Connecting for fun and or profit

The social media buzz reached a fevered pitch today with Amazon’s acquisition of social media driven Zappos combined with the LA Time’s Terry Chay spinning up the subject in this post titled, “Friendster founder on social networking: I invented this stuff”. While even Jonathan Abrams felt the LA Times failed to make the distinction between social networking and friend requests which his company Friendster did spark, the real question is with the exception of having ones socially networking driven business bought out is there real value in social media/networking?

It will come as little surprise that those who frequent D’Amores on Tuesday nights that connecting face to face is both fun and in ways profitable. However the question is often raised how can one benefit from what many consider a moderate to extreme time sink.

Despite the negativity that sometimes surrounds social media and the lethargy that many people feel about one to one networking, every day there are more examples sprouting up of small business and individuals who are capitalizing on connecting.

Every great sales person will tell you a list of things that are critical in capturing the sale these things will include things like listen to your customer, surround yourself with people who support you, discovering your clients need, help others succeed, asking for the sale and get referrals. While no one would doubt that great sales people who follow these suggestion clearly enjoy what they do and profit from their efforts it is surprising that despite almost all of these themes being common to social media networking that many great sales people do not see the value in social media and would rather not network unless it is a direct lead.

What is great about the explosion of social networking tools is that it has made these key sales elements accessible in an enjoyable if not slightly addictive manner. Yep you do not need to be a disciple of Dale Carnegie to realize that by building creditability, generating interest in your ideas, providing solutions people are looking for and by uncovering unique but desired solutions you can convert your efforts into something that can be monetized.

Now if at this point you are thinking that either I had a little to much social media cool-aid with my dinner or alternatively am making a desperate attempt to justify my intervention worthy social networking habit, I would point out this NY Time article which highlight how not only the big and mighty are using social media tools but that many more small companies and individuals are finding ways to maximize their efforts as well.

More and more people and businesses are finding new ways to use tools like Twitter and Facebook to connect with others for fun and yes profit. No longer must one hirer a top sales person or marketing firm to help dirve their business. Mom and Pops everywhere are discovering power in getting connected.