I
have good news! Yes,
there is no question our
economy is going through
a major adjustment. Business
is slowing in many industries,
and unemployment continues
to rise. As business professionals
are forced to reach out
and prospect for new accounts
and displaced professionals
are forced to prospect for
new jobs, this cloud has
one very bright silver lining:
We are coming closer
together.
At the
risk of sounding corny,
we are all literally “joining
hands” to carry each
other through. And the tools
of online social networking
are helping to make this
happen.
I believe
this “increased connectedness”
is genuine—not superficial
as some people might observe.
Indeed, online networks
are just another form of
communication. They allow
us to stay in touch with
each other as actively or
as passively as we wish…but
we still stay in touch!
This
isn’t just good news…it’s
GREAT news! Business
has always been fueled by
personal relationships.
But with the explosion of
online networking, such
as LinkedIn, Twitter and
Facebook just to name a
few, business is transcending
to an even higher level…business
is becoming more human.
Because
people vary so widely in
their individual personalities
and communication styles,
so too is the flexibility
of how we may connect. A
few weeks ago, I introduced
you to a fellow professional
who has, among countless
others, embraced Twitter
as a means to create business
relationships and stay connected
(“Prospecting:
How Tweet it Is!”).
Last week,
I was having lunch with
my friend Steve
Baldzicki—President
and Founder of Big
Fish Networking—a
ten-year old organization
that is devoted to helping
people in business come
together and form new relationships.
As Steve was telling me
about some of the exciting
developments on the horizon
with Big Fish Networking,
he also shared with me his
insights on the value Facebook
plays in helping him stay
in touch with others.
“I
like Facebook because it’s
fun,” Steve points
out. “It’s great
for staying connected with
people—and it doesn’t
make any difference how
that relationship started.
It brings down the walls,
and it’s more laid
back. If I haven’t
connected with someone in
a while, where else can
I throw a snowball at them?
They throw it back, and
next thing you know, we
have a dialog going. I mean,
how cool is that?”
(Editor’s
note: a “snowball”
on Facebook is just one
way to “poke”
an online friend to get
their attention.)
Fun
and cool. Is this
the future face of business
in America, and indeed the
world? In many ways, I hope
so. In times where so many
of us are feeling heavy
burdens, perhaps this latest
evolution is God’s
way of reminding us how
inter-dependent upon each
other we truly are.
And that
perhaps we might also do
well to lighten up.
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