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From the Open: The SmallBusiness Network on how networking is actually about getting to know people whom you can help and can help you. Tips for networking: Give and get information; Evaluate the value of the contact; form a strategic alliance - know what the people in your network do; Maintenance - continue to re-evaluate the people in your info loop.

Nice infographic on How to Network in 3 parts: Mastering the Basics, Using the Internet to Network, Exploring Why we network

Article on web 2.0 marketing to millennials by Strategic Enrollment Management February 2009. "Although we are not going to dedicate our article to a recap of millennial marketing, we do want to reinforce the importance of understanding the millennial mindset before you begin to build your Web 2.0 plan. Consider that 64 percent of your audience (teens 12 to 17 years old) are reported to engage in at least one type of online content creation, up from 57 percent just four years ago. Understanding what they are doing online allows our plans to be more comprehensive and effective and fully integrated into a successful enrollment plan. There is even an emerging classification of teenagers using a host of technology options for dealing with family and friends, including traditional landline phones, cell phones, texting, social network sites, instant messaging and e-mail. These "super communicators" represent about 28 percent of the entire teen population (Guess 2008). And possibly the most interesting statistic to watch comes out of Noel-Levitz's "E-Expectations: The Class of 2007" report, which claims that 43 percent of high school juniors have a profile page designed for use in researching colleges (Lenhart & Madden 2007). This all means that if you are not already participating in an active use of online marketing you are overlooking a large group of your audience. Frankly, they are keenly aware of marketing, and as marketers we need to understand their mindset to build effective plans to reach and educate them. We cannot expect that they will conform to marketing as it has been done in a traditional way. Tools of the Trade: Components to Consider The goal of any Web 2.0 is to inform and connect. Simply stated, the tools you choose should work to reinforce that goal and integrate with the other tools of the trade you are using. Enrollment managers who know their audience understand the need to consider a variety of marketing options, from traditional adve

Here are five ways to successfully tap into the women's market: 1. Provide good quality information. Producing a newsletter and Web site are excellent ways to demonstrate your expertise and to keep your image in front of clients and prospects. Include plenty of strategies and tips that will help guide women to be more successful in running or growing their businesses. Conducting free seminars or workshops is another good strategy for imparting your knowledge and has the added benefit of serving as a networking forum. 2. Build relationship marketing strategies. Develop and sustain relationships with women and cultivate a sense of community. 3. Host networking events. Historically, women have not had the same opportunities to network as their male counterparts. You can create your own networking events for women clients and prospects. Featuring a guest speaker in your industry can be an excellent addition. Just be sure to build in enough time for networking as well. 4. Sponsor women's business associations or events. If you are looking to target this market and build awareness, consider sponsoring one of the many women's business associations and events. These range from something as specific as mentoring programs (such as the Step Ahead One-on-One Mentoring Program - www.stepaheadonline.com ) to associations for women exporters (such as the Organization of Women in International Trade - www.owit-toronto.ca ). Most hold regular meetings and special functions. Some provide opportunities for sponsors to speak and showcase their expertise. Contributing material to their newsletters, publications and Web sites is another good way to build your identity among members, as these associations often welcome good quality, educational submissions of interest to members. 5. Share core information on a regular basis. Email or mail information that is considered to be "in our mutual interest." News clippings, industry data, notes from indus

Blog by Kevin O'Keefe, "Real Lawyers Have Blogs," on the topic of the law, firm marketing, social media, and baseball, February 23, 2014. O'Keefe reviews a study by Gerry Moran on using social media to teach, not to sell. Other key points that O'Keefe makes: Build a large social network of people modeled after your customers and their influencers. 75% of B2B decision makers use social media to learn. (wonder where this stat comes from?) Pass on valuable information. Don't use your social media and networking channels to promote yourself. You want to be known for handing out knowledge and not brochures. Use social so that people will want to visit with you in person. 73% of customers are willing to engage with you on social media, so the opportunity is there. Use social media to teach, not sell. Selling is best done face-to-face. However, Social Media Today reports B2B buyers look at an average of over 10 digital resources before ever making a purchase. Since customers need to learn before they buy, use this opportunity on social media to connect. Teach and connect with today's technology. Connect and get on the radar of your customers and potential networks by retweeting, sharing, commenting and favoriting others' content. Develop Insights. Before you teach and connect with your customers, you need to listen to the customer and their customers. Social is an excellent listening tool. Be a publisher. In addition to curating and passing on the great content to your network, create your own assets on a blog. Organizations who blog get clients. Later Excerpt: Over the years LexBlog as been all about helping lawyers understand how to use the Internet in a real and effective fashion so as to grow their practices. By sharing information from third parties along our own insight via blogs and other social media we established a reputation as trusted advisors. Even when I reach out to meet with lawyers and law firms I have never met f

