Saturday, March 16, 2024

Some History of Professional Network Services

In 1997, professional network services started up throughout the world and continue to grow. The first recognizable site to combine all features, such as creating profiles, adding friends, and searching for friends, was SixDegrees.com. According to Boyd and Ellison's article, "Social Network Sites: Definition, History, and Scholarship", from 1997 to 2001, several community tools began supporting various combinations of profiles and publicly articulated Friends. Boyd and Ellison go on to say that the next wave began with Ryze.com in 2001. It was introduced as a new way "to help people leverage their business networks".

Read more, here.

WHERE WE MEET
Anderson’s Catering
1286 Callen Street
Vacaville, CA 95688

EVERY WEDNESDAY
from 11:30am to 1:30pm

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Wednesday, March 13, 2024

Grace Under Pressure: Leadership Lessons from the Miracle on the Hudson


How can a moment of crisis redefine the essence of leadership? 

Simon shares Ric Elias' life-changing experience as a survivor of the miraculous Hudson River plane landing and its profound implications on leadership and personal growth. 

Discover how practicing grace towards ourselves and others can not only change the way we lead but also create a ripple effect of positive change across our personal and professional lives.

Video from The World Business Forum, November 2023, with Chris Stanley

WHERE WE MEET
Anderson’s Catering
1286 Callen Street
Vacaville, CA 95688

EVERY WEDNESDAY
from 11:30am to 1:30pm

Website

Sunday, March 10, 2024

What is a Professional Network Service?

A professional network service (or, in an Internet context, simply a professional network) is a type of social network service that focuses on interactions and relationships for business opportunities and career growth, with less emphasis on activities in personal life.

A professional network service is used by working individuals, job-seekers, and businesses to establish and maintain professional contacts, to find work or hire employees, share professional achievements, sell or promote services, and stay up-to-date with industry news and trends. According to LinkedIn managing director Clifford Rosenberg in an interview with AAP in 2010, "[t]his is a call to action for professionals to re-address their use of social networks and begin to reap as many rewards from networking professionally as they do personally." Businesses mostly depend on resources and information outside the company and to get what they need, they need to reach out and professionally network with others, such as employees or clients as well as potential opportunities.

"Nardi, Whittaker, and Schwarz (2002) point out three main tasks that they believe networkers need to attend to keep a successful professional (intentional) network: building a network, maintaining the network, and activating selected contacts. They stress that networkers need to continue to add new contacts to their network to access as many resources as possible and to maintain their network by staying in touch with their contacts. This is so that the contacts are easy to activate when the networker has work that needs to be done."

By using a professional network service, businesses can keep all of their networks up-to-date, and in order, and helps figure out the best way to efficiently get in touch with each of them. A service that can do all that helps relieve some of the stress when trying to get things done.

Not all professional network services are online sites that help promote a business. Some services connect the user to other services that help promote the business other than online sites, such as phone/Internet companies that provide services and companies that specifically are designed to do all of the promoting, online and in person, for a business.

Read more, here.

WHERE WE MEET
Anderson’s Catering
1286 Callen Street
Vacaville, CA 95688

EVERY WEDNESDAY
from 11:30am to 1:30pm

Website

Thursday, March 7, 2024

Networked Business

Many businesses utilize networking as a key element in their marketing plan. It helps to develop a strong feeling of trust between those involved and plays a big part in raising the profile of a company. Suppliers and businesses can be seen as networked businesses, and will tend to source the business and their suppliers through their existing relationships. As well as with the companies they work closely with. Networked businesses tend to be open, random, and supportive, whereas those relying on hierarchical, traditional managed approaches are closed, selective, and controlling. These phrases were first used by Thomas Power, businessman and chairman of Ecademy, an online business network, in 2009.

Additionally, social media has made a positive impact on networking as it also has allowed for more openness and inclusivity. To be successful with social media, it is vital to consider and plan an approach that can be maintainable and reliable. The best method is to put time aside weekly and make a plan for a few days a week and block off time to improve a social media approach.

Read more, here.

WHERE WE MEET
Anderson’s Catering
1286 Callen Street
Vacaville, CA 95688

EVERY WEDNESDAY
from 11:30am to 1:30pm

Website

Monday, March 4, 2024

Five simple strategies to sharpen your critical thinking | BBC Ideas


Is the sky really blue? That might seem obvious. But sometimes things are more nuanced and complicated than you think. Here are five strategies to boost your critical thinking skills.

Animated by Ana Stefaniak. Made in partnership with The Open University.

WHERE WE MEET
Anderson’s Catering
1286 Callen Street
Vacaville, CA 95688

EVERY WEDNESDAY
from 11:30am to 1:30pm

Website

Friday, March 1, 2024

Ethics of Business Networking

Networking can be an effective way for job-seekers to gain a competitive edge over others in the job-market. The skilled networker cultivates personal relationships with prospective employers and selection panelists, in the hope that these personal affections will influence future hiring decisions. This form of networking has raised ethical concerns. The objection is that it constitutes an attempt to corrupt formal selection processes. The networker is accused of seeking non-meritocratic advantage over other candidates; advantage that is based on personal fondness rather than on any objective appraisal of which candidate is most qualified for the position.

There are some risks that must be considered when using and publishing on social media, because companies can be held liable for the content posted by their employees on blogs or social networks. According to Olswang it is necessary to prepare a clear privacy policy while also remaining compliant to protecting company data and adhering to the social media platform's privacy policy. This ensures the networker can still build their connections and not risk damaging the relationships they've built.

Read more, here.

WHERE WE MEET
Anderson’s Catering
1286 Callen Street
Vacaville, CA 95688

EVERY WEDNESDAY
from 11:30am to 1:30pm

Website

Tuesday, February 27, 2024

History of Business Networking


Before online business networking, face-to-face networking was the only option for business people. This was achieved through a number of techniques such as trade show marketing and loyalty programs. Though these techniques have been proven to still be an effective source of making connections and growing a business, many companies now focus more on online marketing due to the ability to track every detail of a campaign and justify the expenditure involved in setting up one of these campaigns.

Read more, here.

WHERE WE MEET
Anderson’s Catering
1286 Callen Street
Vacaville, CA 95688

EVERY WEDNESDAY
from 11:30am to 1:30pm

Website