LinkedIn and Tweeting and Blogs: Oh MY!

Mister Blister had the distinct pleasure of attending a panel discussion last week on the evils of - I mean the advantages of - Social Networking at the delightfully appointed Samsung Experience at the Time Warner Center at Columbus Circle in New York.



That inspired me to post about the topic, and the words "LinkedIn and Tweeting and Blogs: Oh MY!" kept running through my head. (And 20 points for the first Commenter who can spot where the reference comes from and 10 bonus points for showing the relationship to the original ;-)

Social networking is not as new as many people may think, just the fad of it all. Dating and buddy sites like connexion.org have been around since 2003, which is seven years. That's like a first-grader compared to these toddlers going through their Terrible Twos. (OK, so Facebook actually was founded in early 2004, but it only became a Shirley Temple-style DARLING in the last two years. Feel free to Comment and correct me. But please - don't sue me.)

The interesting thing is that most people on connexion.org just have 15-20 Friends and they're people you actually *know*, not someone with a hot picture who friended you to increase their own friend count and fake popularity. It's worth checking out, as they also provide news for the GLBT community and aside from the occasional shirtless profile picture, has a less sleazy raison-d'etre.

The panel on social networking was nice, and it was good to hear some real-world examples of successes from companies that have been able to engage with and pinpoint preferences from customers to build loyalty and reflect what those customers want. It was also a great event for reconnecting with (or meeting in person the first time) with no less than four acquaintances from the business school world - you can never underestimate the value of that face time, especially when you're doing something to help out. Plus that had nice finger sandwiches for hors d'oeuvres.

Only thing was that whether it was the heat, nerves, or something completely different, I found myself not feeling well just before the panel ended and driven by a compulsion to get a chicken chimichanga - neither good for the arteries nor the waistline, but ooooh so tasty.

So in this Unguide to Unemployment - Tip #37: when unemployed, even if you're feeling nauseous, DON'T leave before the networking begins. There may have been several potential business models or partners to have aligned with down the line.

Now, to find out if Mister Blister actually had food poisoning, or a complete nervous breakdown, well
Stay tuned, old faithfuls

Footnote: this posting was originally begun Thursday morning - and somehow mysteriously was left Uncomplete until Sunday night. Hmmm, what was going on for Mister Blister in these intervening four days??