Damn, it’s getting cold under here, but things are looking up. I may move to a bridge with fewer leaks today, as the rain is affecting my ability to work…
I came home from PDX Mindshare last night in a bit of a quandary.
In my Living under a bridge post, I mentioned that the great thing about Facebook was that your connections are more likely your real connections; people you know. People you want to share your personal and professional life with.
Since starting this test, I’ve received several friend requests on Facebook. Shoot, now what do I do? I want to keep everyone in the loop, and hey…I’m a friendly guy, so I really don’t mind sharing some personal photos and stories with you – but it also goes against the very thing I found best about Facebook.
Then, after reviewing the profiles of some the friend requests, I came to a realization. Facebook is more of a personal connection site – but it’s also great for “meeting” new people. They don’t have to be your long-time friends, or buddies from high school or college. The real difference in Facebook is that you don’t just accept a request and never hear from, or of, the person again (like LinkedIn). They might be new to your ‘circle of trust’, but that’s okay; you get to see their daily updates, what they and their friends are doing, and what crazy, sometimes embarrassing situations they’ve gotten themselves into.
With the “what are you doing now” line, the Twitter tie-in, and things like writing on their wall – you have a much greater likelihood of truly “connecting” with someone, than with LinkedIn. If I were to choose, I would say Facebook is much closer to an online social network than LinkedIn.
This is completely different than what I thought a day ago, but it’s true. I spent about 2-hours last night at PDX Mindshare; a face-to-face networking event at an Irish Pub in Downtown Portland. I’ve got to say, playing around on facebook is much closer to having a beer with a colleague than LinkedIn will ever be.
So… those of you who sent friend requests. I will be accepting, and I look forward to learning more about each of you.
First day’s results:
Well, it’s only been a day but I’ve increased my Twitter readers by 25%, my Linked in connections by about 50% (not sure those are worth it), and I’ve learned a great deal in a very short time of what to do and not to do. But what about a job?
Its day two, and I don’t have a job yet (duh), but I’ve received about ten new leads as of this morning, I’ve already had a couple phone interviews, and about two-dozen people have reached out to me with recommendations, or offers of help in one way or another. I suspect it will take some time to land, but I feel the wheels spinning faster and faster, and I’m anxious to see what comes next.
Thank you for following. I’ll post more as results come in…
If you’re not following yet, please read the original post, and be sure to follow me at:
· Twitter (Scottorth) = https://twitter.com/scottorth
· LinkedIn = https://www.linkedin.com/in/scottorth
· FaceBook = Scott Orth
· Personal Site = www.ScottOrth.com
