I like people. I like talking with people. I like dealing with people. One thing I really like is networking with people. In fact, like is probably too bland a word for how I feel about networking. I LOVE it! I love meeting people working in fields I had never even knew existed. I love learning about new marketing methods and ideas I had never even considered. At a Vistage International conference last week in Chicago, I even met someone that identifies himself as a 'Business Development and IT strategist for Sociopaths'.
The challenge with having a love of networking, is what to do when you are unable to network. A few days ago, during a sparring match (yes, that's right, a sparring match, not falling down the stairs or walking into a door), I tore a ligament in my left knee. Now, aside from the fact that it was an intensely painful (and dumb) thing to do, it has also deeply inconvenienced me and limited my networking abilities (at least temporarily).
Thank goodness then for Virtual Networking. I had written about the phenomena of virtual business networking a few weeks ago, but it was only as a result of my incapacitation that I began to actively pursue this avenue. To say it has been rewarding to someone like me is an understatement. Suddenly, I am networking and building valuable relationships with people all over the world. For anyone that hasn't tried it yet, sign up to Linked In, the virtual networking platform that in my humble opinion is the best of the lot out there.
Web 2.0 continues to expand its reach into everything we as individuals and businesspeople do, and it is pretty clear that we are seeing the evolution of the world of search marketing. As paid search becomes more commoditised, watch out for how value added niche services begin to vie for marketshare, and those in the search engine marketing universe begin scrambling to better define their space.