1.  I don't do social networking--never will.  Some people really don't mean never, but some people really never will!  It violates their very sense of who they are by taking an even greater amount of their scarce time.  To others it is a totally unwarranted invasion of their privacy.  They don't want to put their personal information on the Internet now or ever.

Says one contributor:

"I have no interest in the social networking of Twitter, Facebook, Myspace, YouTube or the like.  In my opinion, this type of networking of communication is busy, insensitive, and bypasses the human touch."

Twitter is a medium that doesn't fit them. 

Can Anyone Say Anything in 140 Characters or Less?

"I can't communicate anything of broad appeal in 140 characters or less -- no one cares about me that much -- so I find Twitter a waste of time."  Some say  that if they were just beginning, they might use Twitter.  If they were looking for a job, Linkedin might fit.  Facebook is like an online Christmas letter, and they find it a crashing bore.  

Then there is a significant number of people who warn of the dangers of putting online information on the Internet. 

Can Social Networking End Your Career?

One off-color joke that someone thinks is funny today may end up being evaluated by a company recruiter.  

Companies commonly Google their finalists to see if anything bad pops up.  One attorney tells us that he/she (not to even reveal gender) doesn't use any of the social networking websites but he/she certainly does research witnesses' online profiles to see what they might tell him/her for cross examination purposes.  The wrong photo or statement on a social networking website could cost you a job or lose your day in court. 

Is Twitter an Ego Trip for the Socially Overly Aggressive?

Another contributor feels that Twitter violates his/her values because it's an invitation to follow, which means that person is a "notch" on somebody's "cyber-belt." People and organizations commonly brag about how many followers they have, and to some people that's borderline creepy. 

2.  I don't do social networking, but the pressure is sure on.

There is a huge feeling, especially in the organizational world that, "I'd bettered get on, because the train is leaving.  Many people feel that social networking is "the next train." 

Could It Be that the Train Has Left the Station and I'm on the Side of the Tracks?

It's our Fear.  Everyone is doing it.  I'm not.  If I don't do social networking, what will I lose?  Something that's here to stay or just another fad?

The momentum to do social networking is huge and building fast.  Statistics are spotty and incomplete, but according to Zogby polls, as of December 2008, 11% of online American adults said they used a service like Twitter or another service that allowed them to share updates about themselves or to see the updates of others.  Just a few weeks earlier, in November 2008, 9% of internet users used Twitter.   Twitter grows exponentially.  It a phenomenon hyped by the media to an extent I've seldom seen.

Twitter, Facebook, Myspace, YouTube, or Linkedin are the new professional associations, which, like the old professional associations, are where professionals go to get noticed.  

Social networking in general has migrated to the Internet, as have so many other things.  Local professional organizations--with a few exceptions--are  fading fast.  Monthly professional luncheons are often frequented by lower level people in an organization and job seekers.  They tend not to be the place where you would find someone with whom you could exchange professional ideas or exchange resources.  

Much of what is causing the pressure is the viral nature of the invitation of one to the many to join.  We get invitations regularly to join, sometimes over and over again.   Many people feel irritated at the invitation, or ultimately join with lukewarm feelings.  Yet thousand join each day because of the invitations and the pressure.

3.  I'm slowly beginning social networking.

Many of us are not early adopters, but we are coming along.  Are social networking media the new email?  Are they the fundamental tools of tomorrow? One BizWatch contributor observed:

"I was very much opposed to join any of these sites as they started gaining popularity. The way I saw it was, “If I want to be in touch with people, I will call them or e-mail them.”  

Coincidentally, that is what I thought about email in the mid-90s.  I am a member of Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter and Facebook.

These people are asking the question, "Is Twitter and the other social networking tools a trend and technology that's here to stay, or is it a fad promoted by media hype and radical early adapters?

Many people enter social networking through Facebook as a result of their children.  Kids ask their parents (seems it's usually mothers) to let them join Facebook.  The mothers say "yes" if the child invites them to be a "friend," thus letting Mom monitor what goes onto the screen and sent out to the world.  Some parents are successful at getting their children to do their Facebook page, which turns out to be easier than getting them to clean their rooms.

Facebook, under the pressure from children, is ironically becoming the "gateway" social medium to other social networking websites.   It begins with the social part of our lives.

4.  I don't use Twitter, but I use some applications.

Many people still resist Twitter, but use other applications.  Says one person,

"I use Facebook and Linkedin but avoid Twitter.  Facebook for my friends and family  and Linkedin for my professional life and for my professional opinions...the one I find most horrid is twitter with all the constant updating about each moment of your life.  The idea of keeping track of each hour, minute and second, leaves me clammy.

Linkedin and Facebook seem to be the applications that are most mainstream because people find practical ongoing uses for them in their business and social lives.  Linkedin provides people the opportunity to provide a profile to people and organizations that might be useful professionally and there are a surprising number of people who reconnect with old friends and classmates, as well as job offers and career advances. 

