Social networking isn’t an activity for the lone wolf. Yes, your experience with social networking may take place in a small room with just you and your computer, but its reach is far greater than that. Social networking doesn’t happen in a vacuum. It happens in the world of Web 2.0, a world all about collaboration and interaction.
To succeed in social networking, you have to open yourself up to this world. Using the six degrees of separation concept, you know that you’re approximately six degrees away from anyone else on this planet. That’s a lot of “friends of friends.” Obviously, you don’t want to connect with billions of people, but there are those you do want to reach. Social networking is the technology that enables you to reach anyone you want (well, almost anyone). You just need to open your eyes and believe in the power of human connections.
Josh, a college student in California, wants to contact a famous marine biologist at a research institute in Australia whose name is Decker. Josh is interested in a career in marine biology, admires Decker’s research, and would like to ask him for an internship. Of course, Josh could easily look up Decker’s email address on the website of the research institute that he is affiliated with, but Josh decides that connecting with Decker through a common contact might yield better results than sending him an unsolicited request. Can his social network on Facebook really lead him to the man he wants to reach?
Josh’s Facebook network doesn’t include anyone in Australia, nor does it include his former marine biology professor who once worked with Decker. But Josh’s contacts do include someone who has been to Australia, his high school classmate Natasha.
He contacts Natasha via Facebook, asking for help in his quest. Natasha doesn’t know Decker or anyone else in Australia involved in marine biology, but she is still in touch with the daughter of the host family she stayed with in Perth. Natasha puts Josh in touch with Amy. At least he’s on the right continent now.
Josh hopes that Amy may be able to lead him closer to Decker, but she is thousands of miles away from Decker’s research center. To top it off, Amy is a fashion design student and has no contacts even remotely related to the world of marine biology. Suddenly, she remembers a friend in Paris whose father is a marine biologist. She puts Josh in touch with Sophie and is pleased she was of some assistance.
Josh reviews Sophie’s Facebook profile and wonders how a French fashion design student is going to lead him to his target, Decker. He’s not even on the right continent anymore. He contacts Sophie, hopeful that she will be the intermediary who leads him back on the right track again. Sophie responds quickly, but Josh is dismayed to learn that her father Pierre is a molecular biologist, not marine biologist. Sophie goes through all her existing contacts trying to find someone who would be a better match for Josh, but the Paris fashion diva’s contacts are all in the wrong countries and wrong industries. She decides that her father may still be the best bet and connects the two.
Pierre isn’t a Facebook member, but he does have a profile on LinkedIn. Josh joins LinkedIn and connects with Pierre. Despite the fact that Amy was incorrect about Pierre’s scientific specialty, he still may be of some assistance to Josh. Pierre used to be a professor at a local university, and one of his former students, Lucas, is now a marine biologist on the island of Dominica. Pierre introduces Josh to Lucas via LinkedIn.
Josh is beginning to have fears that his six degrees experiment isn’t going to work out as he moves on to yet another country. Would the French marine biologist have any good contacts? More than a week passes by without a response from Lucas, and Josh’s concern increases. Lucas, however, was just away on an expedition without email access. Josh learns that Lucas met Decker at a summer program in Australia several years ago and is happy to provide an introduction. Lucas is also full of useful information and offers to stay in touch with Josh.
Josh has finally reached his ultimate target—Decker. Decker accepts Josh’s LinkedIn introduction through Lucas, and the two begin to communicate. Decker is impressed with Josh’s academic background and creativity and offers him an internship the following summer. Mission accomplished.
Your attempts to reach a particular individual may not be as complicated as those of Josh trying to reach Decker, but the moral of the story is that reaching the people you want may not take on a linear path; there may be detours along that path. But detours aren’t always a negative. Josh not only got his internship at Decker’s research institute, he also made another important professional connection with Lucas, and he met two interesting women in France and Australia along the way.
Be open to the adventure that social networking takes you on.
Although it’s important to focus on your social networking goals, also be aware of the opportunities you find along the way. The person you meet on the path to your ultimate goal could be the best contact you’ll ever make.