NET-TECH REPORT: 7 Ways To Leverage Technology and Stay In Touch With Your Customer

Net-Tech Report with Chris Kauza

It's often been said that the cost to maintain and gain new sales from your existing customers is often significantly less than the cost of gaining new sales from brand new customers. Personally, I think you should do both - and here are a few quick tips on how you can too, without a lot of extra time or effort.

You can use these four, low-cost ways to strengthen your relationship with your existing customers:

• Newsletters - these can be sent out on a pre-determined schedule. I tell my clients that they should send out shorter newsletters with more frequency, rather than longer ones only once a quarter. Why? If you remain "top of mind" with your customers, they will be more likely to reach out to you when they have a question. What should you include? News about your company, information on trends that affect your customers, new products / services you may be investigating (and asking for their input), announcements of success that your customers have achieved...you're only limited by your imagination. And while you don't always need a professional copywriter, you should consider working with one. You know your business than anyone else, but a professional copywriter knows how to communicate that to others better than you do.

• Coupons and "Specials" - everyone loves to get a deal on something, regardless of the product, service or price point. Are there certain times when your business is slower than others? Consider publishing a special for existing customers only through different channels - include it with a monthly invoice, use a special "email blast" to your customers, or Tweet about it on your company's Twitter account (you've set that up already, haven't you? If not check out these earlier posts where we discussed some of the benefits of using Twitter in your business).

• Conference Call and/or Webinars - a well-used vehicle in the halls of Corporate America, the ubiquitous "concall" has now come to the rest of the world. There are a number of companies and services that can provide your business - regardless of size - the power to simultaneously reach hundreds of customers. Many companies use them to introduce new products or services and "pre-sell" their customer base prior to the product's or service's launch. You can also use them for monthly or quarterly focus groups (sometimes called Customer Councils).

• Your existing phone system - do you have tips on how to better use your products or services? An upcoming appearance or webinar that might be of interest to your customers? A limited promotion you are running for your product or service? Make this your "on-hold" music while your customers wait to speak with you.
  

What about attracting new customers? As bad as things might be for your company now, this is a temporary lull with new opportunities right around the corner. There are trends building right now, for which you can position your company to be the expert. How do you find these? Here are three sources to start with:

• The U.S. Federal Government -Did you know that in 2003, Americans spent approximately 8.2 billion hours and $320 billion filling out paperwork and complying with government regulations? Here's how you can put some of that investment back to work for your business. Look through their statistics pages and research how things are changing in your markets. Look for new markets where your products or services might be better positioned.

• Universities - a great source for demographic data is CensusScope, a University consortium that compiles and provides demographic data. They've done all the work for you - all you need to do is to read it and apply it!

• Your Local Library - specifically, the Reference section of your local public library. Ask for the Reference Librarian on duty; you will be amazed at how much they want to help you! Ask them for their help in accessing the "Reference USA database". This is a free information resource that is provided in partnership with InfoUSA - the largest provider of list information in the United States. You may have used them if you have used InfoUSA, SalesGenie, etc. to generate any kind of prospecting list for your company. The information you will find here is generally dated (by about a quarter) - but it's free and usually "good enough" for most companies - regardless of size or budget. While you will be limited to a certain number of downloads per session, you can use it to generate targeted lists of hundreds of prospects for your business very quickly - and all for free!

All of these technologies can be applied with little or no additional expense, and are very easy to use - but you have to make the decision to use them. Pick two to start with this month and apply them to your business. The information is there - you just have to act on it.

Do you have a business-related question but don't know who to ask? I can help! Contact me at Chris "at" AskABusinessGuy dot com, or follow me on Twitter at @ChrisKauza.


For more information, please visit Chris' TNNW Bio.

Published by THE NATIONAL NETWORKER Newsletter. All rights reserved. Subscribe Free - Click HERE.
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NET-TECH REPORT: 7 Ways To Leverage Technology and Stay In Touch With Your Customer

Any call to a public servant's house is harassment

Here's an interesting story about a young man and his pursuit of answers...

Kori, a member of the Lake Braddock debate team who said his grade-point average is 3.977, said his message was not intended to harass. He said he tried unsuccessfully to contact Dean Tistadt at work and he thought he had a basic right to petition a public official for more information about a decision that affected him and his classmates. He said he was exercising freedom of speech in posting a Facebook page. The differing interpretations of his actions probably stem from "a generation gap," he said.

