Learn network online.
Networking in the 21st century not only requires meeting with people in real life, but now it includes, and even centers on, having an online presence as well. Many professionals now meet and hold conversations with each other through social networking sites, newsletters and blogs and carry out long relationships and communication online before ever even meeting. Learning to network online can help you find a job, advance your career, enable you to find clients and expand your business.
Instructions
1. Research the different social networking sites. Each networking site has a different community, target audience and purpose. For example, MySpace is targeted toward teens and young adults, and has a huge followed centering around music. Facebook is generally considered a networking site for college-age adults and older, and is mostly used for informal socializing; however, it is growing as a key business networking site and a way to find leads. LinkedIn is designed to help create a professional network and to help people find jobs. Twitter helps people keep in touch with short, 140 character updates and is quickly becoming a must-have marketing tool. Ning is centered around "groups" that have a common focus or interest. Since you only have so much time to social network, it's imperative to pick a few networking sites to participate in that best fit your goals.
2. Learn online etiquette. Some people have a tendency to forget that they're interacting with actual people online, and can appear brusque and rude to others. However, a person should try to act as professional online as she would offline. This includes typing in grammatically correct sentences, sending prompt messages to others, avoiding ignoring people or acting rude, and avoiding "spamming" or sending people multiple messages at once. Try to avoid sarcasm online, because without body language that offline communication offers this can translate into plain meanness.
3. Ask for advice from other people who network online. Each person has a different method of networking online, and it can help to garner advice from others. First, try searching for family members or friends who are already online, as they already know you and have a vested interest in you. If this fails, you can send a polite email to people who share your interests or vocation. Tell them you are new to online networking and ask them about the first steps to online networking. This serves a twofold purpose. First, you're garnering advice from experienced professionals. Second, reaching out to people can help you start to gain a solid network, as people are often receptive to giving advice if you ask politely and show genuine interest in their answers.
4. Practice. The best way to learn online networking is to start attempting to reach out to others and build contacts with the people you're interested in. Sign up for a few networking sites, or start with just one that you believe will be most beneficial, and create a profile for others to view. Start up conversations with others on networking sites, send emails to people asking them about local opportunities and respond to people's posts with thoughtful comments that provoke a dialogue. Online networking isn't an exact science, and requires a lot of trial and error in order to find the level of networking you're most comfortable with.
5. Read. There are several books, blogs and more sources of information out there, and with the right information, you will be able to get the most out of online networking. It's not always as simple as picking a site and contacting people. There are a few rules, ethics and legal issues you should be aware of before getting started.
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