You know who you are. But in case you don’t… “Why would I want to be on Twitter, I don’t want to hear about what you had for lunch!”
You haven’t Even Googled Me?
It used to be after I met someone, I put their contact info in my phone and their biz card in a drawer. Now I Google their name and company, find every site they’re associated with and bookmark them all with Google Bookmarks. That way I have all their info on hand and can easily retrieve it at anytime from any computer.
Before I call them, I pull up their social sites and check out their most recent posts. If I find that they’ve checked into a restaurant or mentioned they’re going into a meeting, I know to call them later. Why? Not only is it flattering for the person that you’ve taken the time to find out that they don’t want to be bothered but it saves you time and shows your prepared. In a year, it will be insulting not to. Another thing that has significantly helped me is taking the time to find out what mood the person is before you call. If I’m about to call to try and set up a meeting and find out through Twitter that they’ve had a miserable day, I might just wait until tomorrow. On the other hand if they’ve just commented on about how beautiful it is outside, I may send them a link to the festival going on in Centennial Park that afternoon and start the phone conversation off with it.
Lunch Isn’t The Point
I know you could care less about what kind of burrito Joe Blow had for lunch. But lunch updates may not be the problem. It could be how your choosing to use the information. If your only going to gripe when you read useless status updates from your network then you might as well shut down your social network accounts and rip out your ethernet cord because the posts aren’t going away. You have two options. First you can ignore them and go on with your day. Or second, if it’s someone you’d like to get to know better, you can suggest to them your favorite dessert at the restaurant or if they like that restaurant you could suggest the hole-in-the-wall burrito joint down the street with the best fish tacos in town. Use that information to engage and add value to that person while allowing them to get to know you.
Multi-Dimensional Relationships
The sheer beauty of social networks is that it’s not just your industry that connects you with someone anymore. It can be absolutely any dimension. It was weird and kind of uncomfortable at first opening myself up and mixing businesses and food and leisure and longboarding and my obsessive love of hamburgers. But through sharing those things with others I’ve met some of the most incredible people and formed relationships that turned into great friends, mentors and business partners. As you begin to share and respond to others online you realize the same thing you realized offline:
You do business with people you like.
You like people you have things in common with.
Businesses are built through multi-dimensional interactions with people that form solid relationships.
Solid relationships are the foundation of a great business.
So what did you have for lunch today? ( I had the new spicy chicken sandwich from Chik-fil-A. It was excellent!)
Photo Credit: Adam Kuban
Great post, Joel. I think you are spot-on with this idea. Remember when we were in school and you were just dying to know what your friends had brought in their lunch-bags? Remember 7 years ago when ad and marketing agencies would have killed for information about their customers’ wants and daily activities? Don’t tell me no one cares what someone had for lunch. We all care. That’s the point.
You said it best when you you said this isn’t a fad that’s going away. It’s not really even a fad. This is a new cultural fiber that’s being woven into our lives, like the telephone of TV of the past.
Well said, Joel.
Exactly. The only things that has changed is where the relationships are starting. Instead of at offline networking groups, they’re starting online at social networking sites.
Well said Joel! I knew I was supposed to care about what you had for lunch…but I didn’t know why. Very, Very insightful and oh so smart. I think you’re right. In a year, everyone will be doing this…for people they care about. I have an idea for you…maybe we can talk tomorrow.
great post Joel. So true to the point. We build relationships when we do social correctly. You da man!
Thanks Sherman!
Joel – great write up! You hit the nail on the head.