Building a Strong Professional Network

Is Online Replacing Offline Networking?

Technological innovations are sparking exciting changes in the world of business networking.

Networking used to be confined to face-to-face "social" gatherings. For years, professionals have met for awkward and over-priced brunches to work the room outfitted in tacky name tags. Today, professionals are ditching the dining disasters for more efficient forms of communication: Blackberries, Skype and social and professional networking sites.

Social Networking Changing Business

As the Internet changes the realm of business networking, a critical question arises: Should you continue to shake hands and make small talk, or are your online "friends" the only form of professional networking you need?

Quick communication and global connections are key benefits to online networks. As Thomas L. Friedman's best-selling book The World is Flat concludes, business is becoming more and more international and outsourcing is a standard. To keep up with these trends, every business professional must use the Internet's reach to build global networks.

However, the bonds formed from computer to computer can only go so far. Although you can quickly accumulate a large network online, and can instantly touch base with your expansive online network, it is also important to have a strong network outside of cyberspace.

Meet Your Network in Person

Here's a wakeup call to you computer-bound professionals: you have to crawl out of your computer cave and meet people, in person, if you want to increase your business leverage. Networking in person is more time-consuming, but each individual relationship is more personal. More personal equates to more valuable.

When you cross the line from e-friend to real friend, you become more than just an e-mail and a profile picture. If your personal contacts are like dogs, then your Internet connections are like fish. You may like your fish, but if something goes wrong, there are, as the saying goes, "plenty more fish in the sea." In fact, according to Nielsen Social Media Statistics, 66.8 percent of Internet users subscribe to networking sites. Statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau clock the total number of Internet users at 6.7 billion. This means, there are about 4.5 billion other fish in the sea.

No offense to you fish fans out there, but people grow more attached to a dog or a cat. The bond we make with our furry best friends is more personal, and so we are willing to do more to help them (like spending thousands of dollars on veterinary care). An Internet connection can be replenished with careful search terms and the click of a mouse, but a more personal relationship is more difficult to come by.

Online and Offline Networking

You cannot replace face-to-face with cyberspace. However, you have to use both media to build a strong network. Try starting your relationships online, and then asking your e-friends to meet in person. Think of it like Internet dating for professionals. Smaller Indiana member and business owner Kyle Lacy tells others to "try and take your online relationships to an offline environment…Online networking can only go so far but if you combine the two… Magic." I don't know about magic, but combining online and offline networks gives you the best of both worlds. You can make contacts with a simple click of a mouse, and you have a strong group of individuals with your best interest in mind.

Networking isn't being redefined by the Internet. Rather, networking is expanding its reach through a new medium. Although online networking is improving and growing, it will never replace traditional face-to-face networking. The benefits of online networking are undeniable. But sometimes nothing can replace the original. After all, dogs are man's best friend.