ThinkFree Blog

ThinkFree Blog: " Back in September I began a series experimenting with social networks to view their effectiveness in helping organizations expand their reach, and be included in conversations about their industry wherever those conversations occur.

Helge: I know these people through Twitter, Jaiku and Pownce. Cathryn is also a Facebook friend.

Now it is time to look at the results. The other day I introduced the panel (Aaron Brazell, Chris Brogan, Doug Haslam, Cathryn Hrudicka and Brian Solis) and the questions on the table.

Helge: I like to write about this team while they are deep into social networking at the other side of the ocean. We've emerging teams over here as well.

Today the fourth question: How much of getting social networking to work is the contacts you bring with you? How aggressive should one be in reaching out to new contacts? Should I, for instance, try to befriend Chris Anderson (see the original round table from Aaron Brazell for the reference to Chris Anderson) even after I have composed a note meant to appeal to what he is interested in?

Cathryn Hrudicka

It probably always helps to bring more offline contacts with you to your key social networks, but I don’t think it’s absolutely necessary. It is very important to be aware of who each new contact you befriend is, and to know whether they are in the category of a potential client, a potential client referral, an influencer or thought leader, a media contact and what type, a professional colleague, a potential marketing partner, and the like. You would not approach any two people in the same way offline, and that applies even more online.

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