Do You Trust Your Social Network?

We're all born brave, trusting, and greedy.
Most of us remain greedy.
Mignon McLaughlin

If you have spent some time in any social networking site, you know it can be an exciting place. You can meet people you would never have met otherwise. Conversations can run the gamut between personal stuff to professional solutions.

Few delights can equal the mere presence
of one whom we trust utterly.
George MacDonald

If you want to make money on the Internet, litter your sites with Google AdWords and hope for the best. If you want to lock in deep connections with others, have more conversations.

There is still evidence that direct mail and telemarketing work for some situations but if you want to secure a strong cemented rapport with others, it will take time. And that time, is well worth it.

One must be fond of people and trust them,
if one is not to make a mess of life.
E.M. Forster

We often toss around words like friend, follower and connection with wild abandon while travelling in these channels. How many friends are you finding? Of those you follow, who is offering you value? Are you holding up your end of the bargain? How many of your connections do you trust?

If we are talking about business transactions, this is about creating win/wins which will gain people's trust.

You may be deceived if you trust too much,
but you will live in torment unless you trust enough.
Frank Crane

I tweeted last night that I would help five people in my Twitter stream on actual client issues. One hour, on Skype to talk about something that will help their business. No strings, no scams, no client theft, real help. We'll see what happens.

Life happens at the level of events, not of words.
Trust movement.
Alfred Adler

A study released a couple of months ago suggested that the more time we spend online conversing with each other, the more damage we do to our own social skills. It’s odd that ‘social’ is in the name yet it seems to be the most difficult part of this process.

Our distrust is very expensive.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

At PodCamp Toronto in February, someone admitted that events like that intimidate them and they were much more comfortable talking with people in the comfort of their own home office. If you can form friendships, meet new colleagues and gain trust, you will win.

What has been the biggest benefit to you from social media?

@knealemann

photo credit: www.skydive.ie
photographer: dave clarke

People Are People

I got an email yesterday from someone who had sifted through previous posts here and found one I did last May about taking the social media experience to the human level. It was inspired by CC Chapman who suggested that once you establish a new relationship perhaps you should just grab coffee and get to know someone better. That is the essence of all this online chatter.

Tools vs. Humans

We have websites and profiles, friendfeeds and tweets, followers and connections, microblogs and status updates; but those are simply the ways in which we reach each other.

Mitch Joel suggests that Twitter may become the next Google. Jeff Pulver thinks that it will be sold to Microsoft or Google in the next 18 months for $2-4 Billion. All could be true, all could be irrelevant. Those are tools and without the human element, we’re right back to the dot com bust.

We Are The Change

The point is we are the ones creating change; we are the ones connecting with each other across different industries from far off locations. Mitch and I had lost touch for 15 years and frankly he’s the one who pushed me in the deep end in the first place. Then he walked away to let me figure it out. Glad he did.

The Web of Social Connections

From geek dinners to podcamps, blog comments to phone calls, tweetups to webinars, the world really is a lot friendlier and a lot smaller than you think.

We all have the opportunity to gain new connections, contacts, colleagues, friends and perspective. There may be a dimension missing from some business plans and that is a better understanding of human behavior. And most of all it means we are just people trying to figure it all out and if we share more often we can help each other do just that.

Whether you meet someone in a coffee shop or through contacts in a social networking site, it’s up to you how much you want to pitch in. If you do, you’ll be pleasantly surprised how much we will appreciate it. #followfriday

@knealemann

Connecting the Connections

Keith Burtis gave a great presentation at PodCamp Toronto last weekend. It’s especially engaging when the entire room gets involved and Keith let the discussion run wild. It was fantastic! I love Keith’s story too. Eighteen months ago he was working in a warehouse and now he is helping others around the world embrace social media.

These Are The Days Of Our Lives...

Keith compared traditional business models (the funnel) to social media models (the hour glass).

Traditional business shoves as many through the pipe on the hopes to be left with a handful of paying customers. While in social media, you may start with a larger group of people but each one represents the chance to develop a deeper personal relationship.

The funnel starts with a large group and ends with a small group. But the hourglass starts with a large group, develops into small one-on-one connections with people who have their own network, and can result in a larger group.

Traditional model is transactional
Social media model is relational

It was amazing how much chatter ensued after getting back to the office. There were people who reached out to say they wish we had had a conversation at PodCamp and I did the same. Perhaps you experienced this as well.

