Most of my reading these days is about social networking and the importance of 'authenticity' when it comes to communicating in this new realm.We've all heard about 'truth in advertising' for years as baby boomers but this new dimension of social media has raised a whole new series of questions about 'being truthful' in a new media community environment.
In exploring truth is it really impossible to have 1000's of 'true' friends on anyone of these sites?
With each post you put on any of these social networking sites, you allow just about anyone to see something about you in an 'unveiled' environment. In fact, I tout my membership to these sites to people as a 'calling card'.
Social networking allows me to enhance my own credibility by associating with like minded people whom I respect. This is clearly something you couldn't show in the past on a CV or in a rolodex when meeting new people or prospective clients.
I'm not passing judgement on people who have 1000's of friends on Facebook, Myspace or Linkedin. I do believe that the more people you know the more opportunity you can create, but I also do believe that we can look at social networking as a way to create our own 'Super Delegates" that will represent us until the end.
For me it would be great to have 1000's of 'true friends'...i'm just not sure it's possible. I pride myself on the opposite I suppose...a small group of people whom I admire, who mentor me and inspire me to do what I do.
1 comment:
Hey Michael,
I definitely agree with you where Facebook is concerned -- I tend to think that Facebook is more of a way to connect with "real friends" online. LinkedIn though is more about ways to link throughout the business world and I tend to think, based on my own experience, that the more open I am on LinkedIn the better my business building becomes. It's all in the way that you cultivate those online relationships. I have gained some GREAT vendors and some GREAT clients and have been able to help some friends find great jobs -- all because I am an open networker on LinkedIn with almost 2000 connections.
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