Yesterday, I attended #connectHR and it was, by all measures, a smashing success. Even for a guy who has pretty great luck working a room and talking to new people, I don’t think I got through the entire guest list of over 100 people in a little over two hours. What I continue to find is that as my digital network expands, getting to know people in a face to face environment becomes even more critical to connecting with a person rather than a user name or an avatar or a profile.
I’ve always considered social networking a shortcut to get past the first few steps of networking. You can get to know many people in a shorter period of time without the physical boundaries that networking with people across the country typically would involve. Social networking allows you to figure out interests and connect.
But there is a ceiling on that relationship. On Twitter, it is interactive but short. On blogs, it is long form but not very interactive. E-mail is long form and interactive but very flat. At some point and at some place, you are going to have to take it offline. I am not the only one who says this either. But nearly every success I’ve had in social media has come from connecting to people outside the realm of social media.
It makes sense too. We get so much information from non-verbal cues (body language) and from voice inflection when we speak to one another that it is difficult not to connect when you’re face to face with someone else. And when the norm in the talent industry is to have many hundreds and thousands of contacts, the people I call first when I’ve got opportunities or questions are the people I’ve spoken to and know the best. That means I’ve taken it beyond
If we haven’t connected yet, let’s make 2010 the year. Seriously. And if you have digital relationships that are begging to be taken to the next level, take this opportunity to follow through. Get on the phone. Make it happen.
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yup, yup. and i will see you in person–again!–in portland this summer.
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Looking forward to it too!
Face to face is good! Thanks for the reminder.
I think that the social networking is a great and important piece of connecting with people, but I don’t feel like I have truly met someone until I can actually see them eye to eye. I think where the social networking tools will really make their mark is in the ability to stay and remain in touch over time and distance. It isn’t personal though until the face to face meeting.
Your point about staying in touch over distance is something I missed. I mean, I could delve into this further but really, it is the first passive communication system.
Does this count for the job search, too? I know it seems like a stupid question, but at my last full-time job (which was about a year and a half ag0), I remember my supervisor sifting through her inbox with so many resumes for an opening that she didn’t want to deal with anyone or anything, not even on the phone. She thought the people who came in person to speak to her were just “sucking up” and wasting her time.
I guess I’ve been scarred about trying to make some kind of personal impression on a potential employer ever since that experience.
I think that is the product of a particular situation and not the general consensus. People that come in to drop off resumes are annoying but people that you may connect with after work either socially or within an industry networking setting are likely to not be annoyed at all.
Job seeking is one of the most depersonalized aspects of life. I don’t know when we’ll see that change unfortunately.
It was great to connect in person last week Lance! Sometimes I forget how important face to face is and I love being reminded of that fact.
So here I have a dilemma. As my network grows I have less time to spend with each individual. Either in-person or on-line. It seems to me that as we grow our social/professional network we become less connected. Sure, we have the electronic tools to send out and exchange messages 24 hours a day, but do are we really connected or is that just lie for our ego. I agree that the face-to-face meetings are important. However, it seems to me that the more we attempt to connect to everyone around us, we actually become less connected to anyone.
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