Some time ago, I came across the profile of someone in my Facebook network.  In the little blue square on the left, where you can write whatever you want, was written, “This profile was created for networking.”  Other than this, the only other information on her profile was their gender, what they’re looking for, current city and email address.  Do you see what’s wrong with this picture?

The thing about networking using social media is that you can’t go into it hiding everything about yourself and expect people to respond.  Don’t get me wrong.  I don’t think that you should share everything.  However, how do you expect anybody to reach out, when they can’t even know you?

For me, learning about someone is essential to my networking.  Many of the people in my network are there for a reason.  I don’t need to be “Mr. Popular” so I don’t need to get maxed out.  As a matter of fact, I’ll occasionally weed through my list. So when I learn about a person prior to making actual face-to-face contact, there has already been some rapport set up.  By this point, I have either commented on a person’s status, exchanged messages or chatted.  Often, when we finally make contact, I usually salute them with, “So finally we get to meet!”

What I would suggest is that, if you do take the plunge and use social media, remember to balance privacy with openness. If you disclose too much, you run the risk of having what you say bite you in the ass.  If you protect too much, then, odds are that nobody will “network” with you outside of the people that you may already know.  So before you open an account or start a profile, ask yourself, “What do I want others to know about me?”

Author: José A. Rodríguez