I have started applying Keith’s suggestion even more to develop stronger one-on-one connections past the follower/friend relationship. After all, we are all just people. Extend a hand or an email, perhaps a call or even a meeting and break through traditional circles.

One-To-One Across The World

Proximity is the single biggest way to meet people: you work together, you’re in the same industry, you are blood related, or you know someone who knows someone. But with social media you can meet people from all walks of life, all over the world, and expand not only your scope of relationships but your knowledge base.

Hop into the conversation. Dig a little deeper. See if you can learn more about someone.

What do you have to lose except the chance to meet someone you otherwise would never would have met?

@knealemann

ustandout.com

Meetings Morsels Moments and Money

The relationship comes before the sale. It's about people buying in to you, not your business. Be transparent and talk like a real person. #pcto09

PodCamp Toronto began last Saturday morning and everyone was saying their goodbyes Sunday afternoon.

In thirty-six short hours, a lot was said, done and discussed. But more importantly, connections were made and strengthened.

About 500 people converged on Ryerson University to discuss social networking. If you were to assume everyone who attended was from Toronto - which they were not - that represents just .0001% of the city's population.

Anyone who may think this space has reached maturity needs to look closer. Our need to connect and belong has been around since we have, but this new wave of communication is still in its infancy.

You will scale faster by building deeper relationships with fewer people.

Be interesting and engaging. Re-humanize your company, service or personal brand. #pcto09



Toronto was the first city on earth to have more than a million Facebook users, so this is not about convergence.

This is more about a small percentage of the population who want to take social media to the next level.

To most, it is a way to stay in touch with their friends – which it is – but to some it has become a powerful way to build business relationships through deeper human relationships.

Be a community gardener. Keep them entertained and make their day. It’s has nothing to do with your offering and everything to do with you. Balance the deal flow with the cash flow and figure out your place in the flow. #pcto09



The event was filled with great presentations which were followed by conversation about the content that was covered. I asked someone if they were enjoying the weekend and they said the best part was the one-on-one chats to dig deeper into the information. The theory is great, but the actual application is key.

The highlight for me was to talk to people I have met through social networking about them and their interests and projects.

PodCamp Toronto was not only enlightening but very social – which is the point. Another hightlight was the reminder that social media is an even playing field and there is no one way to do it. There are many tools at your disposal and it’s how you apply the ones that you need for your particular situation.

Gain trust and don't break it. We are in an era of mass customization. Create a relationship - a rapport on a human level. Be one of them because we are all one of them.
#pcto09




How do you monetize social media?

It's no different than any other venture or industry. There are no get rich quick schemes - in fact, you need to be very real or others will see your pitch before you arrive. Only a small handful get to win the lottery, the rest of us have to work hard.

Put your business cards away, lose the slick sales' pitch and just get to know someone. People will buy in to you long before they buy in to what you do.

How are you using social media to connect on a more human level?

@knealemann

photo credits | eva blue | lexnger

PodCamp Toronto

If you haven't immersed yourself in the social network, jump in!

The price of admission is contribution. There are no rules of how much or how often you should contribute just join the conversation.

Free to Join. Free to Join In.

You don’t have to do a podcast or a blog, you don’t have to have 30,000 followers on Twitter, your friend list on Facebook doesn't have to be in the thousands; you can just come in and grab a seat.

This weekend marks the third annual PodCamp Toronto and it will be busier than ever. There are almost 900 people signed up and the schedule is jammed with tips and pointers no how to navigate the digital space, how to interact better and perhaps even monetize the experience.

No salespeople wanted

That last part is tricky. If you think you can apply scam tactics to social media, you will find out very quickly that is not a wise approach. At the core of social media is the social aspect. People need to buy-in to people before they buy from people. Never has that been more crucial than right now.

PodCamp Toronto is an unconference which means admission, ideas and sharing is free. You are encouraged to share in the sessions and in the hallway, just get to know each other. The playing field is even.

Nice to meet you

The cool thing about this event is that you will meet people from all walks of life, experiences and professions. If you go to a marketing convention to watch marketing experts talk about marketing, it's can be too one-dimensional.

If you’re going to PodCamp Toronto, perhaps we’ll run in to each other.

km