Social Networking Sites, by David Hunt
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(Editor's note - this article first appeared in the Cleveland Society of HR Management newsletter and is rerun with permission)
So you received an email from an old friend you haven’t talked to in ages inviting you to join his network on LinkedIn. Worse yet, this is the fifth such invitation you received in the last week and you wonder why this friend, another old work colleague who you shared workspace with five years ago, and the service provider you just met with at the Cleveland SHRM lunch are now asking you to join their network?
Your first reaction could be “I don’t have time to run down the hall for coffee, let alone join anyone’s network.” Your second thought might be “OK, what kind of SPAM email would I be setting myself up for by doing this?” Last, you might wonder will my corporate firewalls even let me go onto a site like this?
Before you send an invitation from LinkedIn, Plaxo, or any of the other social networking sites to the eternal black hole of blocked junk email, think twice. Social networking is not just a fad for the MySpace-ers, it is quickly becoming the internet meeting ground for your professional network.
Social networking is the term used to describe the use of a website to connect with people who share personal or professional interests, place of origin, education at a particular school, etc. For those who are not part of Gen Y or the Millennials (or don’t have children in these generations!), social networking may be a foreign concept except for the talk on the news about the evils of sites such as MySpace and Facebook.
The concept of social networking is simple: through internet technology you can be connected to the vast array of contacts your personal connections have, which opens you to a broader group to access for business connections, questions, or resources.
For example, if Joe considers himself to have a good network of 20 professional “friends” he stays in regular contact with, Joe is 1 degree away from their contacts. If each of Joe’s contacts also has 20 “friends,” then, in theory, Joe is only one contact away from 400 potential members of his extended network. If you take it a step further and each of these contacts has 20 “friends,” Joe is only two people away from 8,000 contacts.
All of a sudden the world seems like a much smaller place!
With that as a background on the concept, what websites like LinkedIn, Plaxo, and others enable you to do is create an online profile that you can share with your contacts and, by inviting and accepting contacts into your network, you will have regular online access to the contact information of both your primary and secondary contacts. The value of this, particularly for the HR professional, is you now have access to potential business resources, applicants for positions, and a way to maintain your connections through job or career changes.
(LinkedIn and Plaxo are being referenced most in this article because they are the largest sites targeted specifically to the business professional. MySpace, Facebook, and others serve multiple uses but are not specifically targeted to a professional audience).
If you have not yet joined a social networking site or have done it but not been active, here are a few tips to follow in building a thriving and beneficial online network:
1. Your profile should be an honest representation of you, your background, and your professional accomplishments. Just like a resume, your online information will be a first impression on viewers of who you are and what your experiences that you will bring to their network. This is particularly important when you are just starting to build your profile or network and you have a few connections; the more interesting your profile the more interesting you will be to those who you may not know as well as your direct contacts.
2. Start your network with those who you truly are close to you. Although some may disagree with this point of view (and there certainly are professions where there is immediate value in having a large network), being able to build your network from a core group of friends/users who are very active in social networking and will be happy to facilitate contacts for you is critical. Fight the urge to automatically invite all the people you got business cards from a raffle; most users on sites will respond to those who they know who take the time to do a personalized follow up or invitation.
3. Focus on quality and not just quantity. Although you might feel intimidated because you see people online with large networks and contacts, don’t feel the need to do everything you can to build the next biggest network. The average LinkedIn user has less than 100 connections. Again this is a point of disagreement on social networks (just check out online forums on this topic if you doubt!), but for me, I find it beneficial knowing that people I have in my network are those who I have at least shaken hands with, shared a cup of coffee with, or had some type of professional dealings. The focus on quality versus quantity also makes it easy to…
4. Do unto others as you would have others do unto you. If you plan to use the social network as a way to expand your professional network, be prepared to help and facilitate introductions to others. Having a rich and successful network is being able to assist those who you have accepted (or been accepted into) their network. Also, periodically drop an email, update your profile, or do things to make some regular points of contact to your network.
Once you’ve made the decision and effort to set up an online profile you’ll find the benefits are endless. For the professional, its uses range from finding ways to promote your organization, identify professional resources and easily gain recommendations and references, and helping job candidates and seekers get connected. As with most networking efforts, what you put into online social networking is what you will get back, but by putting a little effort into building an online profile and network you will find a fun and interesting way to keep connected and expand your personal resources.
David Hunt is a self taught social networker who is happy to spread the message on its benefits and is happy to make connections at www.linkedin.com/in/davidhuntsphr. He is the Director of Human Resources for Time Warner Cable and his past experiences have included work with retail, financial services, technology, and manufacturing companies. David is a Past President of Cleveland SHRM and is a current Board member of the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Affiliate of Northeast Ohio.
