This week has been a good week. And I wanted to finish it off with a quick recap and some reflections on how much and how little business networking has changed in my opinion.
The week in review:
- The new version of the SustainabilityForum.com is nearly ready. A few more tweaks and we are ready to go next week (Fingers crossed).
- Business is going well too. So far I cannot feel the economic downturn. But I think I can consider myself lucky and I am grateful for that.
- I was able to purchase the domain Fairtrader.org this week. Who knows…that might be another project down the line. A really nice name. Short and memorable.
21st Century Business Networking
This week has also been a fantastic business networking week. I was able to connect with so many great new people. And that made me think. How many people would I have been able to connect with this week and the last few months without the use of some of the modern online business networking tools.
The answer is pretty clear…..not a lot. Especially not from all across the world.
I then remembered that I recently talked to my father about this and how amazed he was about these networking tools.
He said that he is and always has been relying on three business main ways to expand his business network:
- Attending and organizing conferences and workshops
- Being a member of a business club or other clubs in interest areas such as sport, art, etc.
- Cold calling possible business partners and customers to arrange one to one meetings.
Our new networking activities that have drastically changed the way we now network enhance these three business networking activities in my opinion. I categorize them in three areas:
- Social Media: Tools such as Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, etc. help us to connect to like minded people easier then ever before without having meet in person.
- Online Business Meetups: Websites such as Meetup.com etc. now make it incredibly easy to find meetings and get-togehters with like minded people in your local, regional and national community.
- The evolution of modern communications: Modern communication tools such as Skype and the normality of telephone international flat rates make it so much easier and convenient to reach out to people all across the globe.
Again, the beauty of these new tools is that they all enhance and increase your networking possibilities in a way that my father only dreamed about 20 years ago. And I think this is only the beginning. We will see great new developments in these areas ove the next 10 years.
But I also believe these old and new ways of networking have one outcome in common: To really build a proper and long lasting business relationship we always have to meet in person as business is still and will always be conducted between individuals that know and trust each other.
Modern business networking technology will not change this basic law no matter what. And this is a good thing.
Picture Credit: luc legay
