Comments on: Get a ‘Social’ Life

By: Kelly Balarie

Kelly Balarie — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 14:18:27 +0000

I actually work at SAVO, a b to b technology company,and we definately leverage social media in our sales enablement technology. We use personal pages (similar to myspace), star ratings (on documents, insights or expertise) and comments to leverage an organization's expertise, insight and collective genius to drive better customer conversations. Untimately, we enable sales to be more productive. Check out our latest webinar, "Moving Beyond the Sales Portal -- Capturing Mindshare in a Web 2.0 World" Click here to attend: https://savoevents.webex.com/savoevents/onstage/g.php?t=a&d=664757276

By: Jorge MArtinez Rios

Jorge MArtinez Rios — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 18:47:05 +0000

Good point Paul. A well-managed personal site in social networks can do marvels to create buzz, personal brand positioning, and reach out for new contacts. Buy, but, but, how deep into your personal life you ¨reveal¨ is a tricky thing.

By: Louise McGregor

Louise McGregor — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 16:44:29 +0000

If my colleagues want to interact with me they can email me, phone me, chat with me. Or, if they’re really revolutionary, come into my office and see me.
I struggle to think of a bigger waste of time than connecting with colleagues on facebook.
From my reading I’m not alone. There are many other managers out ther with the same view.

By: DebraFeldman

DebraFeldman — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 13:27:12 +0000

Here’s another really good reason for having a presence on Linked In or ZoomInfo and perhaps others that I am not as familiar with, this provides each of us the free opportunity to have and manage a profile on the Web. It is a way to “get Googled,” to ensure you have an online presence that you control, not just what the media or others write about you that is public knowledge. I’ve heard that recruiters avidly search Linked In for potential matches for their candidate searches and that being found on the Internet is a good way to be a “passive candidate”- available for the right job but not actively seeking out a new challenge by submitting resumes for openings. Any downsides to this? Sure, but for almost everyone, the benefits far outweigh any negative potential. Remember the old NY Lottery saying, “You gotta be in it to win it”? Today’s slogan is, “You gotta be on it to win [the interview, recognition, etc.]“

By: Paul Dunay

Paul Dunay — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 15:48:56 +0000

All excellent points on social networks guys. But we are still early days of social networking.
My point is you cant hide from this as a marketer or even as an individual.
If you want to stay on the cutting edge of marketing (which is why you read stuff like MarketingProfs!) you need to be experimenting with this on your own as more and more Mr Das’s become converts!

By: Harry Hallman

Harry Hallman — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 12:06:08 +0000

Some people are private in nature. Others like to exaggerate their lives. Still others are open and willing to share. Everyone has their own motivation for being who they are. Mr. Das and people like him may try a social network, but since it goes against their sense of privacy, they get out and they should. Social networks are not for everyone.
That beginning said, as marketers we should embrace people who are active participants in social networks and earn their respect by being open, helpful and willing to interact with them. The great thing about social networks from marketing perspective is they are tools that concentrate the “sneezers” (Seth Godin) who are very willing to share their experiences- good or bad.

By: Ann Handley

Ann Handley — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 20:00:01 +0000

Paul — This is an issue I’ve thought a lot about lately, and even posted about on my personal blog here:
In-Your-Facebook?
http://www.annhandley.com/2008/02/07/in-your-facebook/
You write, “It’s about being transparent in who you are, your likes, your dislikes. It humanizes you for the rest of us.”
I get that. I’m fine with it most of the time. But at the same time, social networks do bring up new issues of privacy and access. For me, I don’t necessarily want to offer everyone the same level of access, nor do I necessarily want to be connected to everyone in quite the same way. Yes, you can play with privacy setting, you can block, you can turn on certain filters and features. But all of that is WORK. As I wrote in my post, it’s work to manage your privacy settings and requests for access to your life, personal and professional. It’s work to think about who sees you and how they see you and who you see– and it’s often flat-out unfun.
That’s not enough to keep me out of Facebook and its ilk, but it’s an issue that we all, at some point, increasingly are.. well, facing.

By: Michael Lombardi

Michael Lombardi — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 14:16:34 +0000

Jonathan,
The world is made up of intricate, complex social networks. Rich people have social networks; nerds have social networks; black, white, smart, stupid, everyone has a social network.
The interesting thing to me isn’t the presence of a network, it’s the size. Some people would rather have a large network of people and others prefer a small, close knit network.
Is one better than the other? Possibly.
Paul,
Like Mr. Das, I’m constantly hyperaware of my online presence. As you know, I’m on LinkedIn and have a professional blog, but I don’t have a “Facespace” or even Flickr account.
I could even make the arguement that Facespace pages have done more harm than good to society. It follows in the hedonistic and voyeuristic footsteps of reality television and celebrity gossip.
I don’t have a problem with people using social networks, I just think too many people jump in head-first without making sure there’s enough water in the pool.

By: Jonathan Kranz

Jonathan Kranz — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 12:47:27 +0000

I’m with Mr. Das on this one. If you’re to encourage him to get a “social” life, then suggest he get a real one – in the real world. I’m not sold that so-called social networks build either good friendships or good business.
Yeah, I’m on LinkedIn. Does it mean anything to me? No. I know, I know, you have to work at it, etc. But let’s be honest — does a recommendation or referral from a stranger really amount to much?
Frankly, I prefer the brute street wisdom of Jigsaw: you leave some biz card info behind, you pick up the biz card info you want. Then you make your own contact, period. No social network BS involved.