Imagine Your Reality

I was at several networking events last night and have been at quite a few week this week, with a few more happening today and tomorrow. It’s fair to say this is one of the busiest weeks I’ve experienced in the networking I’ve done.

But something has been on my mind, both in regards to in-person networking and social networking. It is quite simply…What does it really mean to connect with someone?

I’ve probably met over the last few days at least a hundred new people I didn’t know before. And I really don’t know them now…I just know a bit about them…what they do, what they might need, and their faces. And hopefully their names…

I don’t know their hobbies, where they want go on vacation, how vulnerable they might feel in a given moment, etc. And I may not need to know some, any, or all of that. But then again…maybe I do.

Seems to me that connecting with people really involves more than just finding out name, number, and rank, or what they do. It involves getting involved with those people. For instance, yesterday I stepped up and became the vise president of the ODN oregon chapter’s programming…which basically means I schedule speakers for the networking events we put on…but it also gives me a chance to get more involved with this community I’m participating in.

And that, to me is just is…participation. Are you involved in your communities, or are you a handshake, a face, and an elevator speech? Or a tweet with a link to your latest offer?

Connecting with a person, organization etc, involves a commitment to the relationship. It’s not something you can do casually. As one of mentors has said, “You’ve got to show up, and then you’ve got to join in and help out.” This is true regardless of what social situation you are in.

What does it really mean to connect? It means that you can relate to the person on more than just the superficial level. You discover in each other something that makes you want to know more about that person and share in the experiences that person is under going. Call it rapport, but it is more than just that. It is an authentici and genuine desire to see past what the person can do for you, to actually seeing the person and recognizing the person as such. Not always easy to do…it takes time to get past the superficial…but I think it can be worth it on so many different levels.

Article on social media and bribery, specifically how companies bribe followers using social media and product placement/positioning.