Fire Up Your Business or Personal Growth with Social Networks

by Jan Geronimo on December 11, 2008

Facebook, Inc.Image via WikipediaReinventing oneself is a must in order to survive the present economic hardship we’ve been facing. We see it applied around us everyday. In our neck of the woods, we see doctors trying their hand at nursing to clinch that plum job posting in London or in the USA. Teachers have become nannies abroad, or household help, while those who elect to stay go on to hone up on their salesmanship. Moms get into part time catering jobs, others become real estate agents or bloggers even.

The good news is we have affordable technology through the social networks in the internet to help us reinvent ourselves and to make our presence felt. Some people call this a paradigm shift, but I guess that’s quite a mouthful for us. So we stick to the process of reinventing ourselves.

It doesn’t pay to be obscure and languishing in anonymity in this age. If I am celebrity, grunting under the weight of wealth I have stashed somewhere, I can afford to pine for simpler times when no paparazzi hound me. Obviously, I am not. Most of us are not.

The internet, however, is a great democratizing tool. We may have the talent and skills, but we will likely remain small fry in a big pond if we remain tied to the old models of conducting our business.

World Presence

If you’re in a small business, and you have a blog or a website, you can make your presence felt on the world stage through the internet. You gain contacts, make a sale or collaborate with like-minded professionals on projects or business deals. You will be at the forefront of emerging trends, methodologies and insights relevant to your field of interest.

Whoever you maybe – a mom, dad, student, or whatever day job you keep – you can further enhance your skills and professional growth even if with less money at your disposal.

Join Social Networks. Facebook is a good addition to your social network. Here you can join a group related to your business or interests. You can seek the counsel of your peers, or you can look for a mentor who can walk you through practically anything be it forming new business ideas or methodologies. With a social network said to be the size of Russia in terms of membership think of the possibilities for your career growth or business.

Or may be MySpace suits you more. Or even Friendster.com. If you’re a little leery of breathless teens striking poses on these sites, grin and bear it. Screen out the noise and fluff. Put its strengths to good use. Stop treating social networks as mere vanity mirror to bolster your ego so you can be on your way into making a big splash on the world stage.

Topnotch blog mentor Yaro Starak has an excellent video tutorial on putting Facebook to good use in your blog. Well, he’s talking about finding your niche via groups and forums in Facebook. Switch his topic with your own and he may very well be talking about your business as well.

And here’s Chris Brogan’s helpful post on The Vital Importance of Your Network. Check it out.

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