Putting the “Social” in Social Networking

If you’ve been reading my blog for very long, you know I’m a big fan of networking both online and in person:

• Small Business Marketing Tip #5: Marketing Your business with Creative Networking and Volunteering
• Small Business Marketing Tip #6: More ways to Market Your Business with Networking
• More Networking for Your Business

But while I’ve done it on a small scale locally in Orlando where I live, something magical happened this weekend at BlogWorld 08. I met so many amazing people, famous in the blogosphere and unknown (and in the middle). While I have some clear plans to work with some of the people I met, others are a question mark. And that’s ok. Because now that I’ve made the contact, if I or they ever have a project that would be good to collaborate on, it’s that much easier to connect.

The thing I have learned over the years, working with CEOs and Presidents and now meeting blog celebrities, is that everyone is just like you. I was a little nervous meeting these people (you may not know them if you’re not following the new media/Marketing and PR 2.0 niche, but they’re pretty well known):

• Brian Solis, blogger at PR 2.0 (here’s my interview wit him)
• Chris Brogan, social media guru
• Gary Vaynerchuck, crazy video blogger at Wine Library TV

But they were totally cool. So I got my confidence up and walked right up to these guys:

• Darren Rowse, one of the world’s best known bloggers @ Problogger (I had the balls to ask for an interview. He even gave me Australian Tylenol).
• Timothy Ferriss, author of 4-Hour Workweek

All weekend I was on cloud 9 from meeting these awesome guys and having real conversations with them. I learned so much, and I realized I can reach that level of expertise if I want to (not sure how I’d feel about people taking my picture all the time). And amazingly enough, most of them were willing to help me with projects. How great is that?

So my wrapup is that networking is, again, about that conversation. It’s about seeing how you can connect with people. I only met people I read online or who I have interest in. I didn’t meet them to say I met them. I met them because I’d love to be on their radars, and oh my gosh, yes, Darren, I’d love you to offer my clients’ products as an affiliate!

So in networking, think about what you bring to the table. As someone said at the conference, don’t come to a party and drink all the beer. Bring a six-pack. If you go into it with an open mind and heart, you’ll be surprised what you’ll get back. If you go into it wanting new business, you’ll be disappointed. Marketing karma, baby.

Here’s a great post by Teresa Morrow on Sparkplug CEO with tips for networking for your business.