Social networks can boost your business visibility and market YOU the brand. There are too many of them, and many are of good quality. We can’t force our friends and colleagues to join the same handful of networks. Some prefer these five, some prefer those four, and some prefer the other five — yet we belong to some of each. So what can you do without spending hours creating a profile on every one of ‘em?

1. Pick two or so general networks (i.e. MySpace and Facebook – yes, Facebook originally went after colleges and universities, but has since expanded to general population) that are neither business-oriented or oriented toward something specific (i.e. music, art, and media).
2. Pick one or two specific networks, which can be business-oriented or cover a specific industry or hobby that you interact with on a regular basis. LinkedIn and Ryze focus more on business networking while Flickr (photos), Buzznet (music), and Shelfari (book) focus on a specific thing.
3. Build a profile on your selected networks. Do as much as you can. It’s OK to do a little at a time with plans to complete the profile. Treat these as proactive networks.
4. Connect with friends and colleagues on your proactive network sites. Again, do a little at a time or one network at a time. Don’t drive yourself crazy.
5. Join other networks only when you receive an invitation. But on these networks — do the bare minimum. Join them, provide basic information such as your URL, and leave it at that. In other words, the minute you sign up — do all the work right there (five minutes or so) and never return until someone contacts you. Treat these as passive networks.

In a previous post, I linked to an article providing tips on saving time in your day. A few more thoughts popped in my head as soon as I pressed “Publish.” (There goes Murphy again!) — hence the motivation behind this post. Next: Surviving feed frenzy.

106 Tips to Become a Master Connector provides many great ideas for networking as I am sure — like me — you have a few things you’re not comfortable doing. With 100+ suggestions, there’s bound to be a couple that would come naturally to you.

This blog is a networking tool for me. I’ve met lots of great folks through the blog and blogosphere. I believe in building relationships and blogs make it possible. When readers leave comments, we’re having a conversation and getting to know each other without the pressure of the sale.

Blogging also provides me with another option to substitute cold calling. The sales experts all say that cold calling should almost always be a part of your marketing toolbox. For me, it has the opposite effect as the relay service freaks out a few people.

I don’t like saying, “If you need a writer, please contact me. Who can you recommend that needs writing services?” It feels like a WIIFM (what’s in it for me) situation and that the other person will think that’s all I care about… landing business. Last week, someone who claims to be a writer wrote me and outright asked for writing work. The e-mail hurt more than helped the person because of poor grammar usage. It came across as if I should land all the clients and hand them over. It took seven years to get where I am today.

What are your favorite networking tools?

P.S. Secret note: Happy 18th to Paul. 180!!oo

Making Online and Offline Connections looks at how the virtual world changed how we connect to others. In it, I state that the online world made it possible for me to become a full-time freelancer. It got me thinking how I met people in this virtual world.

I met a few through blogs, especially in earlier days. We bloggers left comments or sent emails to each other. Over time, we learned about each other and became friends. Another is a client who became a friend. I found the client because I interviewed (by email, of course) a co-worker of his who connected us.

Two other clients come from referrals from someone I met on the Internet; one through his own blog and the other from working on a Web site together. IVWCC, an online networking group, also brought in more clients and friends.

I completed an online certification program at New York University. One of the professors asked me to be his TA (teacher assistant). Eventually, I lost the job because there were not enough students enrolled in the program to warrant a TA as a result of the dot com crash. Over a year later, NYU contacted me again (a different program) because someone from the previous program recommended me.

A recent gig came from the editor’s using the search engine to find me. He did a great job because my experience fit well with what he needed. I’ve also gotten gigs by replying to online ads.

Obviously, the Internet offers many routes for meeting people and finding gigs (emphasis on gigs as the chance of finding a full-time job is only about 8% as reported in a career-related column). Possible ways to meet others online:

• Blogs: Leave a comment and link to another person’s entry from yours.
• Forums and email mailing groups: Join discussions.
• Email newsletters: I respond to all emails and survey responses. I’ve also connected with people with their own newsletters.
• Online groups: Like IVWCC. Or you might be one of many bloggers like Blogcritics. The site also has a mailing list for its writers and editors.
• Website: One that’s content-rich and frequently updated (this is where a blog or blogging-tool can help). Even having a profile in Amazon can lead to meeting people. People have contacted me that way even though I haven’t quite made it into the top 1000 reviewers list.
• Emails: Contacting people. Email a writer to pay a compliment on an article. Email a business to congratulate on a recent success. Many business people write articles and include their bylines.
• Articles: This is the flip side of emails. One of my first freelance gigs came from a guy who contacted me based on an article I wrote. There, I met another editor and we recently connected and helped each other (she submitted an article for one of the newsletters I managed and I answered interview questions for her blog). I’ve got a huge list of article banks. Need to post them here.
• Chats: You might attend a chat where there’s a guest. Usually chats are secondary — meaning you meet the person some other way before you talk in instant messenger.

You never know who you’ll meet through the Internet. Just interact with the virtual world and enjoy the surprises that come your way.

David Strom talks about online networking and living in a virtual world. I feel the same way he does. In fact, I met all of my clients through online resources and networking. I just got my first local client, but she found me online and we have no plans to meet face-to-face (f2f).

