GenYNetworking.com

Found It Online…Now What?

Gen Y can find almost anything on Google. Try me! The only problem is our generation (sometimes) struggles with taking what they find online and applying it to the offline world.

Millennials, haven’t you added someone as a friend on Facebook and then walked by them and pretend you have no idea who they are? I am totally guilty of this networking sin! I get nervous they won’t recognize me or worse, think I’m stalking them.

So how do we take the networking we do online and apply it offline?

• Cheryl Harrison, a blogger from Columbus, did FastFriends, where she posted a calendar and every day she met with someone new she had previously only known from being online. She actually has done FastFriends twice. She wanted to meet people in real life and she wasn’t afraid to be upfront about it.
• Why offline activity is vital for social media, provides advice for small businesses, but this advice can be applied to networking and your personal brand as well.
• For me, taking online relationships offline is easier than meeting a networking connection cold turkey. It provides context, gives me a sense of common interest and knowing what they have been tweeting about recently provides a few points of interest to keep the conversation going longer. I am not afraid to DM anyone to do coffee, especially if I sense we have a lot in common.

It’s funny that I would not want to be set up a blind date, but I would have dinner with almost anyone I follow on Twitter. Do other Millennials feel the same way?