Social Media

In the new world of social media and connecting, there seems to be a goal to connect to as many people as you possibly can. I see thousands of connections on people's Facebook and LinkedIn pages.

Before social media, if you gave out a name as a referral, it more often than not meant that you knew this person, could vouch for their work and their integrity. Before social media, you might be careful before you gave out that name because you understood how the professional performed was a reflection on you. Referrals really meant something. The receiver of the referral had a level of confidence in it.

With social media, it's not always the case, a contact could just be a name on a page.

I personally like the "I can vouch for this person" approach. If there is a professional on my LinkedIn page it means that they are a professional I know and believe in. I like the effortless way I can connect and keep in touch with these people. If my connections do ever grow to 1,000 people, they will be people that I have actually met in person and have some sort of connection with.

Personally knowing people and understanding their value and being able to help promote them is the power of networking.