Article Tools:
The Joys and Pains of Social Networks
Posted by Reid Trautz | ABA TECHSHOW 2009 Planning Board | American Immigration Lawyers Association
January 30, 2009
They seem to have exploded around us: those new profile-housing, connection building, relationship highlighting, social and business on-line networks, such as LinkedIn, Legally-Minded, Plaxo, Facebook, and others. They are now hard to ignore. Many of us receive multiple invitations almost daily to join these networks. The evolution is often the same: first we ignore the invitations and the world of social networking. But after we receive more invitations, then our curiosity is piqued. So we create an account with one network (often LinkedIn), fill in the basic profile, accept a few invitations, then ignore it. But after accepting a few more invitations we decide maybe there is something to this new social networking thing, so we add more to our profile and attempt to add to our out-bound connections. Next thing we know, we are spending several hours a week tweaking or expanding our on-line social presence. The time consumed becomes greater and greater, but to what end? Where is this all headed? What return will I get on my investment of time and energy? What will happen if I don't adapt now?
As businesspeople, we need to learn to manage our on-line networks so they work for us and not waste our time. We have to learn to understand the potential and limits of this new technology that may significantly change the way we interact and communicate with colleagues, clients, and potential clients. There are tools to help, such as Ping.fm and TwitterFeed, which make it easier to "write once/update many", but it takes time to learn the benefits and pitfalls of social networking.
Be sure to join us at TECHSHOW 2009 to learn more about social networking and other new technologies to enhance your business presence and increase the flow of new clients into your firm.