One thing I am surprised with some so-called social networkers – They don’t do it in their own community. I don’t know if they are ashamed of what they are doing, or think that no one else is doing it. Some might think that what they do would not apply to the local community. How wrong they can be. So I ask you: Do you network your community?
As a podcaster, I have a very scattered audience. At first, I thought that eventually it would all start coming together. But the more I pushed out to the world, the more my voice seemed to get lost in the cloud.
That is when I turned to my local community. I started to promote my shows to those who would listen. Those numbers started to change.
The reality is: If someone can put a face to a name, then they feel a little more connected. Talk with someone for a while and you might not only have made a new friend, but also an avid listener or reader. Even if you don’t think they would listen to your show or read your blog, you may be in for a surprise.
Last month, MadisonSMC (Social Media Club) had their kickoff meeting. 140-150 attended the first one. The second meeting was a little more modest. Still, I met a variety of people. Some of them tech-savvy. Others – Well… not so much.
I did meet this one girl who worked as a Social media for her company. We got to talking and found that we both do totally different things in the same field. Yet somehow, I learned from her and hopefull,y she from me.
What was the coolest was when I talked to her at the next meeting, she mentioned that she had listened to my podcasts and learned a little about tech. I had to smile there. Not only because I picked up a new listener, but it was someone I didn’t expect. Someone I just had idle chatter with and turned into a new listener. And of course, I go over to her writings so we can talk about that, too.
A strong community can mean a strong nation. This is very true in Social Networking. You never know what is going on only a few doors down from you. Have you ever wondered if your neighbors were also in Social media?
I used to live in an apartment complex on the far west side. The last two days I lived there, I found out only 4 doors down from me lived another guitar player who practiced all the time. If I would have went to the apartment picnics or volleyball games, I might have met this person earlier and we could have gotten together to jam a little. Instead, I finished moving and never saw them again.
It is important to spread your wings. Have a group of people across the world listening and reading. But let that local community work for you. Sometimes, you would be surprised. Someone that comes out of the woodwork and listens to what you have to say – reads what you write. And you wouldn’t have met them if it wasn’t for local networking…
Jeffery, I couldn’t agree with you more. I personally know someone who networked all over the internet, but never, and I mean never in his own home town. It seems that we become so interested or caught up in living the ‘American Dream’ that we have forgotten about our own little piece of real estate we have in our local community. I have begun a campaign myself to involve businesses and networking at home. Have you ever heard of the 100 mile diet? I think there should be a new catch phrase called the 100 mile networking project. Is it that people believe the old saying about a ‘prophet never being welcomed in his home town?’ I don’t think it applied to bloggers or business people (just if your a prophet) Great article, keep up the good work, Rick Haaland