Social Media: The Great Equilizer

The dawn of social media is here... the "great equalizer" that which makes even the most socially inept of us eager to "collect" friends and tweet about what we had for breakfast. Why is this?

Introverts naturally seek solitude--not all the time, but especially in times of stress or as a way to relax. We used to go hide in our basements or bedrooms with a book or video game, but now we blog. We blog and we "tweek", we "link" and we "friend." It is a crazy phenomenon capitalizing on people's need to connect, while rewarding them for being loners - the ideal fire-storm for a tech-savvy introverted generation.

Social media was made for the introvert--as a way to make friends in the comfort of one's comfort zone. The pesky face-to-face introductions need not happen any more.

I for one am thrilled that introverts have been given the gift of social media. As a way to connect, as an avenue for the exchanging of ideas, for the safety it offers. However, we must remember, that like all types of networking it requires you to take it a step further if it is going to work. If you go to an event and exchange business cards and then never follow up--you might as well not go. Similarly, if you are going to maintain a Twitter or Facebook page--you need to take the business AND personal opportunities to make friends and contacts, off-line and off site. That means meeting for coffee, or actual phone conversations--even email (yes I know that is online, but it IS a great "next step."

It is too easy to go about collecting relationships and never growing any. If you want to find your success in business and in life, then it will take work once the door has been opened.

Meghan Wier

THE Social Introvert

Networking Tip - Keep your ears open!

Business Networking Tip of the Month

January 2008

I am a painfully shy person—and so striking up a conversation with a stranger in public, can be a little intimidating.

This morning I dragged my little laptop to the local coffee-house after going to the gym. This is part of my daily routine for me, and one of my guilty pleasures. At my little coffee shop, I grab a corner seat and enjoy the ambiance. The warmness, the hustle, the people. And inevitably, people sit around me and talk loud enough that I can’t help but hear them.

A lot of the times it is gossip, or just chit-chat. Sometimes it is so personal that I try not to listen. My hearing the intimate details of their lives, which they pour out to a friend or lover over coffee, would be intruding beyond that which I feel comfortable.

But on occasion, a business meeting is being held—like today. A woman in a fantastic silver trench coat was speaking with a young man in a wrinkled button down and his “funeral” suit about a job opportunity. He is a writer he says, and she was talking to him about freelance opportunities.

So you see why this peaked my interest. I am a freelance writer---I am looking for freelance opportunities!

Now, I did not mean to listen in. Not really. Sometimes you just can’t help it. But I got enough of the gist of the conversation to want to talk to this woman. Of course, right then as she interviewed a guy was certainly not the time.

And so, as she got up to throw away her garbage, I motioned her over and asked if I could have her card.

WHOA!!!! Now that was unlike me, however, it seemed the best way to get a chance to talk to this fashionable, and clearly interesting woman. So I quickly explained that I would email her and explain why I wanted to talk to her later---that I knew she was on her way out, and I would fill her in via email later that day.

Now she looked at me with a quirky smile, most likely thinking that the girl with the laptop in the gym clothes was a strange one…and so she said “I have a minute now...”

Well, I didn’t really want to talk to a potential partner or employer while in my sweatpants, and so impromptu, and while she was in a hurry---or while she was with someone else! So I just said that I was a freelance writer. That was enough for her to understand the purpose of my inquiry, and to realize, as I had, that this moment was not right for a long conversation.

So my business Networking Tip of the month: Keep your Ears Open for Opportunities! You never know what you will hear...

Meghan Wier
Freelance Writer, Etc.

How to--- when you are new

I have moved to Charlotte, NC since my last post (long story) and the thought of "how to network" is even more important here. So one of the things about being new is you can ask more questions. You have to.

And so I ask you - people of Charlotte. Tell me about business networking here. Do you know any good places to meet other business people? How about mothers of preschoolers? (How about any good stores!) I am looking for advice myself this time.

Thanks in advance,

meg@meghanwier.com
new resident

Holidays and Networking

I have to admit... I have been bad about Holiday cards this year. I am in the process of moving and my regular lists and routines are all messed up. BUT... the holidays are one of those times where reaching out to my contact list--and yours is very important.

This year I will be sending a holday e-mail to everyone on my list to give them the quick update on my life and business - but I will also be sending out cards and letters to the "A" listers and everyone who sends me a card who isn't already on that list.

Don't miss this opportunity to tell your friends, contacts and colleagues how much you appreciate them--believe me, it is important!

(Now I am off to go send out that email and those cards!)

-Meghan Wier
www.meghanwier.com

BNI - Las Vegas! Networking in Sin City.

I live in Upstate New York - but that didnt stop me from attending a BNI meeting this past week while on vacation in Vegas. The group was welcoming and because it was a BNI group it was comfortable - even to me, a self-confessed introvert.

I highly recommend visiting BNI groups where you travel. The meetings are usually at 7am, and end by 8:30, so it won't interfere too much with your day - and it may just be VERY rewarding. I met a great group of people!

Large group networking - how to meet everyone

I posted a little piece about how my large networking group has broken into smaller groups to facilitate better group dynamics and more productive referrals. Check that out at:
http://businessnetworkinggroups.blogspot.com/2005/11/power-groups-large-group-networking.html

Meg

Meghan Wier