A couple days ago I posted some thoughts/questions that I was working through when it comes to networking and the effect the breadth of our conversations has on the depth.
I asked "Is the breadth of our conversations diluting the depth?" And we've had some very good responses, which I thank you all for taking the time to do.
Today I stumbled across a video in which Seth Godin was asked almost that same question.
Who is Seth Godin?
For those of you unfamiliar with Seth he describes himself as "a best selling author
Seth is widely considered an expert in all things marketing, so his opinion on networking and social networking in particular was one I was interested to hear.
How to do Social Networking Right
What is Seth's opinion on creating large social networks? Does he think social networking is important for business? Take a look at this one minute video and find out:
What do you think? Agree or disagree with Seth in the comments below.
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Photo Credit: marketingfacts
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I think in the long-term he is right. He has proven credentials. Maybe though, to drive initial traffic the broad networking is helpful.
Love it…nice suggestions..I’m on it..LearnLearnLearn…Thank you Matt!
In the long term and the short term he’s right. I just wrote about that today. I don’t go around friending people on FB… or Twitter, except in reciprocation. But people come to me because I do my best to provide value or connect them to other people who provide value – and value they are INTERESTED IN.
I’m absolutely dumb-founded at the amount of people who think that Facebook or Twitter or any other connective site is about quantity rather than quality. Quantity *can* help, but it has to be incoming, not outgoing.
Yeah he makes a great point. It’s not a popularity contest to see how many friends you can get on facebook or twitter etc. It matter how you actually interact and add value.
I think it very much depends what you want Twitter to do for your business.
People will follow you, if you post relevant Tweets, regardsless of the contents origin. The ideal is to post your own content, but also retweets and refering to other content is ok, as long as it’s relevant for your followers.
But i’m new to twitter – so please bear with me
It’s not worthless. Says who? Media is free. It is not controllable by Seth Godin. People can do what they like with it still, thank God. If they want to be “frivolous” — let them! And you never know, there’s such a concept of serendipity, opportunities coming up from friends of friends, that just might be the key to something wonderful. Scoble obviously finds value in a zillion superficial friends because they give him a ton of useful information and connections.
This ruthless, utilitarianism and social Darwinism he espouses is all part of Seth Godin’s totalitarianism.
http://secondthoughts.typepad.com/second_thoughts/2009/03/the-totalitarianism-of-seth-godin.html
I totally agree. Give value for value. No since in wasting your time on flash there is plenty of that out there. Witness Paris Hilton.
Sheila
@Stephen
I think I agree that the scale you are able to obtain using social media certainly has merits. It will drive traffic and open you up to an audience you just can’t reach going “door to door”
Matt
@Tinu
What would you say to somebody who tells you “It’s a numbers game”?
Matt
@Judith
We’ll just keep right on learning together, that’s what it’s all about!
Matt
@Gerald
I think you’re right, but can you add value and really connect on a large scale? Chris Brogan may say yes.
Matt
@Steen
New or not to Twitter, it sounds like you got the right idea. Keep sharing and interacting – that’s what it’s all about.
Matt
@Prokofy
Great example using Scoble. He does find an awful lot of content through his thousands of followers. I don’t know that he makes a connection with many of them, but he certainly using them for ideas and then pays them back with great content.
Matt
@Shelia
I think you hit the nail on the head – it’s all about the value, what you get and what you give. If you’re doing that it doesn’t matter at what scale.
Matt
Agreed – successful networking is about the “giving”, not the “getting” and that’s where, unfortunately, so many of us get it wrong – if you’re not comfortable with that, then you probably won’t get the real benefits from social networks/media
Alright! With that said, how can I help you? =)
@Nick
Well, you help me by adding to the conversation around here with your blog comments – you’ve been a contributor here for quite a while, and it is appreciated!
Matt
He is right in that Twitter and Facebook and LinkedIn are useless as a numbers game. But you can still use these mediums as a way to develop meaningful relationships with people and open up your audience.
He makes a strong argument, for re-evaluating one’s purpose for being on one or more social networks. The bottom line for any relationship/connection -private or public (and all in-between) – is: ‘I am in this relationship to give and to receive;’ winning a popularity contest is not a basis for strong friendship that has the checks and balances of ‘giving and receiving,’ which is a winning formula for changing our world for the better. By the way is one of the more attractive qualities of the Internet – it has improved lives on many levels.
Hmm, I know my above statement may sound like a “Miss America” speech – but, I am sincere!
@Loretta
I agree. For a relationship of any kind to really work it has to be a two way street. Each side of the relationship must see the value in being in the relationship for it to work.
Matt
@Christy
I think I see that with Twitter especially. You can follow a ton of people and have them follow you. You aren’t building 1000’s of close relationships, but you are expanding your reach allowing yourself the opportunity to make a few close relationships you otherwise wouldn’t have been able to.
Matt
Matt (smallbizzbee) – 100% agree.
The beauty of Twitter is you can reach and follow a lot of interesting people, without pretending to be close friends. It’s much more honest than Facebook, where the friend term is taken more seriously.