Interview by Andrew Leonard, February 22, 2014, with danah boyd on Salon on findings from her new book--It's Complicated: the social lives of networked teens. The "why" they hangout and their actual skill levels excerpts are below. "What exactly is it that teens are trying to do with social media? They're looking for a space to hang out. When we grew up it was the mall or cafes or a variety of other physically grounded spaces. Teens today don't have access to those kinds of spaces and what they've done is they've turned to social media to regain some kind of access to public life. These new "networked publics" - places like Twitter and Facebook - are spaces that are created by digital technologies but they are really about people - the broad network of people that teens have learned to negotiate and socialize around." Teens seem to embrace these new "networked publics" very rapidly, but one chapter of your book annihilates the notion that teens are somehow "digitally native" - that they somehow understand these new technologies more readily or more naturally than their forebears. Teenagers are much more willing to experiment with these technologies to service their end goals - their social goals. There is no doubt about that.. Teens are always much more willing to just try things out. But just because they are willing to try things out doesn't mean that they understand how it works. That doesn't mean that they are inherently technologically sophisticated or understand technology in the ways that are often implied by "digital native."

intro to Jarche's book "The workplace of the network era requires a different type of leadership; one that emerges from the network as required. Effective leadership in networks is negotiated and temporary, according to need. Giving up control will be a major challenge for anyone used to the old ways of managing. An important part of leadership will be to ensure that knowledge is shared throughout the network."

An open Google Document set up by Leadership Learning Community with categories--network culture, network mindset, network behaviors, processes, skills, network structure, and personal mastery--with attributes for each, and a column for voting,

beginning series on network entrepreneurs who thrive, by Jane Wei-Skillern, David Ehrlichman, & David Sawyer, September 16, 2016.  How should WLS embrace these four principles operationally in the networks we participate in?   

" 5 Reasons Why Job Boards Aren't As Effective Anymore Don Goodman November 24, 2015 Job Search At one time, job boards were the way to go for job seekers. It's where you could post your resume for employers and recruiters to view, and apply to job openings. But today, it's a different story. Related: Reactive Vs. Proactive Job Search Strategies Job boards are simply not as effective anymore since there are social media outlets like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter where you can pretty much network your way to the right contacts. The fact is, job boards have a 2-4% effectiveness rate whereas networking has over a 50% effectiveness rate." More than 85% of employers use Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) to review and rank resumes according to skills, experience, keywords. Companies use internal algorithms, so out of an average of 400 resumes using these measures results in only 10 - 20 even looked at. Most hiring managers and recruiters use Linkedin first. Job board resumes are still viewed, but chances are the info is outdated so relying on Linkedin makes sense for recruiters. Niche job boards are worth going to, but to be more productive tie into direct networking through the right contacts.

" 5 Reasons Why Job Boards Aren't As Effective Anymore Don Goodman November 24, 2015 Job Search At one time, job boards were the way to go for job seekers. It's where you could post your resume for employers and recruiters to view, and apply to job openings. But today, it's a different story. Related: Reactive Vs. Proactive Job Search Strategies Job boards are simply not as effective anymore since there are social media outlets like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter where you can pretty much network your way to the right contacts. The fact is, job boards have a 2-4% effectiveness rate whereas networking has over a 50% effectiveness rate." More than 85% of employers use Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) to review and rank resumes according to skills, experience, keywords. Companies use internal algorithms, so out of an average of 400 resumes using these measures results in only 10 - 20 even looked at. Most hiring managers and recruiters use Linkedin first. Job board resumes are still viewed, but chances are the info is outdated so relying on Linkedin makes sense for recruiters. Niche job boards are worth going to, but to be more productive tie into direct networking through the right contacts.

