Sherry Turkle: Connected, but alone? A TED talk well worth watching. Please do share your thoughts in comments if you watch; I’m very curious to hear them as I haven’t fully formed my own.
We all need to focus on the many many ways that technology can lead us back to our real lives, our own bodies, our own communities, our own politics, our own planet; they need us. Let’s talk about how we can use digital technology, the technology of our dreams, to make this life the life we can love.
That’s right, I’m teaching another class at the Brooklyn Brainery called How To Be A Connector. I know you can’t teach people to have a certain personality, but everyone can learn how to be smart with the contacts they have and connect more meaningfully. Here are the details:
Everyone knows that one person who knows everyone. If you want to learn gardening, they have a contact. A job in finance, check. A voiceover artist to coach you in starting your new podcast? Easy. But how do your peers know so many people, and how do they organize them?!
Learn about the art of being a connector (and what that even means), and what responsibilities and cautions come with it. You’ll also learn how to realize the network you already have and do the right thing with it. While this isn’t a class to learn about good networking practices in the traditional sense, you will leave with a better sense of the nuances of connecting meaningfully.
This class is perfect for people with a genuine interest in learning the art of using a Rolodex of contacts wisely, and for those who just want to appreciate how the magic happens. A willingness to participate in brainstorming and groupwork with an open mind is a must. Please don’t sign up if your primary goal is to get 14 other business cards to add to your collection… even though that very well might happen!
Sign up for this one session class on Monday, April 16, and/or share with friends who might be interested. My other class on grantwriting is full, but you can put your name on the waitlist and/or watch for me to teach it again!
[note: As of 1:30pm today, the class has sold out. Put your name on the waitlist or hope I teach it again! Don’t forget I do private consulting too; email me for rates. Thanks to all who helped to share the class!]
My friend Alisha thinks very similarly to how I do about “networking,” and she just wrote a great post about it. Here’s an excerpt describing what networking should be and what a lot of people try to make it:
What is networking, even? To be honest, I hate the term. Networking to me is a couple of things:
- connecting people through genuinely exciting ideas
- being social and attending social gatherings
- fostering meaningful discussion
- building a community of friends, peers, and leaders who will shape your goals
- helping people help you achieve said goals
Networking is not the following, if you ask me:
- blindly handing out business cards
- steering conversations to be self-promotional
- upselling your skills or expertise
- faking your role in your industry
- talking buzzwords and schemes to make yourself look good
- stalking social media users online
- going to happy hour meetups all the time to score free food & drinks
As with anything else, there are rules to building your network and sharing it with others. The rest of the post gives some good pointers for not ruining the network you are constantly building.
This is what I do. I should probably bring it to some sort of scale someday. If you need connecting, I’m your girl.
[That statement alone is the downside of being a connector; we exhaust ourselves with completely sincere offers and then all of the requests and ideas come at once. But I’ve accepted that and love it anyway.]
