Network Your Way to Job Security

getrichslowly.org guest author Brandt Smith shares his perspective on the importance of cultivating your work connections so that you can respond to unexpected changes in your career. His "Seven keys to a strong network" include:

1. Build it before you need it
2. You must make a deposit before you have the right to withdraw
3. Give more than you receive
4. Be open and genuine
5. Follow up and stay in touch
6. The devil is in the details
7. Your network doesn't end with your contact

Read the full article...

(thanks to The Consumerist for this link)

Ten Tactics That Could Save Your Online Reputation

via mashable.com: "Andy Beal, co-author of Radically Transparent: Monitoring and Managing Reputations Online and CEO of online reputation monitoring tool Trackur...outlines ten tactics that could prevent your company suffering its own online reputation meltdown..."

Summary:

1. Know your achilles heel
2. Assume everything will make it’s way to the web
3. Create a great online impression; dress to impress!
4. Choose your blog voice carefully
5. Hangout at the right social network
6. Send blogger’s love letters, not PR pitches
7. Build your Google reputation now, not later
8. Monitor your online reputation as often as your email
9. Ostriches are not great role-models
10. Three words to remember

While definitely a promo for his book, this is an insightful article nonetheless.

Should Employers Block Social Networking Sites?

"A new study out today shows that 43.9% of companies block MySpace, while 25.6% block Facebook. In the early days of social networking, it’s safe to say that most people who were sneaking onto social networking sites during the workday were doing so to goof off. But with companies now using social networks for legitimate purposes (see: Facebook Pages), should employers be restricting usage? The Daily Poll asks..."

Social Networking in Plain English

The work of Common Craft, a NC Video Production Company, has been making the rounds on the web - and for good reason. Their simple demos are very well done - and the sparse, hands-on (put intended) art direction is extremely refreshing! Here's their explanation of social networking. Our only nit, is that they are missing a link at the end of the presentation ;-)

Mashable! highlights new Coworkers.com feature

Mashable is the world's largest blog focused exclusively on social networks.

The site is a great place to follow social networking business news. They were kind enough to share the news about our new badges feature.

Seth Godin: "The honor system"

Notable Marketing Guru Seth Godin has a hand in the online publishing and community website Squidoo.com. Recently squidoo suffered from a large-scale spamming 'attack' that violated the rules of the site, but nevertheless was able to be carried out before being dealt with. Squidoo has responded well and kept people up to date. What may be even more interesting is Seth's personal perspective on the situation:

Excerpt: "...So, online, you're between a rock and a hard place. The first opportunity is to treat your friends better than ever, because word of mouth online is incredibly powerful. The Net brings significant leverage--you can spread ideas farther and faster.

The temptation is to embrace only the advantages of the web and insist on eternal vigilance against the possiblity of getting ripped off. To act as if everyone online is a criminal. To assume that the moment you are generous or trusting, squadrons of bad actors will exploit your generosity. I don't think that's the answer. If you treat people like criminals, the good ones will leave, because people have a choice.

There's a different path. Awareness of the potential problem helps you keep your eyes open. You can watch the trends, be aware, but still embrace the honor system. Realize that the vast majority of your customers will always want to do the right thing. Look both ways before crossing the street... but still cross..."
Read the full article.

Building a Brand Through Social Networks

Just as there are many facets to an individual, there are many sites that fall into the social networking category. Rather than putting all of their eggs in one basket, many savvy folks are creating profiles on multiple sites, taking advantage of the unique strengths of each. We believe this is a sound approach.

"With all that’s going on with social networking these days, we’re seeing a lot of figures leverage the popularity of social networks to gain visibility for themselves... One key takeaway from these guidelines is to remember that smaller, even niche social networks can be used to build up your presence in larger communities. A lot of smaller sites offer tools that will let you incorporate additional content that’s important for branding purposes, as well as ways to manage your overall web presence, offering compatible tie-ins with larger networks."

Of course, we feel Coworkers.com makes a great addition to your social networking strategy.