinions can make a conversation one-sided and uncomfortable.  Also, when meeting someone, it is not a good idea to get into a heated discussion.  Staying in this conversation too long can be damaging. Just make sure that you leave gracefully.

2. Negativity Towards Others – Every once in awhile we find ourselves in a conversation in which someone is attacking another person’s character, actions, etc. Whether you feel the same way or not, it is not a good idea to participate in this type of conversation. You need to be careful because you don’t want people to find out that you may have talked behind their backs. It is better to act neutral in these situations.

3. High Pressure Sales – Networking is about getting to know others before you try to do business with each other.  In some situations, people come across too strong and try to sell you something immediately. These conversations can be uncomfortable and frankly are not worth you time. We are all busy so we need to choose who we spend our time with so gracefully exit these conversations. In addition, these people don’t understand the value of building relationships.

4. One-Sided Relationships – As you build many relationships simultaneously with various people, you will get a good sense of who values your relationship with them. If you find yourself in a situation in which someone only asks for help and never helps you, then you need to re-evaluate the relationship. A good and effective relationship should be two-sided with both of you are helping each other.  Because your time is valuable, it may not be worth maintaining these types of relationships.

5. Your Gut is Not Comfortable - When your gut tells you to walk away that is usually enough. For whatever reason, you may not feel comfortable with a particular person or situation. When this happens, it is good to walk way. We can’t always explain the reasons why we feel this way.

What other situations would cause you to walk away?

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Widgets Are Proving That Money Can Be Made on Social Networks

In my post, Social Networks Are Searching for Profits, I discussed how social networking sites are busy building eyeballs before they try new revenue models beyond advertising. Some sites, such as LinkedIn, do offer a premium subscription, while MySpace has launched an online music store.

In the article, A Widget's Worth, the author discusses how widget makers who provide neat little applications that allow social networkers to share information, video, and photos are trying to make money through advertising. Generally, they generate revenue from advertising in two places - when the application is downloaded and within the application when it is used.

So, money is being made on social networking sites but it is still tied to advertising.

Do you think that widget makers can find other ways to make money besides advertising? Who else makes money through social networking sites?

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