Trading Social Assets What if Social Capital could be evaluated, purchased, and leveraged? “Influencer Marketing” is a hot topic today, but networking (leveraging trust and influence) has been around since tribal chiefs negotiated around campfires. One of the best kept “secrets” among social networks is Empire.Kred . Connect with “Connectors.” The social network “Empire Avenue” was […]
Business or Career Networking is Based on Relationships Trust and Influence My definition of networking is: “leveraging trust and influence.” It takes a long time to make an old friend! Trust and influence are cultivated over time and are based on experience with the friend’s past performance. Sometimes difficult challenges help you find out who your real friends are! […]
With freedom comes geographical mobility. Unfortunately, we often move and often leave friends and business contacts behind — out of sight, out of mind. All too often we waste the precious deposits previously made in “emotional bank accounts.” What a sad loss of valuable social capital! It takes a long time to make an old friend! It is so special to be able to say, “we go waaaay back!”
I hope that new technology and social networking services will help us keep in touch with old friends. However, as with any tools, it is up to the human operator to use them effectively. Another great new channel of communication is Video Conferencing. It helps to include non-verbal communication signals.
“Social influence” and “social media ROI”. Businesses can no longer ignore social media. Social networking is the “800 pound gorilla” in the room, but there is much debate about whether investment in social media actually brings a profitable return.
The foundation of influence marketing is building relationships with individuals who are in a position to help your brand increase awareness, build reputation, connect with an audience, and make sales. The basis for all of these goals is the development of a relationship with an influencer.
Video Conferencing is the Solution for Communication — Both Verbal and Nonverbal Communication technology has come a long way since the Pony Express and the Telegraph (Western Union : no offense). Telephones and Mobile Phones have added the vocal component and now “Video Conferencing” includes the visual component, which is perhaps the most important part […]
You have heard people say, “It’s who you know, not what you know, that counts.” Of course, what you know does count, too. But I think that what counts the most is how the people you know feel about you! Knowing them is not enough. Do they LIKE you? Do they TRUST you? Do they RESPECT you?
When you need a friend, “social capital” beats all other investments. There is nothing so valuable as a true friend who “has your back” and is there for you in time of need. This level of trust is a sense of confidence that someone will consistently behave in ways that will support our well-being. Good intentions by themselves are insufficient.
Belongingness Hypothesis Image credit to “The Red Boa” blog. The belongingness hypothesis was proposed by Psychologists Baumeister and Leary in 1995, who suggested that human beings have an almost universal need to form and maintain at least some degree of interpersonal relationships with other humans. According to these theorists, belongingness is an innate quality […]
Contacts, Connections, Relationships — ROI Is it possible to have too many contacts? Maybe so! I find myself spending a LOT of time adding “friends,” “followers,” and “connections,” and I am proud of the number I have. I assume that there is potential for value from contacts. Maybe they are assets? The problem is that […]
Modern Day “Good Samaritan” My faith in human kindness and compassion was renewed when Hank Zimmerman, Manager of Gates Auto Body in Middleton, volunteered to help a stranded motorist and went the extra mile and then some! Based on his altruism and generosity, I believe he would go way beyond the call of duty […]
“Time Management” Puts Us in Control of Our Life It is not too late for “New Year’s Resolutions”! Today is the FIRST day of the rest of our lives. We all have 24 hours per day. We have free will to choose what to do with those hours. What will you make of your life? […]
Relationships online are formed by engaging in conversations and interacting. Commenting on another person’s posts or status updates is just as important as posting your own content.
Old fashioned push advertising or brochure-like web sites are impotent. Paying (investing) attention to what others are saying (writing) online is the beginning of a relationship. It is more effective to be interested than to be interesting!
Love is a “many splendorous thing.” Love is best shared live and in person. Non-verbal communication enhances the whole experience. However, there are many situations in which lovers are not in the same location. Modern technology has provided many channels of communication to bridge the gaps. One of the most wonderful new video-conferencing tools is Google Hangout , which allows […]
Interdependence versus Independence Interdependence is a concept that is so important, and so complex, that I have been putting off writing this post for quite awhile, because I wanted to do it justice. Independence, financial and […]
Leadership is about Leverage and Synergy. The leader has a vision and a mission, and he or she leverages the talents, the energy, and the resources of the followers to accomplish that mission. Leading from Behind Leadership involves synergy, i.e., the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. One of the fundamental roles of […]
It’s How People Feel About You (a Kind of Branding) Actually, I believe that what counts most is how people feel about you. Knowing is not enough. Being known is not enough. People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. It is not just a matter of who you […]
One thing I have noticed and reflected upon over the past few decades is the tremendous impact relationships have had on my life in every way. There is no question about the fact that relationships have practical value beyond their intrinsic emotional satisfaction. At every turning point or tipping point in my life, it was a relationship that made the biggest difference.
“Everyone” says that video is “the future” on the internet. More and more websites and blogs use video. Video email is now a big thing. It seems that most tutorials are in video format. Video conferencing is “in.” Credit for the images above goes to the VideoConferencings blog, which states […]
Social media relationships are impacting our lives in many significant ways. First and foremost, the quantity, diversity, and locations of people we’re enabled to connect with has expanded dramatically. Social media are changing our relationships and including many more “weak ties.” For networking purposes “weak ties” could be more helpful than strong ties, because they connect us to resources and information we would not otherwise know about or have access to.
Multimedia Usage and Non-Verbal Communication Components of multimedia include a broad spectrum of channels and devices. Usage of multimedia spans an even more diverse explosion of applications. As a professional networker, I am most interested in the usage of multimedia for connecting with new friends and nurturing relationships with existing friends and followers. Especially on […]
Business Networking Whatever you need and don’t have, somebody else does have, whether it be knowledge, resources, ideas, skills, or contacts. Synergy is the main reason for networking. Of course, relationships, which are precious per se, are a very nice by-product of networking and collaboration. In an article on BrightHub.com entitled, “The Benefits and Challenges of Team Collaboration,” […]
Social Networking Social networking has been around for centuries. Synergy and empowering relationships are the essential ingredients of civilization. The internet is an efficient channel of communication for human beings who would like to interact for mutual benefit. I’ve been a fan of social networking for decades, and I was delighted when social media arrived […]
Emotional Decisions Relationships are always between human beings, and humans have always been emotional creatures. We make decisions emotionally and then justify them rationally. Whatever the media or communication channels, we, the people, are attracted to those we know, like and trust. Online or offline, we don’t care how much you know — until we […]
Alliances, tribes, and virtual teams are popular among internet marketers today. SEO has incentivized reciprocal tribe syndication beyond the normal reasons to cooperate. Personally I have been wrestling with my entrepreneurial tendency to focus on my own creative projects, rather than to contributing a lot of time as a team player. I’m just being honest […]
The social network online is only part of the real global social network, which includes human society as a whole. The old email chat acronym, IRL (In Real Life), no longer makes sense, if it ever did. Most of what constitutes human life, such as emotions, reasoning, needs, wants, and commerce, exist online and offline, and often overlap both. […]
Social media allow us to get to know each other before we decide to do business together. This is one of the things I like about network marketing too. We can choose to work with whomever we want. I think that is better than taking a chance on “buying a pig in a poke” from […]
