another networking site...

I signed up to receive e-news from Molly Gordon, a career coach who owns the company Authentic Promotion. She offers advice about being an entrepreneur, self-promotion, etc.

Today, I received an email discussing face-to-face networking and how it sucks for most of us. She then went on to speak of online business networks, and to my surprise, bragged up a community called BizNik (isn't LinkedIn supposed to be every online networker's true love?). She convinced me to take the time to check out yet another online networking forum. I figured that if she can convince me, I'd pass it on to you.

Why Your Business Needs a Social Life

Networking. Ugh.

Can I just say that, from the age of 5, I've generally felt that socializing--not to mention networking--was something inferior beings (also known as popular people) turned to for lack of better things to do with their time?

I'm much better now (thank you), and I still find the idea of networking less than appealing. It conjures up images of shaking hands with someone who is looking past your right shoulder to see if there is someone more important they should be talking to.

Besides, I couldn't think of a worse way to promote my work than trying to interest a stranger in what I did while hoping there wasn't spinach in my teeth and wondering if his glazed look indicated over-medication or simple boredom.

The Internet changed that for a lot of folks. We discovered that we could listen and respond to others from the privacy and safety of our offices and homes, building connections through cyberspace that were every bit as real and supportive as those that more socially adept folks forged in meeting rooms.

Even so, for a many years online social networking was largely a matter of coming together in shared interest groups. Then sites like Myspace took online socializing to a whole new level.

A level apparently populated by 13 year olds, gamers, and other aliens.


No Great Expectations

In spite of the culture gap, social networking and small business seemed headed on a collision course. As ringside seats were cheap, I signed up at all the major social networking sites and some of the lesser known ones. I published my profile several times in this ezine, and a few of you invited me in to your networks (Hey, thanks. It felt great to be included.)

After 5-6 weeks, I decided to drop Plaxo (too invasive), made Linked-In my big pond of choice, and adopted a wait and see attitude toward the rest.

But then career coach Heather Mundell invited me to join her network at Biznik.

From the first I felt that Biznik was different. For one thing, you gotta love the tagline, "Business networking that doesn't suck." Then there is the way the site is organized. I could actually see at a glance what they had to offer. And it doesn't hurt that they are using one of my favorite greens in the logo.

Biznik felt like a place where an individual could make an impression without a lot of fuss and bother. So I joined. I even ponied up real money to be a paid member (which is strictly optional).

What This Means to You
There are three reasons why it's worth your time to finish this article and then pop on over to Biznik for a look-see.

1. To find out if you like what you see.

2. To observe what it is you like or don't like.

3. To put what you observe to work in your business.

Are We Having Fun Yet?
How much time, energy, and money have you spent trying to build your business doing things you don't like to do? Signs of this include piles of expensive marketing programs gathering dust, stacks of brochures decorating your shelves, and a Web site that has been "in development" so long you can't remember the name of your Web designer.

Visit Biznik and find out if there is anything there you like. Do it as a research project into what kind of social life your business needs.