Another Strong Networking Meeting

"Wow, I really liked this format." and "This kind of group is right up my alley." Those were comments from two new visitors to BRN today at Majestic Plaza. Today's networking meeting was about...networking. We networked by discussing the history of networking and how we overcome the challenges of both online social networking and "live" networking.

Dr. Shinaver introduced a diagram he put together on online social networking. This information map helped to illustrate how the various social networking tools like Twitter, Facebook, Ning, LinkedIn, Stumbleupon and others can intertwine to help propagate information throughout the various network and elevate a company in organic online searches.

The first discussion question focused on how we currently use online networking in our businesses and what challenges we face implementing social networking. The experience ranged from not at all to moderate use. But many people admitted that they were reluctant due to lack of understanding how to properly use it, as well as time constraints. Some people initially thought it might not be beneficial to their business. But, further discussions led to examples of how any business could use social networking as a tool to tell their personal contacts about what they do and direct them to information about their business. And we talked about using Facebook to tell those who already know you about your business, but cautioned against bringing business associates and clients into a relaxed, online environment where your friends/family may reveal more about you than you'd like.

I focused on live networking and asked who was familiar with William Dawes. Only one member was able to tell about the role Dawes played in American history. Paul Revere and William Dawes were both sent to warn John Hancock and Samuel Adams that the British army were coming. Both men were from a similar economic and social background, yet it is Revere who raised the militia and later had a poem written about him. A Harvard Business Review article suggests the reason behind Revere being remembered and Dawes being largely forgotten is due to the type of social network each man had developed. We talked about the importance of building a trusting network.

The questions on this topic led to discussions about the amount of time we invest each week in networking events and maximizing that networking experience. We also talked about how hard it is to get to the people we'd like to meet. This led to a discussion about narrowing our focus and telling others exactly who we'd like to meet or, at least, specific job titles within a specific company. Often times, we are so general that it's hard for others to run through their mental lists to point us in the right direction.

As always, we ended the meeting with a commitment to meet with one other member and help them. This week we'll connect to here exactly who they'd like to meet and determine how we can help them make that connection through our own networks.