I think I have only met 2 people in my life who say they LOVE networking. One is a colleague of mine by the name of Dan Askins. He is by far the best networker I have ever met in my life…gregarious, never met a stranger and can tell a story like no one I have ever met. I can always count on leaving events laughing if Dan is there.
The other person I have met who says she loves networking will remain nameless, because she is a bit on the obnoxious side. She is one of those people that most folks run away from at a networking event.
But here’s the deal…if you want to make things happen over the next year, you have to get out there and network, and one of the best ways to start that process (especially for introverts) is through blogging.
Now…here’s the catch. With blogging networking, you can’t just sit behind your computer screen and write. You have to watch who’s reading your blog and who’s commenting, and you have to then reach out to them by e-mail, telephone or IM. Two tools that can help you with this process are My Blog Log and Blog Catalog. That’s the way all networking works…you connect, find someone interesting, and you take the relationship to something more meaningful (I guess like dating…eh…not really like dating, but you get the gist.)
Over the past year, I have met hundreds of really cool people through blogging: Ryan Coleman, Scott Bradley, Mike Michalowicz, Greg Rollet, Erik Semmelhack, Ryan Paugh and Vanessa Van Petten just to name a few. We connected by blogging, then took the conversation to the phone, I interviewed most of them, and I am now huge fans of their work, and we are staying connected so that we can help each other out this year. But…this would not have happened had I not been watching who was coming and going and noticing what is going on in the world.
So, I encourage you today to get over the networking thing…it’s not going to help you to stay hidden!
