Online vs. Offline networking

We contact with people in real world as well as in online world, both of the places we talk to them and join there network.

Which networking do you think is easier to maker and is more usefull in increasing sale for your product -mtajim

Networking online is getting easier and easier. I don't see one being more useful than the other. -Jolly Roger

Online networking is easier but how do u find genuine people n internet , there are more frauds in net than anywhere else -mtajim

Personal introductions works just as good online as they do offline. The online networking sites that I've visited have features that allow for recommendations and getting introduced. -Jolly Roger

The problem I've got with linkedIn referrals is that I keep getting people I'm vaguely connected to (but don't actually know) asking for recommendations in return for recommendations.

That totally devalues the referral thing. -Sam Deeks

How long have you been networking online, how are you networking online, what do you wish to accomplish networking online, and how much business has your networking online produced are questions I'd ask if you haven't yet.

MitchM -MitchM

I realized it for the first time. may be there should be some condition like the person who you want to recommend, should be there in your first degree connection. what do u think? -preet

Good idea - anything that makes the recommendation real and human... Personally, the only way a referral is credible to me is in the STORY someone tells.

I pay no attention to 'Great guy, must network with Preet' kind of referrals or 9/10 scores. Meaningless (unless you're on eBay and trying to find out whether someone actually delivers or doesn't).

The natural way to make recommendations meaningful is to express them in story form - by which I mean a piece of writing or audio / video that says who I am, what my problem was, how XXXX handled it and the benefits I got from that service. This is why I make audio testimonials for businesses.

If I were LinkedIn (or any online network), I'd design my system to get as close to real-world, word-of-mouth recommendation as possible. And in the real world, a stranger recommending another stranger carries no weight at all. -Sam Deeks

Sam that's great idea.

May be on linkedin if we have the audio facility, it would be great. Yes, the recommendation part in Linkedin need to be improved, the recommendation should be genuine. Otherwise the professional tag given to Linkedin might not serve its purpose. -preet

How is a site like Linkedin useful in increasing sales? -Mikey

You can stay in touch with members of your network through messaging, see how you're connected and request introductions to people you want to connect with. In other words Linkedin is a tool you can use to maintain contact and grow your network. -Jolly Roger

I like getting on as many places as possible. I have found that I run up on people that I have lost touch with and reconnect which may connect me to other friends they have. You can only go so far with internet connections. Face to Face still carries the day in the end. -waynelong

This can be done with or without Linkedin. Why should someone use this service instead of the alternatives? -Mikey

LinkedIn is just another connection to your sphere. I use several of the social networks and link in with a growing number of users. I like LinkedIn the best of the business networks and Facebook the best in the personal networks.

You may be surprised who you connect or re-connect with. :) -waynelong

I agree. On WeCanDo.BIZ you can only collect endorsements from customers. We put this rule in to stop people engratiating themselves with suppliers or partners by giving them glowing references. I totally agree that people you barely know wanting to trade endorsements completely devalues such a system.

IH -wecandobiz

We are doing a survey on this very topic and hope to have it ready next week. I'd really value the input of everyone here so I'll post a link when it's ready.

We'll be releasing the results next month.

IH -wecandobiz