How often have you been made to feel special? Really special ? Important, valued, respected, and appreciated? If you’re like me, then most likely it just doesn’t happen often enough. It’s funny how in our rush to collect contacts, to get noticed, to drive traffic, we often forget the most important thing: the human element. Who cares how many followers you have or friends you have if you get nothing from them? But if you aren’t getting anything from them, it is probably because you aren’t giving anything to them.
I went to a SND meeting for the first time last Friday, Stephen Komives met me at the door. When I met him at the door, he said, “Hello, Greg. It is great to see you here today. Let me get your badge for you.” The enthusiasm and sincerity were real. I don’t know if he took the time to research a little about each of the 1st time visitors that were at that meeting or not, but it certainly made me feel like he was genuinely interested in me, as a person.
Following a post or a blog, I sent a friend request to Bruce Ramsay because his comments really seemed interesting and useful. I received an e-mail back that stated “Greg, you're an amazing person. It is my honor to be friends.” Wow, talking about making someone’s day! Yes, I want to be fiends with someone who is that thoughtful.
Of all the people I follow on Twitter, three have extended the hand of friendship with a direct message, just to say hello. Guess who I follow most closely?
And finally, from my campus president 5 minutes ago, “First of All – YOU ROCK and your students ROCK! I love these. “ It is because of comments like these that our program is always willing to help out other departments on campus, the front office, and the Chancellor’s office. Thanks, President Rogers.
The point is, the reason social networking became such a popular phenomenon is that we all got tired of feeling like, and being treated like, a number. We wanted to express ourselves, be noticed, connect with new people, learn and experience new things. But without the connection, are we accomplishing any of that?
It doesn’t take long to say thank you. It doesn’t take long to let someone know you appreciate them. It doesn’t take long to turn a chance meeting in cyberspace into an ally, a loyal customer, or even a good friend. Take the time to say thank you, take the time to recognize each contact as a valued, human being. It’s that little step that will do more for your career or business than all the friend collecting and retweeting in the world.
Here are a couple of other blogs that you might also find useful.
So, when was the last time an online friend made you feel special? How do you let your online contacts know how much they really mean to you?
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