There I was sitting there, minding my own business, participating in Lynn Terry's weekly webinar. I knew I would learn something good - always do. When all of a sudden she pulls out the big guns and starts rapid firing at us about the extreme importance of 'social networking'. 

One comment that was made really stuck with me. I'm paraphrasing here (memory is not what it was before kids, lol) 

"Connect with people, people are curious, people click links."

Why did this stick with me? Because people is what it is all about. When you are marketing you are not marketing to some 'market', you are marketing to people. Real live people. People who have lives. People who have wants and needs. And hopefully you are filling those wants and needs to make those lives better.

It is the same thing with networking. You must make connections with people. You can be on all the Web 2.0 real estate you want to, but until you start connecting, it will do you no good.

So since 'social networking' is the new buzz word, let's see if we can figure out what it means.

Do you know what the work 'networking' means? Yes I actually looked it up in the dictionary, lol. According to it, networking means:

"The exchange of information or services among individuals, groups, or institutions"

Did you notice that word in there? Exchange, that means not just what you can get, but also what you can give. 

Ok, so what does 'social' mean (don't worry, I still have the dictionary out). According to Webster's it means

"Marked by pleasant companionship with one's friends" 

Woohoo, I think we are finally getting there, lol. Did you note that word 'friends'? 

Now let's put that together, 'social networking' would mean:

"The exchange of information or services marked by pleasant companionship with one's friends"

I like that definition!

We know what it is now, what do we do with it? Well I have a short list that I am exploring right now. I was told on more than one occasion to pick one and learn it, then move on to another. Do not go into 'information overload' and 'analysis paralysis'.

My short list:

Twitter - Great social networking tool. If you missed my earlier post you can check out Twitter - Taking A Look. Also make sure if you haven't already, go on over and see Lynn Terry's post Twitter - Complete Waste of Time, or Valuable Marketing Tool. You can find me here on Twitter.

Facebook - I have actually had a profile up here for a while, just haven't figured out what to do with it, lol. Since I am already Twittering, this is where I am going to start. Don't be shy now, if you know of any Facebook resources, let me know . You can find me at Stacie's Profile.

Before we come to a close and start 'exchanging information with our friends', I want to leave you with a resource that Lynn shared in the webinar: Social Marketing Daily. Stay tuned, I plan to do a full review of this resource.

So, how do you define 'social networking'?

Talk soon,