A few years ago while my husband and I were visiting with a good friend in Denver, we looked at his pictures from a trip he took to Bosnia. Suddenly, at the same moment, we all realized the “Todd” he had traveled with was also a good friend of ours from 18 years earlier when my husband and I were living in Washington State. We had lost track of Todd, and through our mutual friend, our lives were once again instantly reconnected. It’s a small world!
This past month, my family and I traveled to Italy. Wouldn’t you know, just a few weeks before we left we found out that Todd now lives in Rome. And to top it all off, our mutual friend was also going to be in Rome, visiting Todd the same week we were planning to be there. Talk about Serendipity!
Instead of staying in a hotel and trying to navigate Rome by ourselves with our 8- and 13-year-old daughters, we accepted Todd’s offer to stay with him in his home. Trust me… touring Rome with a local who speaks the language, knows his way around, and can parallel park in an eight-foot parking spot down the street from the Vatican is priceless! But, the best part was reconnecting with two very dear friends.
Coincidentally, the book I started reading when I left for Italy was a new piece written by three of the key players from England who started http://www.Ecademy.com, which is a global online social and business networking community growing in popularity. This book, A Friend in Every City, One Global Family – A Networking Vision for the Twenty-First Century (2006) published by Ecademy, provides a compelling case for the importance of building a global network.
The Internet provides us the opportunity to connect with people all over the world; people who share the same interests, passions, and business expertise. Many of the online clubs work off of the “Six Degrees of Separation” theory that you’re fewer than six people away from the resource or person you need. As you think about Perfecting Your Connecting globally, here are a couple of action steps you can take to build a stronger global network:
Perfecting Connecting® Action Steps:
1. Manage Your Contact Database. As the number of people in your network grows, the importance of maintaining your contacts and organizing them (by country, expertise, city, etc.) is critical to your connecting success. I recommend you purchase a dedicated contact manager system like ACT! by Best Software, or Business Contact Manager by Microsoft, or even Goldmine by FrontRange Solutions. When you’re traveling to another city you can simply ask your database to show you all the network contacts you have in that city. Then, you can contact them before you get there.
2. Create a Compelling E-mail Signature. You would never mail a written letter or card without a signature and a return address on the envelope. Right? Then never send an e-mail without giving the reader your signature and contact information. I have several speaker friends (including me) who have booked business solely from their e-mail signature. Include your name, title, company name, e-mail address, web address, telephone and fax number. I also rent a P.O. box so I can include a mailing address too, which is a great solution if you have a home office.
3. Consider Joining an Online Networking and Virtual Community. There are literally hundreds of online community networks right now, and new ones are popping up every day. In one study conducted in 2005, researchers found that 84 percent of all U.S. Internet users – almost 100 million people – participate in one or more online groups on a regular basis. Be selective and do your homework to find the one that will work for you. Most are free or have a small annual membership fee.
Imagine the next time you travel to a foreign city, you too could be greeted by a new or old friend who tells you about the best restaurants and helps you find your way all because of an online connection.
Trust me… it sure makes the world a smaller and more friendly place!