"People in my generation view privacy differently. We are the cell phone generation. We are used to being reached at all times," he said.

Kori explained his perspective in an e-mail Wednesday to Fairfax County schools spokesman Paul Regnier. Regnier said, also in an e-mail, that Kori's decision to place the phone call to the Tistadts' home was more likely the result of a "civility gap."

"It's really an issue of kids learning what is acceptable and not acceptable. Any call to a public servant's house is harassment," Regnier said.

What's it all about? Well, in a nut shell, a kid wanted to know why school wasn't being canceled due to weather. So he tried the school administrator at work. No luck. After awhile, he looked up the man's home phone and called there, leaving a message with his name and phone number. Next he gets an angry message from the administrator's wife who is more than a little annoyed that their privacy had been violated.

For more on this article, visit SiliconValley.com to see how social media turned the whole thing into a very public event... It raises some interesting questions about society, privacy and free speech. How you feel about the whole story probably depends on the generation you most associate with.

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Any call to a public servant's house is harassment

Powerthought

Power Thought of the Week

By Patricia Parham, Ph.D., Contributing Writer

How Robust is Your Expert Network?

Finding like-minded professionals is a joy and reinforces the work that we do. How many people in your network are doing things “the old way” and excelling? How many in your network are trying crazy new ideas all the time? How many are main stream? Wherever you fit, colleagues from each group have wisdom to offer to help you improve your business and success. Share your wisdom and take advantage of theirs.

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Powerthought

The Skype Social Network: Three Values

From Skype Journal

"Independent News, Views and Service"

Posted by Phil Wolff on December 7, 2007 02:28 AM | Permalink

How do Rachel Happe's and Chris Brogan's Three Untapped Values of Social Networks apply to real-time social networks like Skype?

"Social Networks Capture Unstructured Information Well"

Skype IM and voice calls remove barriers between thought and utterance. Skype makes it easy, convenient and safe to talk informally, like blogs, wikis, twitter, and mobile texting. Skype gets out of the way of just plain talking. Contrast that with the formal tone of writing memos or more structured communication, like reports or proposals.

Capturing Skype conversations is easy too, almost automatic. You can set your Skype Privacy settings to keep chat history forever. A handful of audio recorders can capture voice calls (PrettyMay Recorder and Sharer, Skylook, Callburner, Evoca Call Recorder, Pamela, Call Recorder for Mac OS X, AfterBeep). Pamela even captures video calls. Skype's History tab shows what you missed and what you did.

Click for more of the article...

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The Skype Social Network: Three Values

12 years of social networks - who was first?

This gives a quick overview of social networking. Check it out.

By Spectator(Spectator)
What was first social network on the web? Many sources give the answer - the first one was Classmates.com. Classmates.com is a social network created by Randy Conrads in 1995. The Classmates.com website helps users find, ...
Chasing Google - http://chasinggoogle.blogspot.com/
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12 years of social networks - who was first?

Meet emerging mobile social networks

from WebWare
Field Report, News

By Jessica Dolcourt – November 15, 2007, 4:30 PM PST


New social networks are born each day, and at the Under the Radar conference (see all posts) a new batch is on display. Most are in early funding stages, and one is so new it's still in closed beta. The other three are ready for a try-out.
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Meet emerging mobile social networks

Bebo aligns itself with tv, film and music companies

Bebo announced today Open Media, a new “platform” that gives users the ability to add top-shelf video and music content to their profile pages and share it with others on the network. They become “fans” of a series the same way they can add people as “friends.”

At the same time, Bebo is allowing its diverse content partners like the BBC, CBS, Channel 4, ESPN, Ministry of Sound, MTV Networks, Turner, Ustream, and Yahoo! to use their video players to distribute their content and retain all of the advertising-related revenue.

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Bebo aligns itself with tv, film and music companies

Social Network for Neighbors

Social Network for Neighbors Fatdoor Raises $5.5M, Hires New CEO
by Mark Hendrickson for TechCrunch

Fatdoor aims to connect you with your neighbors by providing a localized social network for your physical community. Although the site will be in private beta until the spring of 2008, a handful of details have been publicly available since at least June. The website will integrate with Microsoft Virtual Earth to display local business and residential listings on an interactive map. Once users claim their listings, they can add profiles and put down their interests. Users can then plan events and form local interest groups with the site.
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Social Network for Neighbors

Global MindShift

www.Global-MindShift.org offers expanded networking features... conversation capabilities... and powerful new search tools

Their mission is to help make the emergence of a global community unstoppable. They're averaging 20,000 unique visitors per month. And 3,000 new members signed up in the last six months alone, from more than 100 different countries.

