NETWORKING FUN FOR THE INTROVERTED: That's TMI

Networking Fun for the Introverted

with Wendy Kovitz

Twitter, what were you thinking? LinkedIn was supposed to be my sanitized cyber resume. My make-up, dark-colored suit and "Yes, I can interview with you at 11 am this Thursday" personae. Sure, it's always gotten the least of my attention. Probably because it's just so gosh-darn bland. Everything is so black and white there, just like a resume. You read a dozen of them and they all start to look alike.

But Twitter, be it 140 characters of utterly pointless drivel, poignant commentary or a juicy red-hot rant, is 3-D with smellovision. You know who you're dealing with and what makes them tick. Unless you only follow the "biggins" who are out to sell you something. I like people who can keep it real even over the expanse of cyber space. I enjoy hearing who's had a G-d awful day or who's laid up with the flu. Not that I enjoy the misery of others, but I find the willingness to share the good, the bad and the ugly with friends, strangers and stalkers alike so much more personable than a LinkedIn exchange. (Note that I am not talking about creepy and dangerous stalkers, merely those Google-happy people that find you much more interesting than you find yourself.)

If I like the line in the sand between professional and personal, why would I even think of using my Tweets to update my LinkedIn status? Well, first of all, you have the choice of shooting all of your Tweets red-robin right over. "No, thanks. Really. That's TMI." Honestly, I think it's my inner voice telling me that it's okay to embrace my uniqueness - for an introvert that's pretty scary stuff. It's okay to have an opinion on issues. Not everyone will agree with you or like you, no matter how hard you try. It's all the stuff we tell our kids but otherwise seem to ignore in our day-to-day existence.

Frankly, I'm getting a bit tired of maintaining a separate unique me in facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. My advice is simple: live your conscience, make your mark and everything else will fall into place.

I'll leave you with one link from a Twitter pal named @JimmyElliot, a young college kid who believes that love can change the world. He started @holdingofwrists to reach out to young people struggling with day to day existence, especially those battling depression. It reminds me that we're all connected, and that's a good thing.




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

- Wendy Kovitz
The Book Of Ara - Fictional Fantasy Memoirs
Twitter - @wlkovitz

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NETWORKING FUN FOR THE INTROVERTED: That's TMI

THE HANDSHAKE CLUB: Will Banter Loves LinkedIn

The Handshake Club with J.D. Gershbien

Will Banter is everything that is good about Social Media. He is a firm believer in promoting people online and helping them brand. Will is constantly on his laptop, multi-tasking like crazy. He effortlessly blazes through an endless stream of e-mails.







He is a world-class blogger. He enjoys the volley of dialog within his Facebook community. He’s never too far from his Tweetdeck (he can tweet in his sleep!). Then there’s the weekly podcast. But, in the battle for Will’s attention span, it’s LinkedIn that emerges triumphant. It’s on LinkedIn where he takes his networking to another level. He is never too busy to help someone tweak their LinkedIn profile, make a quality introduction, or write a glowing recommendation. “I’m awestruck by this machinery,” explains Will, “It’s simple in its complexity, yet complex in its simplicity.” Yes, Will digs Social Media. Constantly bouncing from one site to another, he gets more stuff done before lunch than most of us can hope to get done in a week. Amazingly, he’s got the bandwidth and the time for it all.


J.D. Gershbein is the President of Owlish Communications, an Internet Marketing firm based in the Chicago, Illinois suburb of Vernon Hills. When he’s not helping his clients shine on LinkedIn, J.D. creates business cartoons and comic strips that brand businesses and make them memorable. He is the creator of the comic strip, The Handshake Club™, which features such notable characters as Will Banter™ and Brandy Share ™.


For more information, please visit J.D.'s TNNW Bio.



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THE HANDSHAKE CLUB: Will Banter Loves LinkedIn

linked in launches platform, redesign — a better business social network

From VentureBeat

By Eric Eldon 12.9.07

LinkedIn has just launched its own developer platform and a new design that promises to make it more useful to its millions of business users.

Earlier this year, many have wondered if social network Facebook would overtake LinkedIn, as businesspeople have begun using Facebook for business networking — and for enjoying its more social features.

LinkedIn’s new features now put it a step ahead of the competition. You’ll start finding connections to people on LinkedIn while you’re using other web sites, through third party applications. You’ll see connections from friends from other social networks like Myspace and Hi5 show up in LinkedIn. You’ll get “modules” (like Facebook applications) and a news aggregator, featuring articles about your industry — LinkedIn’s efforts to make you spend more time on the site each day.

Click to read more...

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linked in launches platform, redesign — a better business social network

LinkedIn and The Future of Business Networking

from Bernard Lunn's
blog Read/WriteWeb

LinkedIn has definitely been useful for me. It is not a silver bullet, but when used with respect for real world relationships it has served one very important purpose - I can meet my objectives with the minimum of intrusion on my contacts. I can search for the contacts/companies that I want to reach and find who has a relationship and ping them for help.

This is far more efficient than spamming all my contacts with a mass email saying “anybody know anybody in this role at these companies?” That would probably get a quick response but would rapidly deplete my 'relationship capital'. It is also more effective than guessing who would have the right contacts. In LinkedIn I have been constantly surprised by contacts that I would never have guessed would be useful.

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LinkedIn and The Future of Business Networking

Jason Alba: "I'm on LInkedIn -- Now What???"

Jason Alba, TNNW's Career Transition Editor has recently released "I’m on LinkedIn – Now What???", a practical guide to using one of the Internet's most powerful business networking tools. If LinkedIn is a brand new car, then Jason new book is the owner’s manual. This book is a can't miss for those who are still trying to make sense of LinkedIn. Available in paperback and ebook format.
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Jason Alba: "I'm on LInkedIn -- Now What???"