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Jeff Pulver, a co-founder of Vonage and an Internet entrepreneur, had a passion for connecting that started at an early age. When he was nine his uncle showed him a ham radio. “It was a moment that changed my life. I was like— wow—my uncle found the cure for loneliness.” By age twelve, Jeff had taught himself Morse code and was on his way to building what he described as “my first social network.”
Thanks to Jack Dorsey, Mark Zuckerberg and others, you don’t have to learn Morse code or buy a ham radio to connect with the world.
Technology has accelerated networking, reduced the degree of separation between contacts, amplified our global playing field, and redefined the job prospecting process. Today, you can send the President a tweet or message your childhood friends while sipping coffee. I’m a fan of offline and online connecting, but if you don’t want to leave your kitchen or have insomnia, below are seven ways to network without leaving your house.
I met Tim McDonald, a Community Manager for the Huffington Post, when he asked me to his virtual CoffeeTime Chat that he hosts on Spreecast. Tim has meet hundreds of interesting people. One tip he shared, “ask each person to introduce you to two people. Other platforms that are useful for virtual connecting and conversations include Google Hangouts, Skype or Apple FaceTime.
Networking in virtual groups is another productive way to connect with people, with like-minded interests, from the comfort of your living room or kitchen.
James Altucher, recommends interviewing other bloggers on Google Hangout and downloanding the video to YouTube for discussion. For added reach, both parties can link to the video and Tweet, post or blog about the discussion.
I’ve seen several people, from bloggers to venture capitalists, tweet out, “I’m available for live Q&A now, send me your tweets and questions.” Jessica Northey, a country music social media enthusiast, has amassed over 550,000 followers in part due to a weekly live chat that she hosts on Monday nights.
Brit Morin, a modern day Martha Stewart, has built a fan base of over 2.5 million subscribers, since April 2011. I asked Brit the secret to her networking success and she said, "We publish about 4-5 stories a day on Brit Co., which translates to about 20-25 social media posts." If you want to build a network of friends, fans and influencers, it's important to not only share content, but also to communicate and connect.
If you don’t want to leave the house and you're sick of virtual chats, invite guests to come to you. Host events that are participatory. For example, Ido Leffler, the Co-Founder of Yes To Carrots recently hosted a birthday party for his wife Ronit that included a drumming circle. Zem Joaquin, hosts book-signings at her home. Focus your event around a theme or activity and networking and conversation should flow with ease.
Call - don’t text - two or three friends you haven’t chatted with recently and say, “hello.” Or, sit down and write three hand-written letters to let people know you value them.
If these ideas seem overwhelming or foreign, don’t worry. Most likely, you are adapting to the digital and social evolution and you can thrive with a values-based, technology enhanced approach to networking. The key to this approach is that connecting and networking should not feel like work; instead, it should be life enhancing and collaborative. To read about more ways to unlock the power of connections, pick up my book, Your Network Is Your Net Worth to hear the stories, tips and tricks from everyday heroes and top executives.
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