Start Talking
Create your own conversation, or join an ongoing topic. You'll discover an opportunity to engage in meaningful conversations about our collective future, and how we can work together for the benefit of all life.

Explore the Meme Base
Check out their library of visionary videos, thought provoking presentations, and cartoons that pack a punch.

Search
Use the new search feature to find like-minded people, organizations and resources, in your region or around the world.

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Global MindShift

Yahoo's New "Kickstart" Social Network

from
"The official blog of Romow Internet Web Directory. We blog about the latest Internet news and technologies."

By Peter
In other words, can users present a professional and polished image and still maintain a casual, friendly social network. The verdict is still out on this question, but so far Kickstart at least looks like it strikes a fair balance ...


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Yahoo's New "Kickstart" Social Network

Father of web 2.0 slams Google OpenSocial

Lack of data sharing means platform misses the mark

Tom Sanders in California, vnunet.com 08 Nov 2007

Tim O'Reilly, the father of the term 'web 2.0', has denounced Google's OpenSocial as "boring" and a "full blown disappointment".

OpenSocial offers a standard for applications on social networks that allow developers to market applications on any network supporting the standard. Early supporters include Plaxo, LinkedIn, MySpace and Google's Orkut.

The standard does not unlock data from the participating network, however, which might have allowed a MySpace user to exchange messages with a LinkedIn user, for example.

The service also will not allow the use of social search engines that let users locate friends across all networks.

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Father of web 2.0 slams Google OpenSocial

This Week on TNNW...

Trenton Small Business Week - Networking at its best.
By RUTH GATLING, Mid-Atlantic Bureau Chief

Be a Networking Ambassador
By PETER BIADASZ, Southern Plains Bureau Chief

A new Season for Networking in the Southwest
By BETTE DAOUST, Ph.D., Southwest Bureau Chief

Financial Meetup Groups
By MEIRA FINDEL, Financial Editor

Just Joking, Right?
By MARIA ELENA DURON, Multicultural Networking Editor

The On-Line Networker’s Laptop
Circa Holiday and End of Year Tax Season 2007(2 of 2)
By MIKE O'NEIL, Technical Editor

Creativity in Networking
By HARVEY MATHASON, Contributing Writer

Jetnetting
By HESHIE SEGAL, Contributing Writer

Power Thought of the Week
By PATRICIA PARHAM, Ph.D., Contributing Writer

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This Week on TNNW...

October 17, 2007 05:24 PM Eastern Daylight Time The Relationship Networking Explosion Gets Its Own Industry Association: RNIA LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Social and business networking sites are exploding all over the web, historical evidence of people’s strong desire to connect with like-minded individuals. A great many companies are seeking to capitalize on the trend, yet there is no common body of knowledge to help them harness relationship networking in their products and strategies. To meet this need, a group of corporations and professionals have formed the Relationship Networking Industry Association (RNIA), a non-profit, neutral third-party trade association. “Networking is a young, emerging industry which is just now determining the rules,” says Executive Director Adam J. Kovitz. “It has the potential to become a multi-billion dollar industry. The time is right to bring together corporations, entrepreneurs, investors, educators, trainers, consultants, recruiters, member-based organizations and governmental agencies who on their own have networking initiatives, but are not effectively connecting the initiatives to maximize effectiveness. RNIA provides the common ground to do this.” RNIA’s goal is to accelerate relationship capital, enabling people and organizations to intelligently apply networking and measure its true value. To attain this goal, RNIA members are creating a common body of knowledge (CBOK) divided into working groups focused on various aspects of relationship networking, including Education, Metrics, Technology-Driven Platforms, Employment and Collaboration. The availability of RNIA’s CBOK will enable stakeholders to deliver open and secure standards for online networking as well as consistent relationship networking education. Contacts Relationship Networking Industry Association (RNIA) Adam Kovitz Executive Director 215-945-3411 Adam.Kovitz@RNIA.org www.RNIA.org

| © Business Wire 2007

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The Relationship Networking Explosion Gets Its Own Industry Association: RNIA

Facebook, Safegaurds; MySpace and Skype

After Inquiry, Facebook Agrees to More Safeguards
New York Times - United States
He added that his office was talking to other companies with similar social networking sites, but declined to name them. Chris Kelly, Facebook's chief ...
See all stories on this topic

