Everyone seems to be involved insocial networking nowadays. Not that theprocess of networking is new by any means. Typically, top producing sales personnel have always received many referrals from their “network.” However,today technology has transformed networking into a growing force in the business world. People are finding jobs, making contacts and doing business online through social network services. Here is a quote from a recent article published by CNN/Money–

If it weren’t for Jen Harris’ followers on Twitter, she would not have been notified of another job opportunity, only moments after getting laid off from Idaho-based MPC computers in October. As Harris packed up her desk she sent out a tweet that read: “just been laid off from MPC.” “By the time I left the parking lot, I had a job offer from a friend that had a Web development company in town,” she said.

Social networking is not just for finding jobs. Here is another quote from an article published by Realtor Magazine–

Facebook recently helped Koki Adasi-Efuya, of Long & Foster Real Estate in Rockville, Md., land and connect with three clients, he said. Soon after he reconnected with a high school friend on Facebook, his friend asked Adasi-Efuya to sell his house. And that led to a surge of referrals. After the sale, the friend’s sister called and asked him to sell her house. They communicated via Facebook during the selling process, since she lived an hour away. Soon after, the friend’s father contacted Adasi-Efuya–also through Facebook. He wanted to sell his house, too.

Linked-in, Twitter, Facebook, Plaxo. These sites have moved from novelties to the mainstream in every-day business life over the past decade. With the ability to link significant amounts of people at a low cost, in this day and age of restricted marketing budgets, more and more businesses are involved. The phenomenon has moved past the novelty stage. It is reported that over 40 million use Linkedin online. Want another example of credibility? The Federal Housing Administration has developed a communications site through Twitter.

The definition of social networking

For a formal definition of social networking, we don’t go to Webster. It seems to be more appropriate that we go to Wikipedia, the onlineencyclopedia–

A social network is a social structure made of nodes (which are generally individuals or organizations) that are tied by one or more specific types of interdependency, such as values, visions, ideas, financial exchange, friendship, sexual relationships, kinship, dislike, conflict or trade.

Social network analysis views social relationships in terms of nodes and ties. Nodes are the individual actors within the networks and ties are the relationships between the actors. The resulting graph-based structures are often very complex. There can be many kinds of ties between the nodes. Research in a number of academic fields has shown that social networks operate on many levels, from families up to the level of nations, and play a critical role in determining the way problems are solved, organizations are run, and the degree to which individuals succeed in achieving their goals. In its simplest form, a social network is a map of all of the relevant ties between the nodes being studied.

Social Network Services

Wikipedia adds: A social network service focuses on building online communities of people who share interests and/or activities, or who are interested in exploring the interests and activities of others. Most social network services are web based and provide a variety of ways for users to interact, such as e-mail and instant messaging services.

Now that we have defined the presence and importance of the social networking phenomenon, let’s move to something more important. How can we use these sites to increase our business?

Reconnecting with old friends and expanding our networks are certainly valuable social objectives. Moving from social uses to business uses of this powerful tool represents a whole new ball-game. There are rules to which you must adhere and challenges that must be overcome. In the next segment we will be introducing rules and strategies for using Social Networking Services to promote your business.