My introduction to the social networking world occurred a few years ago when a friend sent me the following cryptic message: “Phoebe, I’d like to add you to my professional network on LinkedIn,” followed by her name. I was confused. I was an editor at the time; my friend is an IT professional. We wouldn't really be in the same network, would we? But I was curious, nevertheless.

When I clicked on the link and saw that I would have to provide personal information, I declined. I wasn't comfortable with this LinkedIn site having information on me. They would probably start spamming me, I thought. And that would have been the end of it, except that I kept getting e-mails reminding me that I hadn’t signed up yet. After checking with my friend to find out what this LinkedIn thing was about, I finally relented. I created a profile, adding just enough information to enable me to exist on the LinkedIn server without taking up space. 

I existed in a sort-of virtual social networking stasis for at least the next year. My little blue network circle had only 3 dots in it with a line from each one running to the center of the circle like three little spokes—I guess the people I hung out with weren’t so hip to the social networking thing, either.

Then one day, out of the blue, I received a LinkedIn invitation from my first-ever puppy love boyfriend. I think we were 12 when we “went out.” I hadn’t seen this guy in years! (We hooked up very briefly as adults, but my love life is not germane to this essay, so let’s move on, shall we?) Of course, I had to check out his profile and see what he was up to. I was shocked to see that he had something like 50 people in his network! Wow, he must be really cutting edge, I thought.

 
Building My Network
Not wanting to appear like a social networking leper, I started searching and inviting, searching and inviting. Before long, my little blue circle had a bunch of dots and lines in it—maybe 25. Now don’t get me wrong; it wasn’t about the guy. I have a bit of a competitive streak, is all. Just ask the guys I used to shoot pool with.

Fast forward to 2007. I was starting up a real estate investment company. I joined an investing club. I was beginning to network professionally in ways I didn’t need to during my publishing career. And I remembered my LinkedIn account. My little blue circle began getting bigger.

Now that I’m into internet marketing, social networking is part of my daily life. I joined Facebook last spring so I could see my niece’s high school graduation pictures. Today, I belong to Facebook groups like the Women of Internet Marketing and the Official Marketing Masters Group. I am connected to like-minded people from all over the world who are helping one another reach their highest potential.

Last month I had the rare opportunity to sit in on my first-ever virtual seminar, called UnSeminar5, streaming live thanks to internet marketing extraordinaire Pat O’Bryan. I chatted with people I’d never met while watching phenomenal, mind-bending presenters such as Joe Vitale and Craig Perrine talk about their respective spiritually based paths to success and how to get there ourselves. I was encouraged that weekend to join Twitter. I was told it was an amazing networking tool that would change the way I build online professional relationships—and my business.

These few networks I mentioned are just the tip of the iceberg. There are also bookmarking sites such as Digg, Reddit, Delicious (which was spelled Del.icio.us until about a month ago), Spurl, Slashdot, Propeller, Furl and Mixx, as well as specialty sites like Fubar (a dating network) and Elftown (for sci-fi/fantasy lovers). I'm hesitant to say anything about Squidoo because I haven't created a lens yet. From what I read on its site, Squidoo is a bunch of Web pages, called lenses, built by members on just about any topic imaginable. A small percentage of the revenue generated from ads and affiliate links goes to charity, some revenue goes to pay for the company's overhead, and the rest goes to members who can either keep it or donate it to their favorite charities.

 And then there’s Ning, which I also learned about while chatting with a bunch of Web savvy entrepreneurs during the UnSeminar. As a result, I now belong to a virtual mastermind group. And the list goes on.

 
The Power of Social Networking
I began dutifully signing up on several of these sites and others like them, not entirely convinced that they were going to help me grow my fledgling internet marketing company. Then I had my first taste of the true power of social networking.

Late one night I couldn’t sleep, but was too tired to do anything that required thinking, so I sat at my computer and invited something like 100 people to join my Facebook network. I went to the Women of Internet Marketing page and simply started inviting members, one click of the mouse at a time.

The response exceeded my expectations. Not only did a lot of people accept my invitation, but some of them also shared helpful information or invited me to join their group. People were promoting their own businesses and writing on my wall, so I went to their profile pages and wrote on their walls, too. I left a calling card, the URL to my Web site, everywhere I went.

Now, here’s the sizzle: One of my new friends checked out my site, liked what she saw and reviewed it on StumbleUpon (which is my all-time favorite site for getting introduced to obscure, content-laden sites that simply won’t show up on the first page of any of the major search engines)!

Although this might not seem like such a big deal to those of you who have thousands of people in your networks or following you on Twitter, to me it was my first real glimpse of the power of these networks. My little innocuous Web site, which isn’t even listed on the major search engines yet (it’s on my get-to-do list for this week), now has a presence on StumbleUpon—just because I decided to begin expanding my Facebook network one night.

The added bonus: I am beginning to connect with some of the most awesome people I have never met! It’s an amazing world out there, and I am thrilled to be a part of it.

NOTE: this post was part of ProBlogger's Killer Titles - Groups Writing Project