MySpace, Skype to offer calls on social network
Reuters India - Mumbai,India
By Michele Gershberg SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Top social network site MySpace and Web-calling leader Skype will offer MySpace members free Internet phone ...
See all stories on this topic

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Facebook, Safegaurds; MySpace and Skype

Youthroots.com Launches Unique Youth Group and Leadership Social Network

Youthroots.com Launches Unique Youth Group and Leadership Social Network: "Youthroots.com Launches Unique Youth Group and Leadership Social Network .........URL: http://www.Youthroots.com Youthroots.com Launches Unique Youth Group and Leadership Social Network"

An write up worth reading if you are a young person, actively involved in face-to-face social groups and want to connect with other like-minded individuals. -- Or if you're the adult group leader of one of these groups.
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Youthroots.com Launches Unique Youth Group and Leadership Social Network

Google Alerts and an Ever-evolving Website: Two Ships that Pass in the Night???

I've been following about a dozen items with Google Alerts over the past months, and I'm amazed at one thing...No matter how many times a month (at least 4, actually) The National Networker website is updated with original, first-run social networking articles from around the country, Canada and South East Asia Google seems to miss us. It's almost as though the hundreds and hundreds of content-rich business and social networking articles we've published have created an immunity with Google, while most articles in blogs are snared in the net.

It's a shame really. We've always tried to keep The National Networker website as THE publication and it's TNNW Blog as an way of informally corresponding with our readers, writers and those who would just like to be heard regarding their views on social networks.

So for those of you that say, "hey, I get the newsletter already and have seen those articles", Sorry. While the blog will still contain a slew of articles caught in the Google Alert net, please remember to visit the actual writers of those articles, you'll also be seeing a rehash of what's happening at the main website. It's not that we like to be redundant, anybody that know me well knows it's something for which I have little patience.

That said, web 2.0 means that good old-fashioned networking works best with a heavy smattering of technology, and vice-versa. As ever, TNNW welcomes your comments, questions and material that you would like to share in the areas of business networking, social networking, and relationship networking. That just about sums up all of existence, doesn't it?

Feel free to visit me at my MySpace blog.

Thank you for stopping by.

- Wendy Kovitz
Cyberian, muse
VP of Research & Development
The National Networker
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Google Alerts and an Ever-evolving Website: Two Ships that Pass in the Night???

Friendship: Virtually Speaking

There are many wonderful aspects of online social networking, my birthday post is (sort of) about one of them.

Before you get out the tissue box in preparation for a melodramatic, heart-warming story fit for Lifetime-- ain't happening. I'm 39 today (although the "Libra-dometer" went off in MySpace a couple of weeks ago) and quite happy about it. Life is good. I've learned to accept my strengths and work on my weaknesses.

I like MySpace. Where else is there the possibility or reaching out to roughly 200 million folkes TODAY. Sure there may be other more (or less) proper and professional places to meet people and network. I could ramble off a gazillion, but I'll spare you. Many people are writing about the "depths" of perceived friendships on social networking sites. And do they really mean anything. Some mention should go to the gal on MySpace with a million (maybe more) friends who got catapulted into celebrity status in the "mainstream" media. Someday, I hope to meet her, but for now she's more of a legend.

Many, many people spam me. That's the nature of the game. I'm here to network and meet people just like everyone else. When the glamour gals send me spam photos to push their product, service or whatever it is, I'm thinking about responding with a picture of my well-endowed wise ass, stretch marks and all instead of blacklisting them. What do you think?

This morning, My Birthday, I get a bulletin from a young man whom I know virtually nothing about that says "Read this, Bi&*ch!". Excuse me? My last act as his "friend" was respond to his bulletin that only people that KNOW me have EARNED the right to call me a Bi&*ch. Then deleted our short-lived friendship.

I don't mind when a spade is called a spade, but friendship is about learning the whole deck of cards.

I'm a collaborator. I enjoy connecting people and technology. That's what I do. That's what MySpace does. And that's my sand (soap) box.

-Wendy Kovitz

Cyberian, muse, Libra'

VP of Research and Development
The National Networker
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Friendship: Virtually Speaking

Social Networks are Launching Everywhere and for Everything Imaginable

Strategy: What Say You?

By Jay Deragon, TNNW Contributing Writer

The proliferation of new sites confuses the marketplace of users. Your Space is getting duplicative, aggravating, crowded and a time drain on your productivity. The craze by operators is aimed at generating traffic which in turn creates increased advertising revenue.

