The old fashion methods of social networking have always been and will always be, the best way for making connections.
Sure, I’ve got a facebook and linkedin page. But the reality is this:
Unless we have a persons phone number in our cell,
their email in our address book,
we would say ‘hello’ if we passed them on the street,
or we could comfortably have coffee and chat,
they are not a ‘real’ contact.
This is not to say that we should limit ourselves to who we already know, but to nurture our current ‘real’ relationships, which will lead to more ‘real’ relationships. Repeat.
Facebook et al are a great way to ‘re-find’ people, but can we imagine going to meet someone we’ve not been introduced to the old way and have a valuable business meeting with them? Can we imagine meeting with a random social network inviter and becoming close business or personal associates?
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Old in the new New.
