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33 Million People in the Room

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33 Million People in the Room

How to Create, Influence, and Run a Successful Business with Social Networking

FT Press,

15 min read
10 take-aways
Audio & text

What's inside?

What are Bebo, Orkut, Hi5 and CozyCot? Don’t know? Then it’s time to join a social network and boost your business.

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Editorial Rating

7

Qualities

  • Applicable

Recommendation

If your idea of forming a social network is still working the crowd at a cocktail party, drink up and join the 21st century. As any digitally literate teenager can confirm, online social networks are today’s worldwide meet-and-mingle zones. Will joining a social network help you professionally or personally? Could it hurt you in any way? Which networks should you join? How should you use them? Social network guru Juliette Powell answers these questions and some that are more sophisticated in her savvy new book. She discusses LinkedIn, which she cites as the best social network for business people. She closely examines Facebook and MySpace, the most popular personal social networks. She explains the pluses and minuses of joining social networks, and provides useful tips on their protocols and customs. If you aren’t yet at home in the online world of social networks, getAbstract recommends Powell’s book as an excellent basic travel guide.

Summary

What Is a Social Network?

Today, Internet social networks – Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, LinkedIn, Hi5, Orkut, BeBo, Flixster, LibraryThing and more – are all the rage, but unless you are a member, you may not know what purpose they serve. They are Web platforms where individuals around the globe come together on the Internet. A social network is like an electronic “rolodex and card catalog wrapped into one” that enables you to have a continuing – albeit often public – conversation with anyone anywhere via text, photos, videos, sound and links.

How can an online network benefit you? Think of how many people you know: old schoolmates, colleagues, neighbors, mentors, friends, teammates, you name it. Now imagine that you could somehow magically touch base with all of them – or any one of them – any time you want. You could update them about your activities. You could ask them for references as you search for a better job. You could network with them about various opportunities, or even ask them to support your new start-up company or favorite charity. Social networks let you stay in touch with old friends and make new ones. They “help you connect and stay connected.”

About the Author

Social media expert Juliette Powell founded The Gathering Think Tank, an invitation-only forum. Powell’s clients include corporations, the U.N. and the U.S. Department of Justice.

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