My view on networking is as popular as an unknown belief. Too much to think about huh?!
In the last 5-7 years, so many forms of social networking have been nurtured to affect the public in different areas of their lives. A Facebook for general gossip and keeping tab on friends, A Google + for 'select or restricted' gossiping, a LinkedIn for being nice to professionals, a Twitter to jab out your second by second updates, a Flickr for those who talk through photographs, a Tumblr, a Posterous for an effortless blogging, and blogger for this kind of deep thought! Each of these is a way of telling people.." I am here".
People are here either to seek approval and acceptance or to market themselves with or without any takers for their say.Many may think or some do think I am weird. Although I am seen on these sites, I honestly am not a fan.Look at Linkedin...Holy recommendations! Whoever is going to be honest about your work and your attitude in public. Show me a negative recco and I will become active on Linkedin that moment. Simple correlation I have come to establish- The new way of knowing if people are looking for new openings or are in between jobs, you see these 'will you recommend me' things in your inbox. The guy may have prepared just one estranged report for me at work, and I am supposed to recommend him. For what? ya ya..That's another thing that I even accepted his request to connect online...'to-be-nice-professionally'. Bullcrap...500 connections, 235 connections or say even 10. I say, all fake list of adjectives being put to test!!
Every single soul is selfish. They connect for a reason they foresee a benefit. I may be networking incorrectly, but the world understands it better this way alone. A vendor meeting and a cup of coffee at Starbucks, business talks and few casual lines..that's all it takes. Next moment this vendor is on someone's Facebook peeping into personal life, on LinkedIn trying to literally hack into other connections ( to build his business of course)! Its no longer networking because I know this person and I want to be in touch, its more of 'how can I extract the maximum out of this relationship/connection' socially or professionally. To those who are mere participants to the networking activity, the aim is to enslave a person (profile)so as to get filled with timely news/updates in a way that encourages one to speak at length about that person. Don't you quote a silly status update by your friend while you are discussing something similar with a third person. You add a flavor to your talks and will never go out of bull crap stock. On a positive side, a YouTube video lecture posted on FB helps you pep your client meeting with a new idea! See, you ought to benefit in some way. In all, Zuckerberg's tainted relationship with his girl back then has made him rich now and us-his slaves! Even more, FB selectively puts in updates that you get to see, and think that is what you are meant to know. What a pity!
A few weeks back I saw a CNN news report on a teenage guy who got rid of his cellphone, his FB page and everything to do with online networking realizing just how insane we all have become. I would say he went a little too extreme delivering notes and letters to his girlfriend on bike. A basic phone call is all that is needed to keep in touch, genuinely. Every time I decide to quit these social media of staying in touch. But I am selfish after all. I need my daily share of gossip (which I later on classify as being a bad habit), I want the job market to know me and my qualifications and give me a million dollar offer someday, I got to tell people which places I visited and give them a vicarious visit. And since I am human, I will continue to do this and bicker about it too!
