As I was enjoying visiting with our clients and friends during the SpinWeb Christmas Open House, I had a revelation about social networking. As I was talking to a friend of a friend and learning more about his business, we got to the part about exchanging business cards. At that point I was about to walk over to my business card holder and grab one but then I said, “oh, you’re on Smaller Indiana so I’ll find you there.” It occurred to me that there was no need to exchange business cards because we already belonged to the same social network and therefore we could easily find each other.

Now, it’s true that saving a few business cards is not a big deal. However, it was interesting to see how belonging to the right social networks can act as a valuable supplement to “real-world” networking.

Next time you’re at a networking event, try finding the people you meet on Facebook, Smaller Indiana, or ConnectBNI to learn more. You might be surprised at how useful social networks can be when meeting new people.