pinkwik

Social Networking

Laura Lynn — Wed, 26 May 2010 02:04:48 +0000

So I went to my first social networking event in a long time today, and I have to say I was a bit surprised to see that there was not one person there that I recognized from any of the events I had gone to in the past. Oh how things change! I still had a wonderful time meeting new people.. it’s what it’s all about!
I was surprised, however, at how poorly people knew what their own ‘introduction’ speech is/was. I swear that one guy I met had either smoked pot before he arrived or that he had a bit too much to drink. Where first impressions are huge, I can say without a doubt that this guy will not get any of my business in the future!
Are we so far removed from face to face networking that we have forgotten how to interact personally? Have we forgotten how to really talk to other people?
With the internet, Facebook, Twitter, Linked in and Myspace and other social networking sites, is there room for both kinds of social networking?
I think internet social networking is great, because I can do that any time of day. I can do some form of it at 2am, when I wake up and can’t sleep. And I can network with people all over the world whenever I want to and only have a few minutes.
But I also don’t think you can’t push aside the face to face networking either. I think to keep that personal touch is important. You never know who you’re going to meet. What door or opportunity that will open for you. And it may not happen right away. An opportunity might happen 6 months to a year from when you meet that one person. But I also think, that the face to face is where you can meet a possible business contact, expand your business, create leads, get a client, make a friend….or, find someone to come fix the broken seal in your window.. you just never know!
Lets try not to lose all personal touches in the business world. We don’t want to become a society that cannot interact with one another unless it’s through an electric magic box in our house.

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I’m just one more person headed back to school…

Laura Lynn — Tue, 25 May 2010 22:38:03 +0000

Over the last 3 or so years, I’ve watched the real estate development company I work for go from about 50+ employees, to 7.. maybe 8 people, if the most recent laid off guy comes back to do some work for us.
Watching to company and the real estate market change so drastically has been amazing and yet very tough to see from my inside inner circle seat.
So, it came as no surprise in April when I was asked to cut my hours back to 20 hours per week. And really, even with only 20 hours… 4 hours a day, it is still a struggle to find enough work to keep my busy, and I know that eventually there will be less and less for me to do, and I will be let go. After being with the company for almost 8 years, feeling that the end is near is tough and a little scary.
So, thinking ahead to the future, I have decided to go back to school in the fall- majoring in International Business.
Thats right.. 4+ years of school- lots of school, lots of classes, tests, studying.. long days and nights of studying. 4 years of learning new things, retooling, figuring out what I want to be when I grow up.
I hope to do something abroad… Germany maybe… maybe Africa… or Abu Dhabi perhaps?
With a double major.. which is what I will be going for, I know I’m in for a long, tough road, but in the end it will all be worth it.
I’m very excited about the new road I will be traveling, and the sky is the limit of where that road can, and will, take me!

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