DAVE CLARKE: Using the Internet to Get Off the Internet

by Dave Clarke

Earlier this month I had the great pleasure of meeting Meetup.com founder, Scott Heiferman, at an Event on 'How real time web is facilitating offline interactivity'. Scott spoke on a panel at the event about the importance of offline community. He was in London for a gathering of UK Meetup organizers.

Scott said that he really began to experience the power of community in post 9/11 New York when people began again to rediscover the importance of looking out for each other. I was in London during the bombs on the underground and on a bus on 7 July 2005 and saw many people going out of their way for others in a similar way.

Scott shared that the idea for Meetup came from that time and he wanted to create a site to help strengthen community. To give people the opportunity to use the Internet to get together in local communities each day with the goal of improving themselves or their communities. Their mission today is to revitalize local community and help people around the world self-organize. Meetup believes that people can change their personal world, or the whole world, by organizing themselves into groups that are powerful enough to make a difference.

As Scott said it's about "Using the Internet to get off the Internet!"

A great insight into how to use Online Social Media and Networks in your Business Networking.

Until next time.

Good Networking!
Dave Clarke
Get 7 networking secrets for business success


For more information, please visit Dave's TNNW Bio.

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DAVE CLARKE: Using the Internet to Get Off the Internet

DAVE CLARKE: Twelve Years of Online Networking

by Dave Clarke

Last month I wrote about Managing your Network using a combination of offline & online networks. This posts focuses on one online network. Online networks are an essential part of everyday life for many people, but that wasn't always the case. The first online network I joined was the US-based Linkedin back in 2003. Pretty soon after that someone recommended the UK-based network, Ecademy, to me.


Ecademy celebrated its 12th birthday in February this year so it's great to report on this UK site. It's not often that an Internet pioneer is a UK-based privately owned business with no venture capital funding. Ecademy founder Penny Power started Ecademy to support her husband's business. She said to Thomas at the time, "Surely many people feel like you when they run their own business - why don't we start a community on the Internet to help people who are in business."


Today Penny expresses the vision for Ecademy: "To be the place for business people to be themselves, without the need to push, without the need to force. A place to be a friend to other business people and through that see the wonder of what open, random and supportive communication can deliver for each other."


As Penny also says, "We are still relatively early in the adoption of building business through conversation and friendship. Some still utilize Ecademy and other social networks as a 'selling' opportunity, but they learn in time that it is much better to create a personal brand where people come to buy from you, rather than to brand themselves as a 'seller' who is flogging their products and services through utilizing a 1980's style of direct marketing!"


Some great lessons from Penny about business development and networking.


Until next time.

Good Networking!
Dave Clarke
Get 7 networking secrets for business success

For more information, please visit Dave's TNNW Bio.

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DAVE CLARKE: Twelve Years of Online Networking

DAVE CLARKE: Managing your Network

by Dave Clarke

At a meeting earlier this month people were talking about how difficult it is to keep track of all the interactions we now have both online and offline. Last month I wrote about the many different ways we have of keeping in touch with the advent of social networks and social media. Online networks give us a a really effective tool for supporting our offline business networking activities. They only do that, however, if we go about both activities strategically.

I have been an active member of online networks since I discovered them in 2003. In an article on the NRG-networks website I share my top 10 tips for building business with the effective use of offline & online networks:

1. Get comfortable with how networking works
2. Develop a plan
3. Identify the people you already know, like & trust
4. Identify the offline networks to join
5. Show a genuine interest in other people
6. Always follow up contacts
7. Identify the online networks to join and start a blog
8. Make online contacts and build relationships first
9. Arrange contact meetings
10. Develop Networking Advocates

More on each point in the article, top 10 tips for building business with the effective use of offline & online networks

Until next month ...

Good Networking!
Dave Clarke
Get 7 networking secrets for business success

For more information, please visit Dave's TNNW Bio.

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DAVE CLARKE: Managing your Network

UK: How Small Businesses Really Network

by Dave Clarke

UK Bureau Chief

In some recent research Alan Rae and Lisa Harris studied how small companies network and establish the best balance between on line and offline networking.

650 people from BNI, Ecademy, NRG-networks and from UK, Europe, US and the Far East were asked how much time they spent networking online and offline and how much time they spent on sales and marketing. In particular
• What networking environments they used
• What other marketing tools they used
• What their attitude to growth was
• How they went about building trust and deciding who to refer
• What size of networking group they preferred

There were some interesting findings.

1) Online and off line are not opposites. 40% of the people who spend more than 8 hours a week online also spend 8 hours networking face to face. And vice versa. This supported earlier observations that suggested that those best online were also good face to face networkers.
2) Offline networking peaks at 2-4 hours a week, online networking shows a U shaped curve – people either do less than 2 hours (46.3%) or more than 6 hours (24%)
3) Most people use traditional face to face selling and networking but about 15% did more than 8 hours on line.
4) Linked-in was the most popular online environment. Over 30% people used it regularly or depended on it compared to 15.7% for Facebook and 7.2 % for twitter.
5) PR, workshops, email shots and online advertising were used by between 26 & 30%
6) Most (55%) favoured a networking group of between 20 and 40
7) The process of building trust did not vary
a. Evidence of reliability evidenced by speed of response
b. Being clear about what they do
c. Knowing their subject
d. Positive Attitude including “Givers Gain" ®

The process of building trust support the findings of some research we did 3 years ago into the process of building trust in business relationships through networking.


Dave Clarke, high trust business relationships, offline networking, online networking, social networking research paper, the national networker, TNNW, UK
Alan & Lisa concluded that going on line depended on whether the business was scalable or non scalable, local or national /global. Most wanted a “home networking group” for mutual support and referrals. Some, however, needed the greater numbers that the online social media permit. They identified 3 groups

Group 1 is like Alan & Isobel Rae's vegetable business – everything is sold within a 25 mile radius and when they’ve sold it -its gone. Group 2 is like their plants4presents business. National and scalable so they need as many, often random, connections as they can. Group 3 are like Alan Rae himself. His business is not scalable – He's selling his time but he does work for people in other countries. It pays him to have thousands of contacts to find those that can fully use his skills

They estimated there are roughly 50% in category 1, 40% in category 2 and 10% in category 3.

Where do you and your business fit? Maybe you can use these findings to work out the best balance for your online & offline networking activities.

Good Networking!
Dave Clarke
Get 7 networking secrets for business success

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UK: How Small Businesses Really Network