On Tuesday, we started talking about the small world phenomenon. I, at least, started getting excited about this field of dreams that stretches out all around us - globally - and is navigated through weak or loose ties. I'm ready. What can we do to activate this field of dreams right now?
Part of the formula is having a personal web page of some sort. There needs to be a place in cyberspace where you can be discovered. Where you can reveal yourself, your interests, your accomplishments, your ideas, and yes, even your computers, cars, pets, children and mates if you so choose.Why is this so important? Because it is perfect for developing weak ties!
In my business, it looks something like this. A prospective client finds me in one of five ways: (1) in an online directory such as the one on the FileMaker site, (2) through Google or another search engine (3) my little Ad in the FileMaker Resource Directory that comes in the box with FileMaker software, (4) a news item about a new update or a review on the Net or (5) someone recommends me personally (more on word of mouth later). Except for avenue #5, these other sources leave my prospective client in the dark.
She doesn't know me from Adam. Except, she can go to my website, see what I look like, where I live, that I like football and am a Raiders and 49ers fan, how well-kept my site is and even get a feel for my philosophy and business practices. She can begin to grok me - enter my world a bit and kick the tires. That's a weak tie already, albeit a one-way tie. My prospective client now feels like she or he knows me well enough and knows that it is safe and inviting (or not) to call or email me to see whether or not we might want to do business together...
Sometime soon, I'll tell you a little about Ryze, a sort of gated online community for business networking. Because the community has some barriers to entry and privacy is scrupulously controlled, people feel more comfortable opening up on their personal web pages.