Thank goodness for the virtual world. I don’t think I could’ve gone into business for myself without it. Most of you know I’m profoundly deaf. Although I speak, lip-read and don’t use ASL (American sign language), I’m uneasy in f2f situations where I know no one. I don’t understand everyone I meet. In Bionic Ear Blog, I explain these situations and why I’m uncomfortable around people I don’t know … yet.

I’m a member of a chamber of commerce… a virtual one. All of this doesn’t mean I avoid in-person situations. On the contrary, I go out more. I play mahjongg and take tennis classes. The real thing, not virtual. Virtual tennis classes don’t get your heart pumping. Having friends in the offline world is still important to me.

Last June, you may have seen articles around the web and in newspapers like this one from The Washington Post report that we have fewer closer friends. This is disheartening. Growing up, I had three friends considered my closest. I’m still in touch with all of them. It took me a long time to make new friends when I moved back to Texas in 1995. I did gain one best friend and a few more friends — I wouldn’t call them close (yet, anyway). I’m working on it. But it takes two to grow a friendship.

Though I’ve met good friends and colleagues online — that I have yet to meet in person — it’s not the same as having a friend close by especially since I can’t connect with people on the phone. Having a relay operator in the middle of the call just takes away the personal aspect of a phone call.

The virtual world allows me to network and find more clients. The offline world allows us to have close and more personal connections.

The wireless network in my house went haywire. It worked on three PCs, one had a horrible connection, and one can’t connect. Between Paul and me, we spent a lot of time researching and trying to figure out the problem. We narrowed down the possibilities few by doing tests. Paul is the network king in our house and I learned a bit in working with him. In fact, I solved the problem… temporarily.

I believe the wireless on the router is bad. It works fine when we hook miles of cable to it (I’ve tripped over them, knocked things down, and chased after a toddler who grabbed one.). I’m tired of looking at the cables, so we’re contacting the maker of this router as well as hunting for deals for a new wireless router with g (as in 802.11g).

Here are some of the tricks and troubleshooting tips I’ve learned in playing with the router:

* Look at how many computers can connect and how many can’t. This tells you a story. If all of them don’t work, then the problem is most likely the router itself. Maybe it needs a simple hard reset. Try a soft reset first (turning it off and back on). If that doesn’t do it, do a hard reset following the instructions for your router. Mine required holding the reset button while turning it off and back on and not letting go until about a minute after turning it back on.

* If no computer wirelessly connects to the network, check to see if the router still works by connecting to it with a cable. If it works here, you know the router is still alive. It doesn’t necessarily mean the wireless is dead. Obviously, if your router is strictly wireless and not dual like mine (cable and wireless), this won’t work. Instead, you can test by bypassing the router and plugging your LAN cable directly into the DSL/Cable modem.

* Do a little pingin’. It could be the ISP is down and not a router problem. Open a command prompt window (Start > Run > type “cmd” > hit Enter) and type “ipconfig /all” and you should get a response back with your IP address, subnet mask, default gateway and other items. What you are
looking for is the IP address of the “Default Gateway.”

At the command line, type “ping XXX.XXX.XXX.XXX” where XXX = the numbers listed as the Default Gateway. For example, my default gateway address is 192.168.1.1, therefore, I would type “ping 192.168.1.1″ If you get a response, then your router is working. Next, try to ping a site. You don’t need to know the IP address. You can ping by Web address. For example, type “ping www.marqui.com” and you should get a response with the ping times from an IP address. That IP address is Marqui’s. How did your computer know this? Through DNS (Domain Naming Service), but that’s another topic. If you can’t ping a site on the Internet, the problem is most likely with your ISP.

* Have a cordless phone? Some cordless phones disconnect wireless connections while you’re using it. Stupid, but it happens. I have one that does just that and another that doesn’t mess with it. Aggravating. I wanted to return the phone, but it was a “no return” phone. If I had known it would mess with the wireless, I would have never bought it. So I learned that the next time I buy a phone, to check to see if it will kill the wireless or not.

* Ensure configuration is correct. Check the router’s manual to complete this step.

* Try changing the channel. If that doesn’t work, change the SSID (aka name) and the channel. If your wireless’ SSID is “Wireless” and is on channel 5. First, try changing the channel to 11 or anything other than 5. If that doesn’t work, then create a new SSID like “Router” and pick a channel, any channel. It never hurts to reboot the router after each change, although when making changes to it, it resets itself. This step is what got our network working again.

The process for changing it depends on your router. For mine, all I had to do is enter its IP address (200.200.1.1, for example) in the browser, enter the ID and password, and I am in. It’s similar to a software or application screen. Enter info, select drop-down boxes, and click buttons to change / save.

* Another good thing to know is to point your mouse over the wireless icon in the system tray. It provides basic information about your wireless connection. It provides information on the SSID, speed, and strength. The blacked out part in the image is where the SSID is located. Also, get more information by right-clicking on the icon and selecting “View Available Wireless Network” or “Open Network Connections.”

* You may have WEP turned on. This secures others from using your wireless because it requires a password. If it’s on, verify each PC has it enabled and the correct password or passphrase.

This is a handful of what you can do. Other options are more detailed and complex. But this is a good start and will help eliminate a majority of possibilities.