Mark Dowds

SFtweetup Thursday April 2nd

Social Network Frenzy

I was invited to have some conversations with a group who meet at the Playground every other month or so. The topic today was the relevance of social networks for business. This group is facilitated by Kevin Toderel and is a good cross section of business, sales, and technology folks. It was an animated morning where we all shared honest experiences about how and why we involve ourselves in social networks.

I attempted to keep things normal and grounded instead of just dreaming about possibilities. Kevin just posted some of his thoughts and insights which are interesting and relevant to most business people. I say that in reference to the occasional time so many of us pseudo-geeks get together and rant without the reminder that we are dealing with issues most folks will consider in a few years if still relevant.

Coworking Anywhere

There is an excellent map of many coworking facilities across N.America posted on the coworking community blog today.

This was created and pulled together by James Bentley who we will be forever indebted to. This is an amazing tool for all of us who are committed to this new way of living and working. This is a big thank you to James from the gang here at Indoor Playground

Belonging or Networking?

Brydon just fired me over Robert Scoble's latest post on facebook and social networking among those of us who no longer fit within the college age bracket. Scobleizer's post is helpful and points out some of the myths of business networking and why a lot of us use facebook.

Here are a few of the myths he lists:

Myth One: that business networking needs to be cold and dispassionate.
Myth Two: that business networking never includes personal stuff like religion, sports, politics, or your favorite TV show or book.
Myth Three: that business requires a “networking” affordance.
Myth Four: that business requires getting rid of the college kids and their frat parties.

All of these are totally false. But lots of people believe them to be true, which is why we’ll see more articles like the one in the New York Times on Friday.

There is no doubt that some adults use facebook for business networking but I have to admit those who do get under my skin a little. I understand that there are people out there who think that the bigger the rolodex you create directly results in the more business you will gain and influence you will have. These are not  the type of people I enjoy spending most of my time with. I value people and respect my friendships and react unfavorably when people see friends as commodities.

There are a lot of drivers behind using social tools. Some folks just like being social and staying in touch with old friends, some like to meet new and interesting people, and there is a the helpful communication aspect of it all. Whether it is for belonging or for fun I think we need to get more detailed on online community etiquette. In the same way that noone appreciates the blatant networker in the bar it is the same online. Maybe we need to set up courses for people to just be normal and learn how to do small talk and see the social web as something beyond business contacts and self-promotion.

The people who seem to understand that social computing is not a fad but a new way of interaction are those that are building lasting and valued relationships that can stand the test of time. If this is a whole new world online we need to start behaving like we are going to live in it for a while (end of rant).