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FROM: SEP-OCT 2008 ISSUE | BY MINDY ABRAMOWITZ
Online tools offer a means of collecting, organizing, and absorbing information that will help shape your professional development. They also open up avenues for you to connect with other accountants, prospective clients, and employers, and to communicate with them in innovative ways. The collaborative nature of Web 2.0 presents a wealth of opportunities for CGAs and students to do more than simply gather information. It encourages participation and exchange – two cornerstones of successful networking.
Connecting Through Social Networks
Social networking websites like LinkedIn and Facebook provide a range of services designed to foster connection and communication. LinkedIn proposes contacts and employment opportunities based on your profile. It also tells about the contacts being made by members of your network.
LinkedIn may be one of the leading sites for professional networking, but Facebook is attracting an increasing number of business-oriented members. Facebook profiles feature areas to describe your educational and employment histories, your activities and hobbies, and other information about yourself. Although its tone is more youthful and personal, it aims to build communities of like-minded individuals and to help them mobilize to achieve their objectives. There are over 500 groups dedicated to accounting alone or you can choose to add applications to your profile from an equally vast directory of tax- and business-related categories.
Communicating Through Social Networks
Facebook, LinkedIn, and many other social networking sites invite you to post updates on your current status or activities. Facebook’s status updates let you announce what you are doing, thinking, or feeling to your network of friends, while LinkedIn asks you to update your connections on what you are working on. These short text-based posts, also known as micro-blogs or broadcasts, are usually less than 200 characters long and can be submitted from your computer, through instant messaging, by email, or using mobile text messaging.
A leading micro-blogging website, Twitter, limits messages (called “tweets”) to 140 characters and provides a forum for breezy, real-time communication. Everyone on Twitter can view public messages; only contacts can read private messages.
Twitter has many uses, both serious and frivolous. Those who get the most out of Twitter and similar services use them to network, to discover first-hand “live” news, to exchange ideas and information with experts, to give advice, to increase their visibility, to stay abreast of current technology, to keep in touch wherever they are, and to promote themselves.
Despite a surfeit of messages that are dull, silly, or incomprehensible, Twitter gives a voice to many who seek to initiate contact, solicit responses, and manage their online presence. The direct and candid nature of communication on Twitter promotes trust and creates familiarity that translates into real-life relationships and opportunities.
Tips and Etiquette
The key to social networking is to put forth a thoughtful and meaningful representation of your professional self. You control what others see, so be specific and judicious in selecting the information you include in your profile and where you want to include it.
- Join only the networking services that are relevant to you.
- Take the time to understand the service’s culture so that your overtures toward other members are respectful and appropriate.
- Share your expertise and express your personality.
- Update regularly. An out-of-date profile will get lost in the steady stream of others’ updates.
Finally, remember that trust and mutual benefit are central to a successful experience with social networking sites. Be honest, informative, and do not try to sell anything. The simple act of engaging with others in a community yields its own rewards.
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