Do you tweet, and if so, how often? Do you have an account on LinkedIn, and if so, how many connections do you have? Are you on Facebook, and do you have a business account as well as an account with family and friends? Are you blogging, and how often? Oh, and we can’t forget Google Plus. And my final question is: Do you even care about all of this?
After attending a meeting where social networking was the topic of discussion, I began wondering, how did all of this take off so quickly. It seemed to spread like wildfire, and now, no matter what your point of view is regarding this, it’s here to stay.
I’ve heard people talk about how they tweet every 15 minutes, and others talk about how vital it is to maintain their presence on LinkedIn in order to build those professional relationships. Then on the other side of the coin, I’ve talked to people who have said, it’s a waste of my time, and I want nothing to do with any of it.
For me, as someone who happens to have no vision, it is a challenging experience. Because I am not able to use a mouse and only use key strokes, I have found many sites geared toward social networking to be non-user friendly.
So if you or I decide not to engage in social networking, is that going to prevent us from getting work? I don’t think so, but I do believe that the chances of getting work and establishing some great new relationships are much greater if we give this our best shot.
Here are some tips that I have found to be helpful:
1: Don’t put pressure on yourself. If you are new at this, start out slow, and begin with a site that makes you feel most comfortable. Your choices are still your own.
2: Set your own time limit on a daily basis whether it’s 15 minutes, one hour or whatever it is. You can’t really get involved in this unless you begin to enjoy it.
3: Read some books for beginners if you are new at this. There are many out there.
And if you honestly don’t care one way or the other, that’s okay, too.
Do you tweet, and if so, how often? Do you have an account on LinkedIn, and if so, how many connections do you have? Are you on Facebook, and do you have a business account as well as an account with family and friends? Are you blogging, and how often? Oh, and we can’t forget Google Plus. And my final question is: Do you even care about all of this?
After attending a meeting where social networking was the topic of discussion, I began wondering, how did all of this take off so quickly. It seemed to spread like wildfire, and now, no matter what your point of view is regarding this, it’s here to stay.
I’ve heard people talk about how they tweet every 15 minutes, and others talk about how vital it is to maintain their presence on LinkedIn in order to build those professional relationships. Then on the other side of the coin, I’ve talked to people who have said, it’s a waste of my time, and I want nothing to do with any of it.
For me, as someone who happens to have no vision, it is a challenging experience. Because I am not able to use a mouse and only use key strokes, I have found many sites geared toward social networking to be non-user friendly.
So if you or I decide not to engage in social networking, is that going to prevent us from getting work? I don’t think so, but I do believe that the chances of getting work and establishing some great new relationships are much greater if we give this our best shot.
Here are some tips that I have found to be helpful:
1: Don’t put pressure on yourself. If you are new at this, start out slow, and begin with a site that makes you feel most comfortable. Your choices are still your own.
2: Set your own time limit on a daily basis whether it’s 15 minutes, one hour or whatever it is. You can’t really get involved in this unless you begin to enjoy it.
3: Read some books for beginners if you are new at this. There are many out there.
And if you honestly don’t care one way or the other, that’s okay, too.