blog by Harold Jarche on the Connected Workplace, 4.15.2013 Excerpts: "Implicit knowledge is best developed through conversations and social relationships. It requires trust before people willingly share their know-how. Social networks can enable better and faster knowledge feedback for people who trust each and share their knowledge. But hierarchies and work control structures constrain conversations. Few people want to share their ignorance with the boss who controls their paycheck. But if we agree that complex and creative work are where long-term business value lies, then learning amongst ourselves is the real work in organizations today. In this emerging network era, social learning is how work gets done." ..."Personal knowledge management (PKM) skills can help to make sense of, and learn from, the constant stream of information that workers encounter from social channels both inside and outside the organization." ..."Collaboration skills can help workers to share knowledge so that people work and learn cooperatively in teams, communities of practice, and social networks." ..."Leaders need to understand the importance of organizational architecture. Working smarter in the future workplace starts by organizing to embrace networks, manage complexity, and build trust."

An especially good blog (IMO) by Harold Jarche on the intersection of Individual, community, and network fluency, and the intersection and interplay of all 3 and the literacies necessary to be part of global networks to solve global issues.

Great blog by Harold Jarche on the core skills of individual, community, and networked fluency and literacy, and how they interact and influence and work with each other to solve global issues.

From ReferralCandy.com on the difference between social networks and social media. Examines the history of using these terms: prior to 2010, social network was more widely used. Sites such as Facebook and Twitter were just trying to connect people together. However, after 2010 both FB and Twitter started to become news and resource sources and the emphasis changed from connections to content. An example from Twitter: Used to ask - What are you doing? Now ask - what is happening?

From Entrepreneur, February 19, 2015. Identifies 2 different networkers online: posters and seekers. Those who actively post info, resources, tips, offers are posters. Seekers are the consumers of products, services, and content. On social media, look for high-level networkers (HLN), those who are very active and have at least 500 connections on LinkedIn or Xing.

Interesting (very positive!) assessment of the value of Facebook for lawyers to connect socially using the largest social network in the world by Kevin O'Keefe, May 16, 2013. Google+ comes in #2 in terms of worldwide use (not as popular in U.S. but very popular elsewhere), Twitter at #4, and LinkedIn follows Twitter as the fastest growing network (if one excludes the intervening Chinese social networks).

wonderful article on differences between networking, coordinating, cooperating, and collaborating drawn from work of Arthur Himmelman.  They add up:  exchange information, alter activities, share resources, enhance capacity for each player. 

Incredible infographic on social networking around the world located on Edudemic, 1.26.13 What it raises for me: Does being a member of a social network equal proficiency or satisfaction with use? If we already have this kind of saturation, what is the niche for the Studio for fill?

by Andrew Vest from July 28, 2014 in Forbes/Entrepreneurs. Although geared to f2f encounters, these tips work for online networking as well. Start networking before you need it; Have a plan; Forget your personal agenda; Never dismiss anyone as unimportant; Connect the dots.

Blog by Harold Jarche, April 30, 2012. This excerpt IMO justifies why women (and everyone else!) needs to know how to work in social networks to learn and to help others learn and apply their "capacity for action" in their workplaces and elsewhere. They can transform their workplaces through enriched learning practices. They may not have the HR title but they can still role model organizational learning on a small scale at least. Excerpt: "Individual learning in organizations is irrelevant, as work is almost never done by one person alone. Knowledge, Senge said, is the capacity for effective action (know how) and it is the only aspect of knowledge that really matters in business and life. Value is created by teams and mostly by networks of people. While learning may be generated in teams, this type of knowledge comes and goes. Learning really spreads through social networks." Excerpt: It shows that the company never gave any thought to organizational learning. ■Are employees narrating their work in a transparent environment? ■Does the daily routine support social learning? ■Is time made available for reflection and sharing stories? "Narrating their work in a transparent environment," "support social learning," and "reflection" are all linked to other resources.

The new science of social physics which is about the way human social networks spread ideas and transform those ideas into behaviors. Alex Pentland has a new book: Social Physics: How Good Ideas Spread: The Lessons from a New Science that explores the patterns of information exchange in social networks, the ways humans are like bees, and how networks large and small can be tuned to increase exploration and community engagement.