Advertising grab is the major motivating factor in the social networking space today. Just consider the recent developments:

MySpace recently announced full integration into the mobile market regardless of handset or carrier. The mobile market already has an abundance of social networking applications launching on numerous networks but few, if any, enable complete connectivity to any network thus again forcing users to jump from one application to another. The driving factor for these launches is grabbing ad space thus revenue.

A recently released U.S. mobile advertising forecast by The Kelsey Group indicates that the U.S. mobile ad market will grow from US$33.2 million to US$1.4 billion in 2012, a CAGR of 112 percent. The Kelsey summary concludes that the potential of mobile advertising is about change, though for years forecasters and pundits have touted the potential but U.S. market has failed to materialize.

The forecast breaks mobile into three distinct ad segments: ad-sponsored directory assistance, mobile Internet (search, browse, etc.) and multi-modal applications. The two largest contributors of revenues, says the report, will see a substantial increase in usage: For more information on the KelseyGroup, please visit this link.

Chasing Video Advertising opportunities

eMarketer CEO Geoff Ramsey. Next year, digital ad spending will increase 32%–amounting to nearly $28.8 billion, Ramsey said in his opening remarks at OMMA New York on Monday morning. The future? Branded and video advertising, said Ramsey, assuring that branding dollars are fast on their way to matching the budgets spent on search. "With video, you can do a heck of a lot better job of storytelling," he said.

OnLine Media writer Gavin O’Malley states "Now big business, Web videos are watched by 72% of Web users–or 135 million people–every month. Ad spending around them is set to hit $775 million this year, and $1.3 billion by next year. With YouTube in tow, Google is poised to lead the burgeoning video market, and grab the bulk of ad dollars flowing into the medium, according to Ramsey. "

What are the greatest challenges facing online marketers today? Audience fragmentation; ad clutter; consumers’ eroding trust in marketers; and something Ramsey likes to call "trend-itis"–or the propensity for marketers to blindly follow trends without implementing proper checks and balances.

As things stand, 76% of marketers say ad agencies don’t provide them with sufficient data on ROI. Most marketers, said Ramsey, express a "vague undercurrent of discontent with their agencies."

A Simple Solution

The end users of social networks, whether online or mobile, are the factors that drive traffic. The current market of social networks is stealing time from users, individuals and corporations alike. To create more traffic and user creativity it would seem that the shortest distance between two points, advertisers and their markets, is a straight line.

If we the users were given the opportunity to earn an income for our time, talent and contributions to social networks then we the users would become the focal point of market expansion. Corporation, individuals, groups etc. would then be able to justify their time, talent and contributions to social networks.

Instead of creating yet another social network the market would be smart to simply tap into the network as it is, the users.

What Say You?

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Social Networks are Launching Everywhere and for Everything Imaginable

This Week in TNNW...

NJAWBO – A great networking opportunity for all
By RUTH GATLING, Mid-Atlantic Bureau Chief

Now that summer is winding down, a lot of networking events are on the horizon. Why not include a couple of NJAWBO functions on your calendar? Any professional interested in expanding their network will find NJAWBO to be a great resource.

There are many who believe that the New Jersey Association of Women Business Owners is a "Women only" organization. Not true! Anyone can participate and take advantage of the events and training offered.

Networking Ideas
By BETTE DAOUST, Ph.D., Southwest Bureau Chief

Wow, the summer has just flown by and the networking has been good. When most people are on vacation and not thinking about business is the best time to get out there and network. It may be too late for this past summer but it is definitely something to think about when the next holiday season rolls around.

Let me explain a little further. I attended a trade show in Mountain View this past week. There were over 200 vendors and around 1000 attendees at the event. If this event had been held during the fall or spring, the attendance would have been twice that figure. This gave me a better opportunity to be noticed and to connect with people that were serious about networking just from the fact that they were attending an event during the summer.

The Prosperity Revolution
By MEIRA FINDEL, Financial Editor

Over a year ago I was blessed to connect with a wonderful angel living on planet earth – Karen Curry. Somehow, like 18,000 others, Karen got onto my email list and via email an amazing relationship was born...

Back in February Karen came to New Jersey to participate in a Financial seminar I coordinated and I immediately became another one of her many, many students. So far I’ve completed her Prosperity Boot Camp program and am currently enrolled in her Build A Thriving Practice year long program.

