As you can see from the title, I'm a total dork. If you get the reference, you are a total dork. But here we are, together somehow. That is the miracle and the power of the nebulous thing called Social Networking. Mind you, the digital version is just a new version of something people have been doing since the cave. Albeit, never with this kind of reach.
However, despite the nature of the new beast, one must still engage one's fellow man in much the same way as before. You have to be nice. You have to talk to people. And if you want to build a persona, like staying in a neighborhood, you don't hit people over the head.
In addition to all of the real-world friends, I found a larger, world-wide network of friends playing a Heroes knock-off flash-game on Facebook (now defunct, thanks Zynga :S). I didn't go in there with the intention of gaining contacts. I really like Heroes, mutants in general, and did I mention that I'm a total dork? But a deep friendship was born through game-play over a series of months. I hope they remain my friends for a good long while, but the point is, this is how networks grow.
Back to the neighborhood analogy: if you are a corner-store you want to keep people coming in and you try not to piss people off. A lot of us out here on the web are mom&pop entities trying to get off of the ground (which may be why you are reading this). But a lot of the bigger co's out there are figuring out that this new phenomenon is a great way to connect with the world at large and forge strong bonds.
We are getting away from the "push" mentality which has dominated media for decades. The technology that made it easier for co's to become anonymous monoliths deafly blurting their message has given way to one that encourages discussion.
That's about all I have to say, but I will note (I can't say this enough) that you can't develop a real network magically. It takes a long time to create a community. Lots of people these days are more savvy (I'm looking your way, Twitter spammers). What happened with ThinkGeek is likely not the norm yet and no one will listen to you if they don't feel like they know you (at least a little bit).
That said, next time you get stonewalled on an 800 line, maybe try putting it out there in the metaverse. Even just random questions will sometimes result in good advice (and maybe start a dialog. Social Networks are the new forum of the information age.
Original post Leveraging the Power of Social Networks for Fame & Fortune
However, despite the nature of the new beast, one must still engage one's fellow man in much the same way as before. You have to be nice. You have to talk to people. And if you want to build a persona, like staying in a neighborhood, you don't hit people over the head.
In addition to all of the real-world friends, I found a larger, world-wide network of friends playing a Heroes knock-off flash-game on Facebook (now defunct, thanks Zynga :S). I didn't go in there with the intention of gaining contacts. I really like Heroes, mutants in general, and did I mention that I'm a total dork? But a deep friendship was born through game-play over a series of months. I hope they remain my friends for a good long while, but the point is, this is how networks grow.
Back to the neighborhood analogy: if you are a corner-store you want to keep people coming in and you try not to piss people off. A lot of us out here on the web are mom&pop entities trying to get off of the ground (which may be why you are reading this). But a lot of the bigger co's out there are figuring out that this new phenomenon is a great way to connect with the world at large and forge strong bonds.
We are getting away from the "push" mentality which has dominated media for decades. The technology that made it easier for co's to become anonymous monoliths deafly blurting their message has given way to one that encourages discussion.
That's about all I have to say, but I will note (I can't say this enough) that you can't develop a real network magically. It takes a long time to create a community. Lots of people these days are more savvy (I'm looking your way, Twitter spammers). What happened with ThinkGeek is likely not the norm yet and no one will listen to you if they don't feel like they know you (at least a little bit).
That said, next time you get stonewalled on an 800 line, maybe try putting it out there in the metaverse. Even just random questions will sometimes result in good advice (and maybe start a dialog. Social Networks are the new forum of the information age.
Original post Leveraging the Power of Social Networks for Fame & Fortune
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