Friendship Pockets Form Via Social Networks
Facebook, StumbleUpon, Twitter, Digg, Delicious, Mixx…need I go on? There are too many social networks to even begin to list them all these days, and keeping up with them can be a chore. But the advantages of networking and connecting with others via these sites far outweighs the hassles. You just have to find the few that you like best and concentrate on spending time there, rather than dividing your time up between too many places.
One of the things that happens once you start participating in a few social networks is that you start to form what I call Friendship Pockets. As you befriend people on each network, you see that you have lots of overlap. The same friends you have on one network may also show up as friends on another. The best way to illustrate this is with some sort of graphic, so I’ve quickly made one (below). I’ve only used 3 circles, but of course many more could be added.
A one-person icon represents people who are only friends with you in one network, two-person icons represent friends who exist in two networks, and three-person icons are in all three networks.
So who cares about these friendship pockets anyway? Well, I think they do matter, because the pockets represent your strongest networks. Those people who befriend you in several overlapping networks are generally the ones who you can depend upon the most. These are the ones you can rely on to help you share your sites with others, the ones who will come to your aid when needed, and the ones who will reciprocate when you help them out.
If you don’t already know these friends well, make an effort to get to know them better. You obviously all share some common traits, and together you can grow each others’ businesses faster than you can alone. The tighter your friendship pockets become, the more strength they collectively have. Take a little time to develop these pockets further and your site will only benefit.
(Note: This is no way means you should be spamming the friends in your networks. It’s all give and take. Don’t be just a taker.)
Thank you for visiting, consider subscribing to my free, full-text feed, and remember:
You'll never shine if you don't glow.
(from Smash Mouth. "AllStar" Astro Lounge
. Interscope Records, 1999.)
If you are the first to "discover" any of my posts in StumbleUpon, one of the following categories would probably be the most appropriate to place it into.
Business * Computer Graphics * Ecommerce * Internet * Marketing * Self Improvement
Posted on January 14th, 2008 by DazzlinDonna
Filed under: Forming Connections
23 Responses to “Friendship Pockets Form Via Social Networks”
Trackbacks
- Smart Tips to Social Network by MySimpleOnlineBusiness.com
- DazzlinDonna » Twellow - Twitter Directory + Categorization Tip
Subscribe by Email
I don’t have friends.
Then, make some! You can start by following me on Twitter – http://twitter.com/DazzlinDonna
Donna – With many still doubting the relevance of social networks, there are LOTS of responsible bookmarkers and ’social network personalities’. While the voting may be a little ‘off’, social networking is adding an important component to the Internet dialog landscape.
Great piece!
Charlie
@Donna: Great way to optimize networking scope and potential. Thanks. Passing it on..
@puttputt: This makes 2 friends so far..
My username is SpostareDuro in Twitter, Stumbleupon, MySpace, LiveSpace, Facebook and Sphinn…
(smile)
I agree, Charlie
i’ve sphun, and dug ya Donna. Not sure how i hadn’t found your site sooner-but I’ll be following you on twitter too! i’m trying to build a network via twitter would love to tweet w/ you.
-lisa lisa
http://www.twitter.com/lkribs.
lisa lisa, i’ve just followed you on twitter.
see how easy that is, puttputt?
I dugg it, Donna. And posted about your comments, too. Thanks for the insights!
My wife preaches this to me all the time. The more people you network with the more ideas you grow and the product you produce is of higher quality. One person can only do so much on there own, but if you bring two people together and really collaborate then it’s like you have three people. The more people you bring together with a higher purpose in mind the more creative the group can be. Some friends and I developed our own ‘user group’. We get together every Tuesday and share beers and ideas. There is plenty out there for everybody, so we keep our ego out of it and really try to focus on helping each other out. I actually found you (Donna) through that one of the members of that group (Dave Dougdale).
User groups are great. I never thought about using them for ideas though. Fabulous! Say hi to Dave!
I have yet to understand how being involved in social network translates to building an income online.
It seems your online friends are trying to sell you what they have to offer, but very few are really trying to buy what you have.
I know it being done, but I have yet to get the “big picture”.
I really enjoy your blog =]
I’m thinking about getting started on Twitter, I always hear so much about it.
bloggingirl, no time like the present. get started…it doesn’t take long.
Eric, the networking has less to do with selling things to your friends than with spreading the word and gaining links, etc.
Can you elaborate a bit more? With the social networks that you’re assocaited with, what word are you spreading?
Eric
@Eric, it’s about building relationships, just like in the real world. For example, Donna and I connect on several networks, and I’ve come to know what kind of person she is, what she’s like to interact with, what her professional strengths are, etc. So I always have an eye on her blog and what she’s up to. More than that, if another of my contacts is looking for Donna’s kind of expertise, you can bet I’m likely to pass along her name with a recommendation. She’s been kind enough to bail me out with a guest post when a crisis hit. We have been known to stumble and bookmark each other’s posts, when one writes something that the other finds interesting or valuable, etc., etc. Just like in the offline world. Neither of us is selling to the other, but both are benefiting from the relationship anyway. (Besides the fact that I enjoy what she writes and often learn from it!)
Clear as mud?
Jen gives a great explanation there, Eric. And let me go even further. Let’s say I like one of Jen’s posts and I pass it along to some of my other network friends. They like it and pass it along to some of their network friends and on and on. Along the way, some of those people link to it, giving Jen’s site a boost in the search engine rankings, which enables more people to find it when they search. The word spreads that Jen has a great site because one friend in her network let others know. Eventually, she’s got lots of visitors, some of whom may buy something. And if not, she’s now got traffic which translates to advertising which translates to income.
Jen/domestika and DazzlinDonna I agree completely. I’m new to blogging, but I specifically remember Leo LaPorte making a comment in support of blogging, podcasting, etc…He said, “After all, it’s about the community you find online. It’s ALL ABOUT THE COMMUNITY.” He’s right! In online forums and on other blogs I’ve met some great people that I consider friends. Whether or not it leads to more readers, it’s rewarding in the same way as meeting friends in person. I know without question that my new “Friendship Pockets” will respond, participate, comment or help out as needed. So Eric, what’s the word we’re spreading?
COMMUNITY.
Hi Donna,
Sure do appreciate your terrific ‘nudge’! I’ve been so engrossed in trying to ‘build’ my site with content and within the past few weeks mustering up the courage to comment, again.
The only way to have a Community is through communication. Somehow I lost site of that, until reading this post! Merci!!!!
Thank you for your generous confidence-building knowledge. I am very grateful to have discovered your site!
Heh, I’m happy to nudge you anytime you need it, Trish. We all lose sight of things at times, so nudges are often needed for all of us. Keep on working at it, and good luck!
Hi Donna,
I rolled like a snow ball from one website to another — starting with WorkItMom, continuing with LightMotionand Magic.com and I ended up here, where I found your article about overlapping networks — quite interesting!
I love the concept of “friendship pockets” — it is so true: (if you think about it) repetition triggers familiarity, familiarity triggers trust, and trust is the basis for great things.
Cheers,
Lorena.
Lorena, “repetition triggers familiarity, familiarity triggers trust, and trust is the basis for great things”, is a great way to describe it. Couldn’t have said it better myself.