Who is going to win the battle, the explosive online networks with millions of members or the strong local network group that meets up once a month? The answer is easy, there is no battle, there is no one or the other if you are a true networker. Nothing will replace the connection and trust that can be generated in meeting people face to face, and no local network will ever be able to give you the access to the same number of people that an online network can. The trick is to use the online and the “offline” network to compliment each other for maximum effect.

Example; As a DABGO member you have access to many more people than you have time to meet with in person. But it gives you the option of searching and finding just the right people for you to connect with, and then establish offline meet ups or events where you invite a number of people with the same interest. With the power to choose your offline network, it is no longer up to coincidences at a local network meeting if you happen to meet the right connections. With an online network it’s all up to you to make that happen.

This is not to say that you should quit your local network and just start your own network of only like-minded people, because it’s at the local network meeting (chamber of commerce, local Danish club etc.) that you meet diversity and personalities which are just as important to grow a strong diverse network.

Have you ever googled your own name?
Search engines are becoming a more common tool to find information about people. Someone could be searching for you right now. It could be a potential employer, your current employer, an old friend, an old classmate, a date or a journalist. What will they find? Here are some tips and tricks to take control of what they will find.

Your name
If you have a very common name like “Jens Hansen” (sorry to all the people named Jens Hansen for calling your name common) you might not be of risk in respect to people finding information about you that they shouldn’t. There are 167,000 hits when searching on Google. But only 1,460 hits on “Jens Ole Hansen”. So the more uncommon your name is, the more likely it is that people will find information about you.

How to Google your name
Go to http://www.google.com/ and enter your full name. Remember to put your name in quotation marks “name”.
All search engines work differently, so make sure also to check your name on http://www.yahoo.com/. http://www.ask.com/ and http://www.msn.com/.

Domain name
Register your name .com or .dk to make sure that information posted is controlled by you. And to all you people with uncommon and unique names, who always have to spell your name for others, congratulations you have a big chance that your name is not already taken. Check your name for availability at http://www.speednames.com/ (Danish company).

Post your information online
If you have a website you can enter your information there, but you might find that it does not rank as high on the search list as you would want it to. Good sites for making your information make it to the top of the search lists are http://www.zoominfo.com/ and http://www.linkedin.com/.

Keep your personal life personal
If you have a website where you post pictures of your family and friends, then make it a rule not to mention last names. I once googled one of my former colleagues to find out what he was doing now and found a bunch of pictures of him and his friends totally drunk at a party. These pictures where posted not by him but by one of his friends. This was not done with bad intentions by his friend, but these are the same pictures that a potential employer or customer would find. So, no last names. This also goes for naming files/pictures uploaded to the Internet.

Know when your name is posted on the Internet
With Google Alerts or Yahoo Alerts you can get e-mail alerts every time your name is found by these search engines on the Internet. The service is free and only requires you to generate a profile.

Please post comments or suggestions below

Never heard of this C-Title, don’t worry it is still taking its first baby steps towards acceptance. But the concept is interesting and worth considering, maybe not as a full-time functions, but as a focus area for the executive officers, to better understand how networking can be used at all levels of the company and to the company’s benefit. Read more about the CNO at thenationalnetworker.com

“Haven’t made a dime on LinkedIn? A lot of people on LinkedIn haven’t made a dime from it. Chances are you haven’t made anyone else money either. In expanding your network, the main point is to help you phone or meet someone who may be able to help you in whatever it is you are trying to do. The flip side is you need to help others meet their needs too. Until you think of helping others get what they want, you won’t likely get what you want.”

Read the rest of this interesting article posted on lifehack.org