MySpace is very popular with the young and music lovers and has been dominant, but is losing ground to Twitter lately, which is mainstreaming with a wide demographic appeal. 

People generally go to YouTube for entertainment and laughs.  For some a YouTube video is the new business card where you can listen to a person's explanation of a product, service, or idea.  You can find a speaker or entertainer.  You can embed your personal video into your website.  Video is making static websites old fashioned if not obsolete. 

5.  Oh yes, you betcha, I Twitter.  Some people have become part of this network that grew 700 percent last year.  I talked to a 20-something young man in the Apple Store who told me he had acquired 4000 followers in the previous three weeks.  The feeling he most transmitted to me was one of a desire to achieve power and recognition--he was on a huge personal ego-trip.  The first people I knew who used Twitter were those who were apt to self-promote.

The following are ways that people like you and me with our feet closer to the ground are using Twitter.

To become personally well-known to a group of industry colleagues, fellow-hobbyists, like-minded people of political or religious views, and on and on. 

Twitter Might Save Your Career

This all may sound like a huge ego trip to those whose lives now seem predictable and stable, but in an era when employment and so many social systems are unstable by their very nature, many would say you can't have too many good contacts.

To have a group you can bounce an idea off of.  With thousands of people we know, it's really easy to feel extremely isolated.  Having a group who can counsel you is valuable.

6.  I/we use Twitter and a variety of social networking tools and have a coherent strategy for them.

The highly motivated individuals and organizations are positioning themselves, their organization, their product, their service in such a way to gain recognition and a following that presents a major change from the historic, now "moved-on-from era" of the 90s.

Back in that "ancient time" of a few years ago, having a website was to be on the cutting edge.  Add to the website movement, videos, and a few other bells and whistles, and you and your company were truly unique.  Today these static websites are like passive digital business cards--viewed at random but relegated to the same status as a paper business card deep in the darkest depths of your purse or wallet.

Today's networking strategy involves grabbing people and getting them digitally involved with you as a person and with your message.  Successful social networking is interaction that goes both ways.

Today's online social networking strategy is more like walking up to someone on the street and tapping them on the shoulder, instead of just standing on the sidewalk and hoping someone will notice you and walk up and say hello. 

But it's more than that.  It's like tapping them on the shoulder with both hands and all your fingers, then walking down the street and coming back and tapping them on the shoulder again.  This more aggressive posture is a turn off to many, but really works for a great number.

With Facebook you're sending out invitations to be your friend and basically saying, "Why don't you take a look at my world? You might find it interesting and we might do something together."  The same is basically true of MySpace, more linked to the young and to their music. 

Linkedin is more like the business "cold call" that some of us did way back in the '80s.  We'd pop into someone's office and ask the assistant if we could see them.  Linkedin actually is quite a bit more sophisticated  than that and tells a person, "I'm a very skilled, competent professional.  You might think about hiring me or doing a deal."

Twitter begins with the question, "What are you doing?" The answer of an early adopter in the beginning might have been, "Well, I'm brushing my teeth.  Have you brushed yours today?"  (Interesting stuff, right?)

Businesses and people in organizations bring a different perspective to the question "What are you doing?" in that their goal is to grab people and insert them into what they are trying to accomplish. 

Businesses such as AMD, Stubbs Barbeque, and others might answer that they are promoting a service or product, looking for contestants for a golf tournament or marathon, looking for a qualified person to fill a job, or raising money for a cause.

Twitter is the attention grabber and the urging on to pass the message to others.  They can be urged to go to a website, call an 800 number or sign a petition.  140 characters is a great format for a digital trumpet call to action. 

Supporting the instantaneous and unrelenting Twitter can be websites to give in-depth information, a Linkedin profile describing the organizers, a Facebook photo set to give people a flavor of what's happening.  All of these media to a certain extent can give realtime updates on what you're trying to accomplish.

An individual or small group can identify their objective and combine many social networking tools to achieve the objective.  A large organization will need greater coordination and there are software programs that integrate social networks and get them to work together in a powerful way. 

Social networking consultants can help do the heavy lifting of choosing appropriate social networking tools, coordinating messages, building the databases that are the key to maintaining effective connections with your audience.

A primary reason for the dramatic rise of social networking is that a great number of people continually feel insecure about their jobs and their ability to navigate the constant change we all face.  People find a sense of power in being able to ally themselves to thousands of other people.

Businesses want to take promotion into their own hands.  The outlets for advertising have multiplied so exponentially that there are few businesses who have the funds to do traditional advertising in newspapers, trade publications, TV, etc.

Yet there has never been a greater opportunity for a person or individual to position themselves well in the marketplace.
 

Carol Kallendorf, Ph.D.

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