NetWorking From Here and There
By MARIA ELENA DURON, Multicultural Networking Editor

Minority-based networking groups abound from face-to-face networks, alumni based organizations, faith based, industry based and even on-line. Each minority population (i.e. Hispanics, Asians, etc.), house a host of cultures. For example, Hispanics can include people whose nationality or lineage hail from Puerto Rico, Spain, Mexico, Central American, Cuba and Brazil, to name a few. You’ll find those who hail from the Philippines, China, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Guam and several other countries that consider themselves Asian within the Asian culture.

The On-Line Networker’s Laptop
Circa Holiday and End of Year Tax Season 2007
By MIKE O'NEIL, Technical Editor

In the next few issues, leading up to the holidays, we will be discussing the on-line networkers best friend – the laptop. What it is and what you can do with it for better your networking success. It always gets a little more interesting as the holidays come around with gifts, tax deductible purchases and the flood of new technology that comes around at the end of the year.

Creativity in Networking
By HARVEY MATHASON, Contributing Writer

In Writing to Change the World, Mary Pipher discusses the founder of Outward Bound U.S.A, Josh Miner, who said "If you are lucky, just once in your life you will be associated with a great idea." Pipher says, "If I have one great idea, it is that connecting people might save the world." Just think of the grandiose idea that being a part of The National Networker is like being a part of saving the world. Yes, by connecting people that is exactly what you are doing. It’s not just about business and money. In fact, connecting people may be the best thing you can do to save the world.

Jetnetting
By HESHIE SEGAL, Contributing Writer

Relationships thrive on eye contact. If you can’t make eye contact, you are revealing a lot about your nature. Are you shy? Are you modest? Are you dishonest? And, what do you think about the other person and their ability to make eye contact? Do you pass judgment ? If you do, you are not alone; many of us do this subconsciously.

Power Thought of the Week
By PATRICIA PARHAM, Ph.D., Contributing Writer

Powerful "Asks" for Friends and Acquaintances

As you know, networking for referrals from people who don’t know your work first-hand is often an ask for “someone who may know someone”. Be candid about their level of knowledge about you and your work, thus protecting their integrity. Offer references or a small demonstration of what you can do. Most importantly with this, and all other “asks”, don’t be attached to outcomes, they are not a reflection on the source.

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This Week in TNNW...

Socially conscious social network

MTV's ThinkMTV, A Socially Conscious Social Network

MTV will reward members that use the site "to do good" with opportunities to meet celebrities, get access to exclusive MTV events, and get exposure on MTV.

By Elena Malykhina
InformationWeek
September 20, 2007 05:00 PM

Viacom (VIAB)'s MTV entered the social networking scene on Thursday with the introduction of Think.MTV.com, an online community that promotes youth activism.

ThinkMTV, which launched in beta, is financially backed by several large partners, such as the Case Foundation, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Goldhirsh Foundation, and MCJ Amelior Foundation.

Various pop culture icons, nonprofit organizations, and civic organizations are using or plan to use the social networking site to encourage young people to speak out about issues that affect them. They include organizations like the United Nations, Boys & Girls Clubs of America, and Strong American Schools, as well as celebrities like Bono, Shakira, and John Legend.

MTV said it will reward members that use the site "to do good" with opportunities to meet celebrities, get access to exclusive MTV events, and get exposure on MTV and other national media outlets. Additional benefits include grants and scholarships.

Members are encouraged to use different multimedia tools to engage and educate others about important issues, including cell phones, online forums, broadband video, and digital cameras. In fact, multimedia is a key component of the social networking site. It's comprised of videos, blogs, socially-conscious video games, podcasts, and news reports.

ThinkMTV also offers a "Think Tank" feature, where members can sort issues by interests, skills, or geography to advance the issues locally or globally.

MTV claims its social networking site is unique from other online communities, since content posted on the site will get exposure on MTV's other sites, mobile platform, and the MTV network.

ThinkMTV is part of Viacom's recently-launched social networking initiative called Flux Network. Flux is an open platform that lets bloggers add community-related tools to their sites.

It's still too early to tell if ThinkMTV will achieve the same popularity as other social networking sites, such as Facebook and MySpace. While ThinkMTV's purpose is to empower youth and help them speak out about issues related to politics, health, and education, social networking sites have been criticized for exposing youth to danger.

Earlier this year, Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said that MySpace contained more than 29,000 sex offender profiles. MySpace defended itself, saying it's committed to deleting sex offenders from the site. MTV must be prepared to deal with a similar challenge.

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Socially conscious social network