social networking

Intro

I was at a party yesterday telling a friend about how happy I was with my last workshop.  I was explaining how much I enjoy working with students whether they are eager to understand social networking or hesitant.  In his oh-so-subtle way, he said "hm, so you like working in person with your students but you are teaching them online interactions". 

He thought there may be a discrepency in what I do and what I teach.  Logical conclusion.  BUT, I do not just teach folks how to develop relationships online.  I teach them to integrate their online and offine networking.  I do not teach folks to simply promote themselves online (or even to focus exclusively on establishing a strong online persona). 

I teach my students and clients:

• that who they are online should be who they are offline,
• to use social networking to strengthen relationships they are building offline,
• to be genuine, and
• to get to know interesting folks (because that makes being genuine much easier!)

I have clients and business partners I met offline that I got to know fairly quickly through online communications.  I also have clients and business partners I met online that I cemented through meeting offline.

I expect that in certain situations it is beneficial to have a large in person network (ie quantity).  For most of us, having a strong network (ie quality) is more beneficial than a large network. 

Think about your reasons for using social networks. Are you more likely to meet your organizational goals if a large number of folks has vague awareness of you or if a smaller number knows you and trusts you?  I'm a big fan of "know and trust".  For any of us looking to expand our client base, donor base, membership base, etc, the more folks who "know us" and "trust us", the more likely we are to meet our goals.

And how do folks get to "know and trust" us?  Genuine relationship building.  Offline and online. Use the tools God gave you.  And use the tools the web geeks gave you ;-).

1. Think of social networking as electronically meeting a colleague at a coffee shop.  The difference is that:

• You choose whom you happen across at your virtual coffee shop, and
• You further develop relationships with multiple colleagues, at the same time, when you choose.

2. Social networking tools, in particular, provide an opportunity to strengthen your network both offline and online.  

• Find offline events through your online network and with online tools.  The viral nature of social networks will help promote offline events.
• Get to know folks online that you originally met offline and vice versa.

3. The number of social media tools can be overwhelming.  Find a few that meet your needs and adjust as you experience the need, not because new tools exist.

4. Focus on the quality of your online relationships, not the quantity.  To genuinely develop a strong network mix your personal and professional lives.  Help your network to get to know you as a person.  We are all more likely to do business with folks we know and trust.

Social Networking Framework

At the eTech Ohio Educational Technology Conference, I talked to K-12 administrators, teachers and technology coordinators.  I heard a mix of thoughts regarding social media in the classroom.    Some were saying:

"If we allow social media in K-12 schools then we are opening ourselves up to liability issues."

"Its not safe for our kids to use social media."

And others were saying:

"If we do not teach our kids how to use social networking appropriately, how will they learn?"

"We need to engage kids with the tools they are most comfortable using."

Allen Shaffer of  Bricker & Eckler LLP assists K-12 school districts with social media issues.  Below is a podcast of Allen describing how schools can safely use social media.  Allen maintains (as do I) that as social media becomes more and more ingrained in our culture, schools must take on the responsibility of teaching our youth how to use social media responsibly.