The Online World - Staying High Touch

Venturing into the online world, new media, and social networking (now for business too). I am determined to keep my online time to a minimum because I totally love being with people. As I have ventured further into the connections that can be made online…the number one benefit that I see are the connections that would have never been made otherwise. As we live in one geographic area (especially with Atlanta traffic & the cost of gas) we tend to limit growing our networks to those we naturally come in contact with…very limiting. For example, our business has no territorial limits, but I don’t really know a lot of people in Maine. With out reaching out and dialing for dollars from a list or yellow pages….my daily life would not put me in touch with a lot of people from Maine. I could just forget about it, or look into how new technologies/oppotunities that might enhance that possibility.
(a great book about this topic...)
A lot of that is just networking with people you already know….how? Well somehow you have to connect with them so that you can share your interests and needs. You know the great quote that says, “no body cares how much you know, until they know how much you care”. Facebook is one way today that you can connect and stay in touch with a lot of folks that have common interests, relationships, events, etc. But that is just the beginning.

The biggest thing that I have been leery of is the people that totally hide behind their computers and never come up for air. I would feel stagnant and caged. There are many who have mastered (and not become mastered by) the online/new media world to eastablish new relationships, new bridges, and friends that become face to face life & business relationships. Its really cool, and at the least intriguing to me at this point.

This is my game plan as I begin my journey:

* learn as much as I can from those that are already doing it (for example Mari Smith @ http://marismith.com) and are not 100% behind the screen kinda people
* prioritize how much time I want to invest in this based on the reward and the sacrifices made to pursue it (its a lot of fun to me so I’ll have to be careful)
* stay focused on business goals of reaching new markets not yet reached (it would be very easy to become busier with activity and no further towards my goal if not careful)
* focus on what I am passionate about (Family, Ministry, Business, Relationships, Health/Fitness, etc)

Enough for now