Social Networking Tools
Computer/Internet/Software Articles
Submit Articles Back to Articles
Not long ago I was asked by a young man about what he should
be thinking about as he started his career in the business world. We talked
about a lot of things, but more than anything I emphasized the need to network
with his professional contemporaries. I recommended he join some industry
groups, attend conferences, and basically start to interact with different
people in his industry. But I tend to believe young people shy away from such
personal interaction and instead prefer the anonymity of the various social
networking facilities on the Internet, like
Facebook,
MySpace, and others. Most
young people are familiar with these facilities from High School and College and
use them to send messages, flirt, spread humor, rumors and spam, and harass
people. You need not accurately identify yourself with such facilities, which
means you can cause a great deal of trouble for others if you are so inclined.
There are also several social networking tools for
professionals, such as
LinkedIn, Plaxo,
PerfectBusiness,
ZoomInfo,
and many others. They may not have the same robust facilities as found in
Facebook and MySpace, nor the popularity, but they tend to attract the more
serious minded person interested in their career and profession. People tend to
more clearly identify themselves as well and, as such, there is less shenanigans
associated with them. Nonetheless, anyone can register as a user and create
false identities if they want to and abuse the system. Thanks to the cloak of
anonymity as provided by the Internet, clods tend to disrupt the harmony of such
Internet groups, thereby diminishing their usefulness. As an aside, I find it
interesting that people will say things on the Internet they would never dare
say to you face-to-face, which is why I no longer engage anyone on the Internet
who doesn't properly identify themselves. No, I don't want to hear from anyone
with a bogus handle for a name, particularly those based on some medieval
nonsense. Like I said, clods.
These Internet services may be nice for sending messages and
disseminating news, or for bringing people of common interests together, but
they are certainly not a substitute for eye contact, a handshake, and the spoken
word; they are most definitely not a substitute for personal interaction. As I
have mentioned for quite some time, due to our heightened emphasis on technology
I believe we are seeing a decline in the socialization skills of our young
people. Instead of meeting and interacting with others, they are more inclined
to hide behind a keyboard which I consider rather unfortunate. It's difficult,
if not impossible, to get to know someone's interests, ethics, integrity,
knowledge, and personal background by computer. To this end, I discussed with my
young friend such things as how to properly do an introduction, how to make
light conversation, how to develop contacts, how to dress for industry
functions, even table manners and how to socially drink at such functions.
Basically, I encouraged him to brush up on his people skills, not his computer
skills.
Such is my Pet Peeve of the Week.
Copyright © 2009 by Tim Bryce. All rights reserved.
Note: All trademarks both marked and unmarked belong to their
respective companies.
About the Author
Tim Bryce is the Managing Director of
M. Bryce & Associates
(MBA) of Palm Harbor, Florida and has over 30 years of experience in the
management consulting field. He can be reached at
timb001@phmainstreet.com
Follow us @Scopulus_News
Article Published/Sorted/Amended on Scopulus 2009-02-22 11:44:12 in Computer Articles
