We Southerners always get a bad rap. Whether on TV, in the movies, or some dip shit that says out loud and to your face, “Hey, don’t all you southerners intermarry? Is your uncle really your daddy?”
So to clear the air, not all southerners marry their cousins.
I was thinking one day and pondering how I came to be connected with so many folks around Cyberville and noticed a wonderful thing. Here’s how it works:
I connect to Joe Blow. Three days later Joe Blow’s connection John Q. Public sends me a connection request because he sees that I’m a friend of his friend Joe, and he respects Joe’s opinions (for the most part) or sees some comment I made on Joe’s FB or Twitter stream that he decides he too, would love to connect with me. The next thing you know, not only have I made friends with Joe and John Q. and have been engaging with them in conversations and content sharing – I have reached out to their friends Tom, Dick and Harry and they have obliged me in connecting…and so on, and so on.
I now have this awesome community with whom I engage almost on a daily basis. Shootin’ the shit, sharing their blogs and links, and just plain ole getting to know them.
A waste of time, you say? I beg to differ.
You see, I have made many friends online, many acquaintances that know about my business, what I’m passionate about, what rocks my boat. They also know how much I care about them because I share their shit too! In fact, I make a habit of it.
When the time comes that they themselves or someone they know needs my services, or they want me to blog for them about my area of expertise, they are already connected with me and have organically grown this relationship – all they need to do is ask. I’m not having to cold call them (which is so a thing of the past) but they are just about one click away from me.
If you’re not building a solid online community of engage-rs (not just those selling you their wares) you’re totally missing out. And I believe I have the coolest online friends ever – whether that turns a profit or not.
Stop evaluating this according to ROI and start building relationships.
And for Pete’s sake, stop asking me if I connect to every Tom, Dick or Harry – I just told you I do.
If you want to read more on inbreeding in America – check out “When Cousins Get Married.”