In the past month I have had 8 different folks from my past reach out and connect with me. Old friends, coworkers and high school graduates have connected in one way or another. Most found me on Linkedin, a couple found me on Plaxo and 3 others found me on Facebook. This connectivity shows us the real power of Internet, and has made me realize that there are still a lot of people learning about how to take advantage of the social resources on the Internet.
Some of the folks are into technology like myself, but others are not and appear to be cautiously finding their way. If you are new to the Internet or new to Social Networking, here are a couple of tips to help get you started:
- Start with Linkedin. Linkedin is a great Business Social Network. Connecting with friends and coworkers is easy and connections on Linkedin allow you a link back to folks long after you have moved on. Linkedin is like a digital Rolodex.
- Next, consider Facebook. I have connected with a lot of High School and College friends on Facebook. Facebook is not just for the college kids. It has a great interface, allows you to pull data in from multiple sources and helps to provide a deeper view into what your friends are doing. Facebook also gives you the ability to restrict who can access content on your Facebook page and that is great.
- Another consideration is Plaxo. It is a cross between Linkedin and Facebook, but does not have the overall membership and traffic that Linkedin or Facebook has. What I really like about Plaxo is the Contacts section which allow you to have contacts that are not Plaxo members. This allows me to sync all of my family, friends, and coworkers in one contact location that I can sync to different places without tying my contacts to Plaxo.
- One last consideration is Twitter, which is a nice communication tool which allows you to stay connected and discover folks with the similar interests. For me I like to follow folks that are into technology, but I also like to follow folks from the Boston area.
Feel free to visit these sites and look around. Once you join, be sure to fill in the bio section and include a picture of yourself. One thing to remember is that these tools are not restricted to the tech folks and the 20 year olds, but these tools are available to everyone, young and old.
