Online networking is as valuable as face-to-face networking. I will share with you the many ways of networking using the Web and discussion lists to let your prospective customers know of your products or services, the new technologies that are now available, and the many printed resources that exist.
Resources for Online Networking
Social Networks, Business Networks, and Bookmarking Sites
Online Social Networks for business and pleasure, as well as social bookmarking sites, applications, and tools.
- LinkedIn - Networking Networks
- LinkedIn has a variety of ways of helping you build your network. Their basic service is still free but they now have an upgraded service as well. LinkedIn is one of the best of the social networkings groups out there.
- People use Facebook to keep up with friends, upload an unlimited number of photos, share links and videos, and learn more about the people they meet. It can be a bit frustrating with all the new applications and widgets.
- Ryze Business Networking
- Ryze has been around for quite some time. You can do a lot of business networking here if you pick the right networks to join. I suggest the B2B network, and the SBRN (Small Business Referral Network).
- Big Daddy Friends
- Brought to you by the same folks that put together the Search Big Daddy search engine www.searchbigdaddy.com/cohwill that gives you PPC credits for searching, Big Daddy Friends is one of the best networks that I have seen for business networking. Many of the people here are over 30 and have been in business for quite some time. The network allows messages, has a forum, games, and lets you join and form groups of like-minded folks. It is everything that Ryze wanted to be but never made it. Membership is free.
- Jigsaw - The Business Contact Marketplace
- Jigsaw allows you to buy and sell business contacts. You can either pay $25 a month or give them 25 contacts a month. The information they want is what can be found on business cards (except for fax numbers). I have found this site very useful.
- Multiply - Where to Share
- Multiply allows you to share photos, blogs and other information with other users. It is free and quite straightforward.
- Marzar: The Social Media Platfrom for Business
- Marzar is a place for businesses to promote products and services and for individuals to gain recognition for their expertise and vision. A trusted space to form relationships, source suppliers and take part in community events and meet ups.
- MyBlogLog
- MyBlogLog allows you to create communities of people that share blogs. You can also get widgets for your blogs, showcase them, and add friends. It is a really well done site, and, if you do have a blog, a great place to join.
- Bebo
- Bebo is a social media network where people share videos, music, and information. It is very popular in the UK. Bebo stands for "blog Early, blog often."
- Business Entrepreneur Network
- This is an excellent place to network for small business people. You can search for funding, startups, articles (from the magazine Entrepreneur), for experts, employees, and services. Membership is free and you can also start a blog here.
- Last.fm - The Social Music Revolution
- The world's largest social music platform. Show off your taste, see what your friends are listening to, hear new music, get personal radio, recommendations, and downloads, all for free.
- Complore - Come Xplore
- Complore is a Social Research Collaboration Tool to connect the researchers in diverse fields around the world. It is different from other social bookmarking sites in that it has an academic focus and covers the sciences and social sciences.
- Backflip
- Backflip is the grandaddy of all the bookmarking sites. BF allows you to bookmark and share your sites and put together a daily routine as well.
- My Linking Power Forum
- My Linking Power Forum is a business-centric network, hosted on the Ning platform. Here you can meet others interested in business, and join groups with like-minded people. There are groups for startups, jobs, recruiters, bloggers, executives, small business and many others. I highly recommend this network.
- BlogMarks - Enlarge your bookmarks
- BlogMarks allows you to bookmark sites but also provides a thumbshot image of the blog or website.
- Wikipedia's list of Social Networking sites
- Wikipedia has a marvelous list of social networking sites to explore. Some are open, others are invite-only.
- del.icio.us
- One of the largest social bookmarking sites. You can tags your bookmarks here and classify them in any number of ways. You can also decide whether or not you want to share them.
- Flixster
- A social network to share movie reviews, celebrity gossip, video clips and other movie related trivia.
- Cite U Like
- A bookmarking site for academic papers and citations.
- Connotea
- A free online reference management (i.e. bookmarks) for researchers, clinicians, and scientists.
- Diigo
- This is what Diigo says about itself: "Diigo (dee'go) is about "Social Annotation". By combining social bookmarking, clippings, in situ annotation, tagging, full-text search,easy sharing and interactions, Diigo offers a powerful personal tool and a rich social platform for knowledge users, and in the process, turns the entire web into a writable, participatory and interactive media." Huh? ;-)
- GiveaLink
- This is a very interesting site. They are asking people to donate bookmarks in order to determine the semantic relationship and develop new applications.
Branding, Social Media, and Networking Books
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