Monday 11 October 2010

e-Networking: Not a Replacement.

I've found that in the last few weeks we've been talking about e-Networking and using the internet as some kind of online networking tool, people have become increasingly concerned with it replacement for traditional networking/marketing- but this is not the case!

e-Networking is simply another way to do things that you can do any other way.
For instance, the use of Twitter and Facebook is not an exclusive marketing strategy and will replace the traditional marketing methods- it's an augmented method- to be done as well as all the other things you're already doing.
While blogging and even customisable platforms like WordPress are no replacement whatsoever for an actual corporate website with all of your information on it.
All in all these things are nothing more than an extra method, a new idea or something different you could try to generate some more traffic and some more business. They're not designed to replace anything- in fact, if anything there's simply not enough available that you could.

They're just something new.
Well, new for the older generation who probably grew up more akin to a pen and paper than a keyboard and monitor. But they're also something new in terms of business and corporate activity.

Also, while we're at it- let's dispel a few other myths about e-Networking in general.
  • There's no way someone could access your information from it. Not a one. Other than what you upload on profiles all of your other information (IP addresses, e-mail addresses and so on) are all safe and held by the parent site- not the networker.
  • Privacy is a big issue. In the days where people spend more time online than they do in their everyday lives there's a big issue of privacy- do we have it? How do we get it? Are we secure? The answer to these questions and many more is: there are easy-to-use privacy settings on each of these sites. They take minutes to set up.
  • Spam is not something you'll get a lot of. We all hate spam (though some like the tinned variety) and it's a big issue, as much as privacy, on the internet. Mostly because spam becomes scams and then all sorts of disagreeable things happen. These days many sites are committed to lowering how much spam is recieved and overall it's a lot safer experience than before.
  • Opt in, opt out- whatever you prefer. Most sites are free and do not force you to be on them for a "trial period" or something of the sort, you can join them and leave them as easy as you can open a web browser. Deleting your account is always an option and you have no obligations to stay if you'd rather not.
And that concludes this post! We hope it has been informative and helped to show a few of the better sides of e-Networking that otherwise might have been confused. Understandably so, as this is a new and exciting form of technology and there's all sort of myths and horror stories around the internet- but it really is all good. For the most part!

Got any e-Networking stories you'd like to share? Feel free to comment and let us know what you have to say.

All information presented here is © copyright Carkean Solutions Ltd., 2010 - Not to be used without our permission - The views expressed here are the views of an individual not the corporation

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